Storybook Island

+ Average, Average, Average...

I didn't move for a very long time. Neither did Meghan. We just stared at the entrance to whatever was down there. We might have stood there all night, awestruck- unless footsteps hadn't started running in our direction. 

The sound must have alerted a nearby guard. I panicked, not knowing where to hide. Then, from the side of the stone, a hidden door from the ground opened, releasing the stone that started to slide back towards the lit opening, ready to conceal it once more. The stone skittered towards us, rubbing against the stone pathways, being even louder.

Meghan took my wrist and pulled me into the opening, down the stairs so fast I almost fell. The stone covered the entrance just as the guard's footsteps rounded the corner. We could faintly hear him run past, still searching for the source of the noise. 

The bottom of the stone was revealed to us. It seemed completely normal, leaving me to question how it moved across the ground. The slot in the wall that allowed the stone to move in the pattern to let us in closed up, leaving the only direction we could take being down. 

Meghan and I began walking down the metal steps, both shocked. Finally, she said, "I thought the metal was welded into the stone?"

"That's what you're thinking about?"

"Where are we?" She whispered, hesitantly reaching out to run her hand along the wall as she walked for balance. 

"How should I know?" I whined, stumbling but catching myself. 

She paused. "You were the one that was right about something being beneath here. So I thought you might know."

The two of us neared the bottom steps, far below where we came in.

"Do you think Uncle Charlie knows about this place?" I asked Meghan. She was in front of me and didn't step onto the regular ground. 

"Judging by how much dust is on the floor, no one's been down here in years. So, no. I mean, if I knew there was a cool glowing room underneath my park, I would be down there all the time." 

That didn't seem like a very reliable answer, but I accepted it and began trudging through the dust, making it billow up. Our sneezes echoed in the metal room. There was a hallway lit by blue orbs that shone from the sides of the wall, the source of the light from the top. We made our way through the hallway and as we did I began to hear running water. 

The moment we reached the end, I was awestruck when the small hall opened up into a huge stone cavern. 

The ceiling rose up at least 90 feet, with those blue orbs floating around the top. They hovered mid-air, just lighting it up. Vines and moss cascaded down from the ceiling like ribbons and grew along the walls. Pools, ponds, and streams trickled around the rocks, glowing blue and crystal clear. Flowers and small plants bloomed on ledges and in crevices throughout the cave. Blue gems sparkled from random places. 

A waterfall from high up came down in the back corner, running into a stream that winded and disappeared underneath a ledge. So many different levels and layers stretched across the gray and white stone. 

A singular tree grew in the back, centered between the corners. It's trunk curved to the right and the branches were long, growing up, to the side, curving, dipping down, and touching the base of the trunk. It made a circle in the center, big enough for someone to walk through. A petite wooden bridge crossed the first pond, and stepping stones led the rest of the way across the pools and brooks to reach the tree.

I turned to Meghan. Her eyes sparkled as she looked around, awestruck. The place felt... magical. 

"Meghan?"

She jumped, forgetting I was there. "What?"

"Come on, let's go look at that tree."

For once, neither one of us pulled the other where we needed to go. We crossed the bridge, which for some reason wasn't dusty. The stepping stones were perfectly round, and as we hopped across, small blue fish darted through the water. 

When we reached the tree, I immediately noticed the trunk. Of course, there was a lot abnormal about the tree, but there was an indention in the trunk that didn't appear to be carved. The tree simply had a hole in it. Inside was faintly blue, and nothing appeared to be within. 

"Hey Abby, did you see the words?" Meghan was looking up at the circle, pointing to the top. I followed her gaze to see words carved on the top of the circle into the thickest branch. 

Atramento, chartam, arbor, vita

She had her phone out but put it back in her pocket. "I tried to use google translate, but there's no signal."

"It says ink, paper, tree, life," I informed her, feeling proud of myself. 

"How did you know?"

"I took Latin, remember?"

"Right. What do you think that means?"

I shrugged, not answering. Ink, paper, tree, life. Something in me told me to look around some more. I glanced to the side and happened to see a chest. It was old and very middle ages looking, but I went over to it. Gold metal hinges were on it and secured with a lock. The lock was elaborate and cast in silver, but I was more concerned about the key. 

Meghan called, "What are you looking at?"

"A chest. But it's locked."

Meghan looked back at the branches and there it was. The key was hung on a twig on the side of the tree circle. She took the silver key, tossed it to me, and I unlocked the chest. Inside were beautiful leather-bound books of all different genres from all different time periods. There were even books from today. In fact, a newly published book that had only been released last week sat in a leather-bound copy on top.

"What's in there?" Meghan asked, coming over. She gasped at the books inside and dropped to her knees, carefully removing a book. "Oh, they're so pretty!"

"Meghan, look." I picked up the new book on top. 

She squinted at it. "That was only released last week."

"Yeah, and it was never released in a leather-bound copy. How did it get down here, and in this cover? That was the only way in and you said it yourself there's no way anyone's been down here in years."

"Maybe it just showed up. Like, magic."

Now it was my turn to be skeptical. "Magic? Really?"

"Abby we're in a cave with floating balls of blue light, trees that bend to make circles, stones that move without wheels, and flowers that bloom without sunlight. I think books showing up in a chest isn't that far-fetched of an idea."

She was right, and I sighed in defeat. But then it occurred to me.

Ink, paper, tree, life... 

I grabbed one of the books out of the chest and hopped over a trickle of water to run to the tree. Meghan hurried after me, calling my name, but I ignored her and put the book inside the slot in the tree. It went inside with a woosh! and disappeared in a flash of blue light. 

The ring the tree made began to shimmer and blue light began to flicker. It grew and grew until it reached the rims, then it swirled and sparkled, leaving the cave behind it hidden. 

"It's a portal," I said, smiling in wonder, "And it has something to do with those books."

Meghan grabbed my arm and pulled me back a bit. "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous."

"No, it's safe. I can sense it." 

Not bothering to say anymore, I caught Meghan's wrist in my hand and pulled her into the portal, the two of us being consumed by the blue light and stepping away from the real world and into the one of fiction.