The Other World

The Other World

Little Lucy Landon loved libraries. They were her place of comfort, and had been ever since she’d learned to read at the age of five. There, she could escape from all the problems in the world and just relax without the pressure of being “Perfect Little Lucy Landon”, as she was known by her teachers at school.

It was one Friday, on her weekly library afternoon, that her world turned on its head.

She’d walked to the library after school, as usual, and greeted the old librarian - Mrs Smith, like the apple, she always thought, and headed towards the shelves that held her favorite sort of books - the fiction section. Those were the books with which she could truly escape, those filled with magic, adventure and wonder. Non-fiction novels had never held her attention, as they were too sad and filled with the woes of the world.

Many of the books that sat quietly on the shelves Lucy had read before, but she perused them anyway, running her fingers along the familiar spines until she came across one that caught her interest.

“The Other World,” she whispered the title quietly as she removed it from the shelf and examined the cover. It wasn’t anything terribly interesting - an older leather bound edition that reminded one of a classic - but Lucy liked it. She liked old things, and books especially, so she carefully opened the book and began to read.

Lucy became immediately enthralled, her eyes darting rapidly over the page as she absorbed the words, and completely missed the soft, golden glow that began to envelop both the book and herself. Within a few moments, it had brightened considerably, before it flashed once, and the book fell, unsupported, to the floor.

Lucy looked up, bewildered, and found herself in a deep, emerald-green forest. How had she gotten there? Only a few moments before she’d been reading in the library. She was distracted, however, by the sound of music somewhere nearby, and decided to follow it, knowing that, where there was music, there were people.

Only a few minutes later, she came to the edge of the forest, and noticed a village not too far away. Having contemplated things, she headed towards it.

After walking for a bit, she found herself in the village square, where there appeared to be some sort of celebration going on. People were dancing merrily as a small band played an upbeat tune.

Lucy stood on the sidelines, watching, before a boy approached her. He had a nice face, she thought absently, as he smiled at her.

“Hello,” he said, “I’m Duk. Who are you? I’ve never seen you at The Dance before.”

“I’m Lucy,” she replied , “I’ve just come from the forest, but I was in the library before that.”

Duk nodded knowingly at her, “Ah, you’re a New One then.” He held his hand out to her, “Do you want to come and dance?”

Lucy hesitated a moment, before nodding and allowing him to lead her away.

Back in the Real World, Little Lucy Landon who loved libraries was never seen again.