The Midnight Library
Once upon a time, in a small town named Roseville, lived an unassuming young woman named Rosie. Rosie had lived her entire life in Roseville and the townsfolk knew her as a sweet, diligent, and cheerful woman. She worked in the local library, where her most cherished companions were the countless tales of distant lands, flying dragons, and brave knights. Little did anyone know, however, that Rosie was, in fact, living her own extraordinary story.
Rosie had a unique ability.
When midnight struck, the quaint and quiet library would become alive with the characters from the books. Initially, it used to scare Rosie, sending chills down her back. But, after several encounters, she began to enjoy the strange nightly phenomenon and even looked forward to it. She ate dinner with Cinderella, played chess with Sherlock Holmes, received travelling advice from the great Marco Polo, and had philosophical debates with Plato himself.
Her secret was safe, until one day, a mischievous Peter Pan stole a town map from the library and gave it to Long John Silver, the cunning pirate. Silver's greed led him to believe that there was hidden treasure in Roseville. Thus, the peaceful town woke up to a peculiar sight one morning, a pirate and his unruly crew running riot, digging for treasure.
Rosie saw the unfolding chaos and instantly knew the cause behind it.
Summoning the courage she'd read in countless novels, Rosie decided to limit the damage. She borrowed Dorothy's silver shoes from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', putting into action her plan to revert things back to normal.
As the evening fell, chaos reigned. The townsfolk, witnessing a strange sight from their windows, decided to confront the intruder. The brave town sheriff led them, unaware of what awaited them.
As midnight arrived, Rosie, wearing the silver magic shoes, clicked thrice, uttering the spell, 'I want everything back to where it belongs.' A blinding light filled the library, and soon enough, the characters began vanishing, returning to their realms. Long John Silver, mid-shovel, was suddenly whisked away, leaving behind a half-dug hole and flabbergasted townsfolk.
The next morning, all returned to normal, with no one remembering the oddities of the previous night except Rosie. As she walked through the town square, she took one last look at the hole left by Silver, deciding to keep her midnight companions to herself.
The library, too, returned to its peaceful attire, waiting for midnight to strike, where another story awaited Rosie. The townsfolk of Roseville, unsuspecting of the magical events, marveled at the mysterious hole, attributing it to an absent-minded farmer. As for Rosie, she continued her routine, opening the library doors, leaving us to wonder what other extraordinary tales would unfold in the sweet silence of the midnight library.