Mira stared at the blank page, wondering why it remained devoid of words. With a passion for writing since a young age, both in storytelling and poetry, she possessed a hidden talent. However, staring at the page didn't offer much help. Her eyes were now strained and blurry after a week of fruitless attempts. Not even a single ink mark adorned the page, leaving her feeling like a failure. Despite her great hopes, she couldn't conjure any story ideas. Had all her daydreaming gone to waste?
Mira got up and decided that the downtown bookstore would help her come up with an idea. Collecting her writing materials, she set off to the bookstore, just a few tram stops away. After a quiet tram ride, Mira arrived at her stop. Disembarking, she walked five minutes down the street to the little cozy bookstore.
"Great Adventure" read the name of the bookstore. It was the perfect name for a bookstore. Mira admired the name before entering the shop. As she stepped inside, she was greeted by the elderly man who owned the shop, Mr. Lennon.
On one side of the store were tables set beside a large window. On the other side was a counter selling tea and snacks. From the middle of the shop to the back were rows and rows of bookshelves. In between each shelf, against the wall, was a pull-out sofa, and in the middle of the shop were a few round sofas. Each set of shelves was specific to a genre. What could you want? Every type of genre was there.
"Looking for new inspiration for your next novel?" asked Mr. Lennon.
"I am," answered Mira.
Mr. Lennon knew Mira quite well. Mira had been frequenting the bookstore since she had learned to read. She had read every book that she could get her hands on. Being at the bookstore so often, the locals who visited the bookstore gave her the nickname "bookworm".
Now an amateur author, Mira was determined to make her mark as one of the great authors in history. It was her childhood dream to have her novel sold beside her favourite authors' novels. No matter how much she wrote, her writing never stood out. It was plain and dull, well, that was what people said.
Mira headed for the science fiction section and pulled out a book for inspiration. She sat on a pull-out sofa, and Mr. Lennon spotted her as he was passing by.
"Great book," said Mr. Lennon.
"Have you read it before?" asked Mira.
"Yes, and I really enjoyed it," replied Mr. Lennon. "I have a book that came in recently. Why don't you have a look at it?"
Mira put the book away and followed Mr. Lennon to a different shelf. He pulled out a book about disasters that had occurred in the town. One particular event was a recent fire that occurred a few years ago. The fire was thought to be caused by someone starting a campfire outside in the park. Although the fire was contained, the person was charged with a large fine for the accident. It was said that the person skipped town.
Mira took the book and looked through the table of contents. There was a section on the fire. She turned to the page and read everything. It didn't match what she had known all along. The fire was not caused by a campfire but was a natural disaster.
Mira took the book to the front of the bookstore and showed the chapter on the fire to Mr. Lennon, who was astounded by the information in the chapter. He decided to inform the authorities about the revelation.
The authorities arrived to inspect the book and concluded that the person who was charged with causing the fire was, in fact, innocent. They initiated a search to find the person and clear his name.
Within a week, Mr. Lennon and Mira both read in the news that the person who had been wrongfully declared guilty had their name cleared and had come back to the town. All it took was some information in a book to find the cause of the fire.