Volume 6 Numbers 1 and 2 | Apr-Sept 2026

Elsewhere Girl

Story idea by Nivedha Chandrasekaran | Story by Venita Coelho | Art by Avik Kumar Maitra

Nivedha’s pitch:

My imagination played a crucial part in my childhood. Whenever I was happy or sad, alone or with friends, I would always end up slipping into a fantasy world at some point. It was amazing. My imagination was so strong, it brought fiction to life. There were these worlds that I entered, filled with magic and new adventures. The brave warriors and heroes from those worlds awaited my arrival and told me the legends in my name. The citizens loved me and sang my stories in the streets. I could be anyone in these worlds. I think it goes without saying that my imagination is my lifeline. My superpower was Interdimensional Travel.

As far as I remember, it was my dad who awoke this power. His bedtime stories always featured a hero, who bravely helped people in trouble. The only problem was that I always fell asleep before I heard how his stories ended. So eventually, I slipped into the world to finish the stories myself. I created scenes where I help the hero battle monsters, save villagers and restore peace.

It got to a point where the fictional hero’s name faded out of the story. Mine replaced it instead. I became the hero. I no longer needed a storyteller, because I learnt to write on my own. Every night, I’d travel into an alternate universe and complete a quest that awaited me. Every night turned into every day, and eventually I could visit whenever I wanted.

The number of worlds I travelled to only increased once I learnt how to read and type. Shows, movies, books, comics, even advertisements! They were all portals I could enter. I dove into them like the interdimensional traveller I was.

I helped the Winx defeat the Witches in a fierce battle. I tamed a great monster in Gravity Falls with Dipper and Mabel. Doraemon taught me how to fly with a Bamboo Copter. I assisted the Thea Sisters in solving several mysteries. I rescued dolphins with Barbies, and that’s not even the start of it! I’ve helped many, many worlds and I made so many friends.

People called me all sorts of things here, like shy, absent-minded, slow, the list goes on, but only I knew that the peace of the multiverse depended on me. It made me feel a little better knowing that in the other worlds, I was someone revered, a hero.

Whenever I visited the other worlds, I’d bring pieces of them back with me, and retell the tales of my adventures to my friends. I remember how we used to re-enact them together, as I guided them through my last adventure. Those adventures always brought us closer together, and I’d like to think that they shared a part of my voyage. It made my victories seem less lonesome.

While I have enjoyed saving countless dimensions, I eventually found that I have neglected my own. It’s a grave mistake on my part, as I swore that I would help people in every universe. And that includes mine. So here I am, retelling the tales of my adventures one more time. It’s time for me to play my part in the story set in this world. My native world.