The Last Book of Enid🔊

In a small village nestled between towering mountains and teeming forests, there lived a wise old woman named Enid. There was an air of mystical depth about her, perpetuated by her blind eyes that bore an uncanny resemblance to the moon, pale, glowing, and full of secrets.

Enid was the village's only bookbinder and a cultivator of grand tales. She was neither a weaver of fables nor a keeper of history, but some mystical force directed her hands and heart into the creation of the most extraordinary books. Enid's works dwindled over the years. Silent and frail, she spent most of her days in her quaint little home, filled to the brim with books bound in vibrant moth-wing leather, etched in lustrous gold and silver. Her final masterpiece was an enormous book titled 'The Footprints of Time.'

One morning, Oliver, the village blacksmith's son and an eager reader, noticed an unusual glow coming from Enid's humble abode. Curious, he walked towards the source, to find Enid hunched over a huge manuscript, marking the end of her magnificent era. Her gnarled fingers stroked the tome gently, as if bidding adieu. The young lad watched in silence, his mind brimming with questions.

'What are you writing, Enid?' he ventured, eyeing the enormous book. She gestured for him to sit and began to speak in her soft voice, 'Every person contributes to this world’s story, leaving footprints on the sands of time. However, as time swills around, most footprints eventually get eroded. This book...,' she said, patting the heavy manuscript lovingly, '...The Footprints of Time, is the plot of everyone’s life; of struggling survivors, quiet heroes, and forgotten tales.'

Years passed, Oliver's curiosity burgeoned into a profound bond with Enid and her stories. With every visit, the thoughtful lad would marvel at the ever-evolving book that contained tales of love and loss, of storms and sunshine, of witches and wonderlands, and of life in its bizarre complexity. Then came years of plagues, wars, seismic tragedies that shook humanity. Enid preserved every tale of hope, heroism, and horror in her enormous book, chronicling time and its incessant, merciless march.

However, Enid's final winter arrived. With a prophecy she had foreseen, the perpetual frost arrived, indicating the end of an era. Mysteriously, 'The Footprints of Time' suddenly lacked a crucial chapter - the tale of the village gripped in the jaws of an unending winter. As Enid's life force dwindled, so did the village's hope of surviving the harsh winter.

Oliver, now fully grown, found himself standing amidst snow-laden structures, his breath fogging up in the icy air, as he arrived at Enid’s threshold. In his heart, he knew what he had to do. He looked at the frail figure of Enid on her deathbed, her fingers resting against the incomplete book.

A sense of purpose surged within him. Oliver began to write the missing chapter. He wrote about the village's efforts to survive, the shared warmth in the freezing cold, the stories told around the fires to keep their spirits up, and how each of them transformed into a silent hero in the face of adversity. Oliver wrote tirelessly, day and night. His efforts filled the pages and breathed life into 'The Footprints of Time'.

As the last word joined the manuscript, the sun began to rise, bathing the village in newfound hope. The infinite winter had passed, leaving behind the warmth of fuzzy sunlight and gleaming smiles. Enid passed on, her spirit merging with her stories, leaving behind an extraordinary tapestry of tales. As for Oliver, he found himself shouldering the legacy left by Enid, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

Forevermore, Enid's memory endured, in the heart of villagers, in the tales by the fireplace, and in the pages of 'The Footprints of Time.' Oliver would take the book each winter, sharing and recording the footprints that the village inscribed as they tread through the vast landscape of time. Thus, the last book of Enid lived on, reminding the future generations of stories untold and lessons invaluable.