When the water begins to disappear, Ebony knows something is wrong.
Bell Street is trapped in a relentless drought. The bowls of water in the Creek Room are growing emptier, the river is shrinking, and even the smallest acts of kindness feel weighted by scarcity.
Then the black rose around Ebony’s wrist begins to cool.
A glimpse into Karinya reveals a river-world beneath two moons—beautiful, wounded, and waiting. Beyond its threshold stand mysterious beings of crystal and light, including Aluna, whose presence offers no easy rescue. Instead, Ebony is asked to listen.
But listening becomes harder when Ebony’s mother grows weaker.
As grief approaches the heart of her ordinary world, Ebony must learn that love cannot always save a body, that loss cannot be transformed into a doorway simply because she wishes it could, and that holding on is not the only way to remain faithful to someone she loves.
With Toby beside her, and with the Creek Room becoming a gathering place for people, memories, music, water and renewal, Ebony begins to discover another kind of courage: the courage to stop forcing what cannot be forced.
Between drought and rain, fire and water, sorrow and laughter, the boundary between Bell Street and Karinya begins to change.
The Black Rose Threshold is a lyrical young adult fantasy about grief, love, ecological balance, friendship, wonder and the quiet courage of allowing life to continue.
For readers drawn to emotionally rich fantasy, portal worlds, magical realism-inspired storytelling, nature-centered fiction, and tender coming-of-age stories, this is a journey into the place where grief does not disappear—but learns how to move.

A story for anyone who has ever felt on the edge of something larger than themselves, and wondered what it would mean to simply step forward.

Artwork by: Gaily Russell