EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Chapter 5 of a 12-part fictional Christmas tale. Parents are encouraged to read aloud with their children.

Anna couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d seen. It made her sad to see Mrs. Campbell so upset, especially since she was always so cheerful when they saw each other.

“Tyler,” she said as they left The Book Secret, “we need to do something for Mrs. Campbell. You heard what Mr. Hinkly said — we saw the door because we’re meant to help!”

Tyler slowly nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s just hard to believe that actually happened. It’s like a movie or something.”

“I know,” Anna agreed. It was a completely magical, amazing thing. Yet somehow, she had already accepted it, and she was ready to move on to the next great thing: How to help her neighbor.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Anna asked. “We need to get her that necklace back.”

“And how are we supposed to do that? It’s long gone by now.”

Anna frowned. “We don’t know that. Mom and I dropped that box off at The Attic,” she said, naming the town’s biggest thrift shop. “We need to go see if it’s still there.”

Tyler smiled at her. “And I guess we have to do this right now?”

“Well, of course! Someone could be trying to buy it right this second!”

Tyler laughed, unable to say no to her, as usual. They stopped by each of their houses to let their parents know where they were heading before making the trek a few blocks over to The Attic.

The secondhand store was another one of Anna’s favorite places. It was small, but packed wall-to-wall with clothes, books, knick knacks and everything in between.

She made a beeline for the jewelry section and started spinning the displays. Her heart sank a little with each necklace she saw that wasn’t Mrs. Campbell’s.

“You were right,” she said to Tyler with a sigh. “It’s too late, it must have been sold.”

Tyler had been rummaging through a rack of bracelets, and gave Anna a grin. “Wanna bet?” he asked, holding up a beautiful sapphire-colored beaded necklace. “Someone stuck it in with the bracelets.”

“Oh my gosh,” Anna gasped, rushing over and gently running her finger along the intricate beadwork. There was no doubt that this was the same necklace from Mrs. Campbell’s picture. “This is it! I can’t believe it!”

They wasted no time buying the necklace, and Anna picked out a special gift box for it. Her mind was whirling with all sorts of elaborate plans to get the necklace back to Mrs. Campbell, but by the time they’d walked back toward home, she’d settled on the simplest route.

“Are you sure you don’t want her to know who it’s from?” Tyler asked as they approached Mrs. Campbell’s house. Anna shook her head.

“No,” she said decisively. “If we give it to her in person, she’ll obviously have questions that we can’t answer. Plus, this way just lets it be more mysterious and magical.”

Anna glanced around Mrs. Campbell’s front porch and pulled over a small plant stand, placing it in front of the door. She carefully set down the colorful package containing the necklace, arranging it on top of the table so Mrs. Campbell would be sure to see it. She folded the short note she’d written and placed it under the box.

“Are you ready?” Tyler asked, standing near the doorbell. Anna nodded, and the instant Tyler pressed the doorbell, they bolted off the porch. By the time Mrs. Campbell opened the front door, they were safely hidden behind the hedges on the side of the yard.

“Hello?” Mrs. Campbell called out, looking around before glancing down. Her eyes widened at the sight of the small wrapped box, and she picked up the note sticking out from underneath it. Anna peeked through the hedge, reciting the words in her head as Mrs. Campbell read them.

“Sometimes things are too close to your heart to keep them away for long, and they have a way of finding their way back to you.”

Mrs. Campbell looked around again before lifting the lid off the box, and she held a hand to her heart as she stared down at the necklace. With a shaky hand, she lifted it out and touched it gently, and even from all the way across the yard Anna could see her eyes glittering with tears.

With a final look around, Mrs. Campbell took the note and necklace inside and shut the door. Anna couldn’t keep the grin off her face, and gave Tyler a giant hug. Seeing the pure joy on Mrs. Campbell’s face made her absolutely certain that she and Tyler had done the right thing, and she couldn’t wait to get back to The Book Secret to see what else the doorway had to show them.

Read Chapter 6 in Monday’s newspaper.