Lena's imagination map
Lena sat in the school library after the evening rain. The air smelled of dust and wet, still warm paper. She liked to draw cities that were not on maps. On the lowest shelf she found a thin roll in red ribbon. It had no label at all and no library number stuck on. She carefully unrolled it on a large, creaky wooden table. On the paper, the rivers shone like long silver threads. Mountains looked like carefully folded origami from atlases. On the side was the inscription: Imagination Map, proof edition.
- Is this a joke? - she whispered, even though she was all alone here. In the margin of the map, the compass needle suddenly twitched. Small drawings of trees rustled like a real night forest. She opened a fold in the corner and discovered a thin crevice. Inside flicked something like a distant camp fire. A warm breeze blew off the paper and stirred her hair. The letters shifted and formed the word: Enter, right now. Lena looked at the heavy library door and hesitated. It was locked and the corridor had long since quietened down.
- If it works, I'll go home for lunch,' she muttered. For courage she slipped a pencil behind her ear like a captain. She touched the crack with the end of the ruler, and the paper zipped like a flute. The map suddenly swelled from the inside until the staples crackled. Rivers rose and moved towards the table. A painted waterfall thundered and the cabinet moved a millimetre. A ship composed of the letters of her name sailed on a white sea. A figure in a cloak stood at the prow and waved. - Leno! - called out someone in a voice similar to her own. The hands of the clock ticked like a countdown metronome overhead. The floor tilted slightly and the chair moved away on its own. A hand slid out of the dark ink, tarry and warm. Lena stretched out her fingers, feeling the paper ripple beneath her feet as something from within pulled strongly.
Author of this ending:
English
polski
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