Chapter One: The Bookshop

The door to the small, but quaint bookshop, opened and a little bell rang, as the bookworm was greeted by a friendly voice. A small young woman entered the musty old bookshop with a sense of familiarity and a faint layer of dust tickled her nose.  Piles and piles of books swirled around her, and the woman wondered to herself why no one would stop by this wonderful shop. She saw so many books, and stopped, debating about picking each of them up and taking a closer look. She couldn’t stay too long, so she made her way to the very back of the shop, where the carpet was worn thin from years of this one woman wandering through the shop, finding any way to escape reality.

The woman stopped at an old shelf overflowing with books. It looked as if it  would collapse if even a feather settled on top of it. As she scanned the enormous structure, she looked for the books that seemed the most worn. That may seem strange to some, but as a wise man once said, ¨Read the books that look the most worn because you can tell by the damage that its been read by a lot of people, and there's usually a great story inside.¨ That advice had never failed her yet.

While the petite woman was busy picking the shelf clean of most books, she heard the little bell ding once again, and she timidly looked up. Walking into the little shop, a man she had never seen before headed straight to the back, as if he knew where he’s going. He looked about average height, with black jeans and a black hoodie covering his face. Then the mysterious looking man stopped abruptly in front of the women, looked at the current book in the women's hands and said, “I’m afraid I’ve degenerated into a bibliophile.”

Awkward silence filled the room, and the woman looked deeply into the man's eyes, for she had never seen eyes quite like his. They looked as if they were changing color like a kaleidoscope. Then he abruptly turned away and continued walking straight to the back of the shop. Soon he reached the last shelf in the shop, the shelf that the woman found the most dull and mundane books she'd ever read. He then pulled an old fashioned book halfway out of place, and the inquisitive bookworm heard a loud ¨click¨ as the bookshelf swung forward, and a bright white light shone throughout the entire shop. After about ten seconds, the light was gone and the perplexing man had vanished.

The bookworm could not believe her eyes, and yet, something deep within her mind said that she couldn't have imagined the astonishing event either. For a moment she debated on if she should pay for her books and quickly leave, or try to follow the mysterious man into what seemed to be a world of magic. She quickly realized how stupid she was being. The bookworm had spent her whole life trying to escape this world. She would use every spare moment she had and spend it reading a book about a fantasy world filled with magic and possibility. It was a no brainer.

She quickly walked to the back of the store, and faced the seemingly normal shelf full of books. The bookworm looked for the old fashioned book the man before used to open the passage. After looking all over the shelf she realized that it was right in front of her face. ¨Typical...¨, she thought to herself, annoyed that she had wasted so much time. Then, she pulled it out halfway just like the previous man had, and she heard a loud ¨click¨ and the shelf swung forward once again. And then, she stepped into the blinding light, excited for her first adventure.

When she opened her eyes, the woman saw that the man dressed in black was waiting for her. ¨Took you long enough, for a moment I thought I might´ve been wrong about you. ¨ mutterted the strange man. ¨Wrong about me? What do you mean? Where am I?¨ asked the small woman. ¨This world can only be reached by the most creative people. People who long for something more in their life. And you are one of those people.¨ The bookworm was completely shocked, but mostly they were excited. ¨Come on, let's go!¨ Exclaimed the man, stretching his hand out for the woman. She took the mysterious man´s, wearing the biggest smile she said, ¨I can't wait to go on adventures with you!¨”