Imagination's last hope: The quest to save the unseen world

Chapter 11

They went to the front of the building, where a door opened automatically. They stayed in the bubble and went to the inside. The water didn't flow in, which Rachel found really weird. She remembered what Mira said about the rules of physics being different in the world of imagination.

There were rows and rows of giant wooden bookshelves. The shelves were filled with books from top to bottom. There wasn't a librarian or anywhere to sit. There were just all of these bookshelves.

"What is this place?" Rachel asked as she got out of the bubble.

"This place is called the Youthful Archive. It contains the stories of all the lives of the children on earth."

"How? It can't be." Rachel was in complete amazement. There are at least two billion children in the world, and here were all the stories about their lives. "Who even writes all of these books?"

"The books write themselves. Every day, new pages get added as your life goes on." "What happens to the books when the children grow up?"

"They just disappear when the child turns eighteen; no one knows where they go. They just vanish into thin air."

Rachel walked to one of the shelves and took one of the books. The title read 'The Amazing Life of Addison Williams. She opened it on the last page and saw that the writing just appeared.

The book really was writing itself.

"Is there a book about my life too?" She asked and put the book back on the shelf.

Mira nodded. "Yes, there is."

"Can I see it? Please."

Mira started walking to the back of the library. It felt like they were walking for ages to get there. It looked like she knew exactly where to find it. Mira climbed on a ladder and took it off the top shelf.

"Have you read my story before? It looked like you knew exactly where to find it." Rachel asked.

She took the book from Mira. She read the title. It was the same as all the other ones. The amazing life of Rachel Coldwell.

"I hope you don't mind; I just wanted to try and figure out why you agreed to help us save our world. Most of the humans won't, but Finnigan said he knew you would help us." "Of course, I would; Finnigan is my friend." "It's more than that. Since you were little, it was almost as if you had a sixth sense. You knew when Finnigan was there. You are in touch with everything around you. You have a vivid imagination, and your imagination and creativity are most important to you. That's why you want to help save the other children. And you and Finnigan have always been really close. That's probably why you trusted him and agreed to come with him. You are exceptional and can do something that many people can't; you can connect with animals and the energy around you and with beings from other worlds. Most people only know about their imaginary friends until they turn seven. They don't even know when we're around them. But you are different."

"But I'm not smart. I don't do really well in school like some other kids. And my parents already have plans for my future, but I don't think I'll even get into university."

"You're not dumb. You just have a different talent than everyone else. What other kid your age can paint and draw like you? You really are different from the other children your age. Now, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"An artist or a writer, but my parents say it's a bad idea and I won't be successful." "I think it's an amazing idea. You would do really well. I think you should follow your dreams."

"Thanks, Mira."

Rachel scrolled through the book really quickly. "I assume we don't have time for me to read it?"

Mira shook her head. "No, we don't. Maybe, if we have sorted out this whole mess, you can come and read it."

Mira took the book and put it back.

"There's just one more book I want to see, Mira. Caleb Coldwell, he's my brother." Rachel said.

Mira walked back to the front of the library. She looked for the shelves containing all the names that start with C. Caleb's book was also on the top.

"Here you go." She said as she handed the book to Rachel.

Rachel opened it on the last page and read through it really quickly. She handed the book back to Rachel.

"Why did you want to read this one?" Mira asked her.

Rachel told Mira the whole story about what happened. She told her that Caleb's only interest was playing video games all day and that he turned into a completely different person when all his technology was removed. The book's last pages said the power was back on, and Caleb returned to his everyday life.

"I'm so sorry that he had to be dragged into all of this, but I'm sure we'll fix it, and everything will return to normal," Mira said. She looked at the clock on the wall. "We have to go back now."

Mira and Rachel got into the bubble again. They passed the coral reef, and a few pink dolphins swam past them.

Rachel couldn't stop thinking about the Youtful Archives. She was mesmerised by it. This was the first time that she had heard about something like this. Rachel couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the library contained the life stories of all the children in the world and that the books wrote themselves and vanished when they turned eighteen. Not even Einstein or Newton would be able to explain how all of this happens.

"Just one thing: you can't tell any of the guardians that I brought you here. You aren't supposed to know about this." Mira said.

"Why not?"

"Humans aren't supposed to know about the world of imagination; an exception was made so that you can come here and help us. You aren't supposed to know about the other things here."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I get the feeling that I can trust you. You're special, Rachel. And not like the other kids. I read somewhere in your book that your life is really boring. Did you see how thick your book is compared to the others? I wanted to show you that your life is actually amazing. I hope this helps you to feel better about the mission." Mira smiled.

It did make Rachel feel a little better. She felt more capable of helping them. She gave Mira a tight hug.

"Thanks, Mira. I really appreciate it."

Finnigan was already waiting for Rachel in the office. Hootwiggle still wasn't back. The guardians were hard at work. Rachel wasn't exactly sure what they were doing, but she could tell it was important.

"We have to get going now," Finnigan said.

Rachel said goodbye to Mira and the rest of the guardians.

On their way back, Rachel told Finnigan about where she and Mira had been. She knew Mira told her not to tell anyone, but she couldn't help it. Finnigan was her best friend. Rachel couldn't keep this unique and unbelievable experience to herself.

"It was awesome, Finnigan. It was really eye-opening. Why didn't you tell me about this place?" Rachel asked.

"Because Hootwiggle would freak out. It's top secret. Not even the guardians are supposed to go there. We're only allowed to go if it's an emergency or if it might help us with something."

"That's sad. I would go there every day if I could. I read through Caleb's book. It says the power is back on, so he's doing much better now."

"I went to see him. He's playing video games with some of his friends. He is looking a lot better. But we must find out how to stop all this from happening. I'm sure the same thing happening to Caleb is happening to many other children."