Library of Dreams

Shelves sit dusty, cobwebs drip down the ceiling

The scent of old paper fills the air.

She wanders between the bookcases

Trailing a finger along rows of leather spines.

One glows a shade of gold, and she halts before it, curious

Pinching the spine and pulling the book free.

Its yellowed pages slide open, and a bright light bursts forth.

A hot sun, rolling ocean waves and lush beach materialize before her eyes.

Gold coins from a shipwreck glitter in the sea foam rolling along the sand.

Amazed, the girl reaches her hand to touch one, when a sound hurts her ears

A loud Boom! followed by a splash as a cannonball hits not far from her.

There, a ship on the horizon proudly waves a skull flag, drawing near to claim the treasure.

A second cannonball soars towards her eyes, and she shuts them in a panic.

The book drops, the vision within goes with its pages.

She blinks, shakes her head.

A second book, two shelves from her, shimmers like stars, and she reaches for it.

The library becomes complete blackness, with nothing but pinpoints of light

The light of stars and orbiting planets, where among them sails a ship—not of the sea, but of the universe.

She follows after the strange ship and its crew, and watches as it meets with an enemy

Head on in battle, where bright lasers flash, ripping through metal hulls.

The girl ducks with a cry, and the book's pages close. She shudders, wondering at what she's seen.

Continuing through the library, her foot slips on something slick. Looking down, there is a trail of ice.

She follows the ice path around a corner, and there sits a book glittering like snowflakes.

Unable to resist, she plucks it from the high shelf, breathing in as the pages turn.

A glittering world of white opens up, her shoes crunch on snow, her lungs breathe in a chill

And she enters a garden crystallized in ice and magic.

Flower petals are frozen in their lush color; trees are caked in white and icicles like magical gowns,

A fountain's water is frozen in time, and a bench bears a couple who stare longingly at one another

An eternal love, an enchanted frozen wonderland that never ends...

The girl awakes, pulling herself up off the chair, with nothing but shelves and books surrounding her.

A dream...or was it? Perhaps every book is like reading a dream, venturing inside the minds of authors who explore unknown worlds and forgotten realms and mysteries.

You never know where the paper dreams may lead to next...