A Smaller Savior

4 - Reality, Fantasy, or Both?

Emma was beginning to notice something very strange about the people in this small town. The more she observed them and talked to them the more she felt like something was up. She tried to ask a few about how long the library had been closed and that's what first caught her attention. They couldn't give her an answer.

She went further to ask Mary Margaret and a few others at Granny's about how long they had lived in Storybrooke or when they moved here and still she only got fuzzy gazes and vague answers. It was like they didn't know either.

The weirdest thing, though, was how similar the people in town were to the people in her fairytale book. She knew that it was impossible for them to be the same but she couldn't deny how alike some of them were. Chuckling to herself, she chalked it off to an overactive imagination.

"What are you laughing about?" Mary Margaret asked her coming around the couch where Emma laid. Emma glanced at the story book she held on her lap and then back to the woman.

"Just," Emma started deciding to be honest. "Some of the characters in here remind me of people around town." Mary Margaret's eyes sparked with curiosity.

"Oh, really?" she asked. "Who?"

"Well, I think Red at the diner reminds me of Red Riding Hood."

"Ahh, Granny's makes sense," Mary Margaret added loving the light she noticed in Emma's eyes that wasn't there before. She always brightened up when talking about the story book.

"Exactly," Emma agreed before noticing the way Mary Margaret was smiling at her. Feeling self-conscious, she grinned sheepishly at the woman. "But I'm just being silly."

"Dreaming and using that imagination is never a silly thing," Mary Margaret told her. It was Saturday which meant no school but Mary Margaret was headed to the hospital again. Emma had opted not to go. She wanted to wander around town, maybe go to the park. Thankfully, as long as she was back before dark, Mary Margaret was okay with it.

Soon enough Mary Margaret left, leaving her alone in the apartment. Emma flipped through the story book again stopping on the last page. Prince Charming was fighting to get his and Snow's baby to the wardrobe. Something caught her eye. Looking closely, she realized the edge of a torn page could be seen in the crease of the book. The last page was missing. She had wondered why the story would stop in such a place. You don't know if the baby made it to the wardrobe or not, or what happened with the curse.

Immediately she got ready putting the book in her backpack. She left the apartment heading to the library. She hoped to find the page around where she originally found the book. Searching high and low, she unfortunately couldn't find it. She wracked her brain on where it could be but she came up blank.

She wandered down the main stretch of town passing Granny's trying to think of where to look next but she couldn't think of anything. A sign up ahead caught her attention. Gold's pawn shop. She had noticed things about Gold in her short time in town. He seemed to own most of the town and even the mayor seemed scared of him sometimes, but Emma had yet to actually meet the man. He seemed well connected though maybe he could help her.

She headed for his shop pausing in the doorway as a bell chimed. An older man with a cane made his way out of the backroom smiling at her in welcome. Something about that smile didn't sit right with her though.

"Good morning, what can I help you with?" he asked her. She made her way into the store glancing at the various objects. It seemed unlikely that she would find the page here. But maybe he had some information on who used to run the library.

"Do you know when the library was closed?" she asked him. His eyes widen slightly in surprise, the only sign that the question had fazed him.

"It's been closed for as long as I can remember," he told her repeating the same line everyone else in town had said.

"Yeah, so I've heard," she muttered.

"You look like you're looking for something," he said. "I've got quite the collection here. I might have what you are looking for." She thought it over. It was just a page in a story book. It couldn't hurt to try and get his help. She sighed moving to the counter in front of him. She pulled her backpack off and opened it up taking the book out. It thumped onto the counter.

"I found this in the library. The last page is missing," she explained turning to the page in question. Gold stared at the book for a moment longer before turning his gaze to her. She squirmed a little under his gaze.

"I think I might have just the thing," he said shocking her. He moved toward the backroom again. "I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't throw it," she answered automatically. He chuckled coming back into the room carry a small book. It was worn and looked to be some sort of contact or address book.

"Well, I'm Mr. Gold. If you need anything else feel free to stop by. This should help you find what you are looking for," he said offering her the book. She glanced at it warily. Nothing was ever free.

"What do you want in return for it?" she asked him. His eyes sparked impressed at the intelligence and the small girl possessed.

"Just a favor sometime." That didn't sound too bad to Emma. She hated owing people but she felt like she had to find this missing page, like something was compelling her. She nodded grabbing the book from him and placing both it and the story book back in her backpack.

"Deal," she told him. She paused at the doorway glancing back at him. "Emma." He nodded, his eyes sparking again like he knew something she didn't. He probably did but she couldn't help the unsettling feeling that it left her with.

She headed to the park in order to look into the book. She hoped that Gold wasn't just messing with her but he seemed serious. She didn't know how an address book would help though. Maybe the old librarian's contact information was in it or something.

She setup on one of the old picnic benches pulling the book out. Opening the old cover, she jumped as a page fell out. It looked too big to belong to the small book though. She gasped taking in the familiar edging. It couldn't be.

Grabbing the page, she unfolded it gently. It was the missing page. She was shocked at the realization. What was Gold doing with it? She grabbed the story book placing the page in its place. The scene was different.

The small baby was wrapped in a blanket and appeared to be on the side of a busy road. So she had made it through the wardrobe after all. I guess you could assume then that one day the curse would be broken.

Feeling accomplished she was about to close the book when she noticed something. The blanket the baby was wrapped in was very familiar. She had been found in a similar one...on a busy road. Leaning in closer, she gasped taking in the name embroidered on the blanket in the picture.

It was the exact same font, size, color, everything as the one she had back at the apartment right now. Emma. What are the odds? Did Gold know about her past? Was this just all some sort of joke? Or was it something else? The only other option that Emma could think of was too crazy to consider. Because fairy tales couldn't be real, could they?