Once2026 Stories

When Anika Bailey-Walker, a demotivated young woman seeking freedom from the consistent pressurising of her mother and aunt concedes to her family's request to stay at her family home House Bailey for three months, she does not expect for the house's library to not only house a library spirit but a book that reflects important moments of her life. Even a few that she's yet to see unfold.

Aiko Miller moved into her tiny house at the edge of the city for one simple reason: she wanted something that was hers. After a childhood shaped by military relocations, strict expectations, and the constant pressure to be perfect, quiet feels like freedom. For one week, her mornings have belonged only to coffee, sunlight, and the small garden she planted with careful hands. Then she finds a dragon sleeping in her flower beds. Before she can decide whether she is hallucinating or losing her mind, a calm, infuriatingly composed stranger appears at her door and insists the dragon must be retrieved before anyone notices. Unfortunately, someone does. Her mother arrives unannounced. Now Aiko must juggle a baby dragon the size of a Saint Bernard, a classified magical secret, and a fake boyfriend who is far too convincing for her own good. As the day spirals into improvised love stories, cultural interrogations, and near-disastrous bursts of smoke, the lie begins to feel dangerously close to the truth. And when the lying stops and the smoke clears, Aiko will have to decide whether independence means standing alone-or choosing who gets to stay. ཐིཋྀ.𓈒𓂂𓏲܀.𓈒𓂂𓏲𖥔܀.𓈒𓂂𓏲܀❀.𓈒𓂂𓏲𖥔܀ཐིཋྀ❀.𓈒𓂂𓏲ཐིཋྀ܀ Participant of the || Open Novella Contest 2026. Main prompt: 3. You don't expect much excitement in your quiet garden until the day a dragon suddenly appears among the flowers. 2026 Umi Moriko Original