After a brief but uncomfortable silence, Alex said, "Can you explain to me why you folks know so much about what you call 'my world' if it really is so different from here? You seem to know about our books, movies, and even individual people. Why?"
Nick said, in a heavy fake foreign accent, "For many years we have been watching your TV broadcasts."
Alex's mouth popped open in surprise, then she broke out in laughter when she saw that Martha and Nick were trying not to. Then all three broke down and laughed out loud.
Alex finally was able to say, "I've heard that line about TV broadcasts about a hundred times in bad science fiction movies."
Nick said, "We're able to cross the Bridges between worlds much more easily than you. We're regular visitors to you, so we keep tabs on you. And those few of you who visit us are able to explain many things about your world which puzzle us."
"Do I know any of the people who visited here from my world?" Alex asked.
"You know of Lewis Carroll, and James Barrie who wrote Peter Pan , of course," Martha began the list. Alex nodded. "Tolkien was here during that terrible war you had, but only for a short time. Then he returned once the war was over. He claimed that all his inspiration came from here. The place he described for Bilbo Baggins retirement is not very far from here."
Now Alex was totally floored. These were her favorite authors and characters. "Was Alice here?" she asked.
"No, Alice Liddel was about your age when Mr. Carroll wrote his books, but she never came here. Mr. Carroll came here alone, wrote his book here, then took it back to Alice as a gift. Probably one of the finest gifts in history, in my opinion," Nick said. "Fortunately, none of his characters really lived here, but he got his inspiration from some of our old tales. And doesn't the way that Alice began her adventure, by going through a small hole, sound much like the start of your visit here? She also encountered certain size problems, you'll remember."
"I most surely do," Alex laughed.
Martha resumed the list, "Ray Bradbury was here. C.S. Lewis sensed us, but was too tied up in his own philosophy to cross over. He described a Bridge to us which he imagined was in his wardrobe."
Alex was dumbstruck, then finally asked, "How about the Wizard of Oz stories?" They were a particular favorite of her father.
"No," Nick replied, "they were simply the result of an overly active imagination."
"Are you saying that the things these fantasy writers wrote about are actually here?"
"Not necessarily," Nick answered. "Sandorra has a rich history of legends and fables, most of which came about because Sandorrans have always been great story tellers. When the Grimm brothers went to the Bavarian Alps to collect material, they came to our Bavarian Alps, not yours. And the material they collected was mostly fiction. But Sandorra also has the ability to inspire your writers and allow more freedom to their imaginations. We don't know why. Perhaps its something in the air ... or maybe it's the water."
Suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door. Nick and Martha both jumped up, but Nick was quicker and went down the dark hallway to open the front door. Heavy footsteps boomed as a tall, sturdy man entered the room. He glanced around, examining every corner as though he were searching for something. Then, satisfied, he strode over to Alex and announced, "Bond, James Bond, miss. At your service."