Pages to happy endings (swanqueen)

Chapter 1

"Here you go sweetheart", Emma said handing a paper bag to a little girl with a red ponytail. "Thank you, have a nice day", the girl responded leaving the small bookstore before Emma could reply. "Emma, Could you put those fairy tale books back where they belong before you leave? I know it's your birthday and you probably have a lot to do but I need to rush and take my dog to the vet", Inej shouted from the back room of the store. "Of course. I hope your dog is okay", Emma sighed back. She wasn't in a rush at all. There was no one waiting for her, not even on her birthday.

"Thank you so much. I  hope so too" Inej walked to the counter wrapping a green scarf around her neck. "See you tomorrow", Emma smiled at her. "Bye then", Inej disappeared out of the door to the crowded street. Emma walked to the door, closed the curtain, and flipped the sign to tell people the place was closed for the night.

She wandered to the child's area to find all the fairy tale books all over the floors. "Not the best second day on the job", she mumbles kneeling down. Emma took as many books as she could carry and organized them on the shelves. All the books were at least twenty years old full of dust and smelled musty, the bookstore wasn't as popular as the owner had told her. A book pile after another the floor emptied quickly, but one book was missing. Emma knew she hadn't sold it today so she began searching for it.

The wooden floor squeaking under her feet she wandered through the store to find the missing book all the way on the other side, she picked it up looking at the cover. It was the tale of Snow White and the seven dwarfs, her all-time favorite when she was little. Browsing through it so nothing was broken she got a flashback of her younger self reading the same book over and over again in different foster homes.

Emma shook her head to get the image out of her head the way back to the children's books forgetting all about it. With a big yawn, she entered the back of the store to find her red leather jacket and purse with her phone and keys. "See you tomorrow store", Emma laughed locking the door behind her.

The sun was setting, painting the most beautiful colors of pink and orange to the sky. The street was almost empty, so Emma found her yellow bug easily. "I want muffins." The thought came to Emma's mind like lightning hits a tree. On the ride home, she stopped at a bakery to buy a muffin and a star-shaped candle.

The drive to her apartment was calm and short, she didn't have to drive to work but she loved this car way too much not to use it. Climbing up the stairs with her high heels felt like torture every day, but the thought of a fresh muffin got Emma to walk faster. Finally getting to her apartment door she got the keys from her purse and opened the door, kicking off her heels she walked to the kitchen landing her purse and a little box on the counter.

Emma took off the jacket and tossed it on the sofa. The smell coming out of the muffin flew through the whole apartment. Emma took the candle out of its plastic bag and the muffin out of the box. Putting the candle in the middle of the muffin while searching for the lighter was a hard but manageable job. It lit easily, and its flame was almost hot enough to melt the icing.

Emma was leaning against the counter, she closed her eyes and blew to the flame to go out. She opened her eyes expecting something to happen, but everything stayed the same. "Same thing every year", she sighed taking the candle from the muffin and taking a bite of it. The sweet flavor of the icing filled Emma's mouth and she couldn't keep herself from smiling.

As the night went by, as usual, Emma watched the most boring shows on the TV while eating leftovers. The clock hit ten pm when Emma decided to get ready to sleep. She walked to the tiny bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair. "I'm too tired for a shower." She thought entering her bedroom. She had a queen-sized bed, but no one had ever slept on the left side of it, so only the right side had an Emma-sized imprint. Throwing out everything else than the oversized T-shirt she had on, she climbed to the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

"Oh crap, I forgot to set an alarm!", Emma rushed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She knew she would be late but at least she didn't have to open the store today. After the shower, Emma brushed her teeth and put on the first clothes she could find with the red jacket and high heels. She took her purse forgetting her phone to the kitchen table.

Emma drove as quickly as she could to the store, she was almost half an hour late. "Morning", Inej said with a big smile on her face. "Someone's happy, sorry I'm late", Emma responded walking to the back. "My dog is fine. Thanks for asking" Emma heard Inej talking back, she could hear the sarcasm in her tone. "That's good", Emma responded. "It is, she's actually pregnant, Hey do you know what this key is for?" Inej continued. Emma wasn't in the mood for a conversation but she had to pretend for Inej, the sweet woman in her forties.

Emma walked to the counter to look at the key Inej was talking about. It was a tiny silver key. It couldn't go to any of the doors in this shop. "Maybe a customer forgot it here yesterday", Emma said. "I don't think so, it has the bookstore's logo on the back. Any idea where it could go?" Inej asked. "No idea. I've never seen this before, but the boss said he would come and visit after lunch perhaps I could ask him", Emma smiled. Inej nodded Emma took the key to her hand and stuffed it into her pocket.

The day went by slowly, Emma missed the phone she had left home and Inej couldn't stop talking about her dog and how she was becoming a mom. "You know Inej you could have early lunch. I'm pretty sure there won't be any customers today and you probably should check up on your dog" Emma tried to end the endless conversation. "Are you sure? Do you realize you still have your jacket on?" Inej asked trying to change the subject. "Yes and yes. I think it fits my outfit and I don't want to take it off", Emma responded. "Okay then", Inej took her purse. "Go", Emma insisted almost dragging Inej out of the store.

When Inej finally left Emma got some alone time she didn't know she needed. She wandered through the store trying to find something the key would fit in. "Nothing in the YA, Crime, and Sci-fi areas" she mumbled walking past the children's area. Some fairy tale books were all over the area, again. She quickly picked all of them up trying to remember if there were any kids in the store today but couldn't remember any. 

The last one had slipped under one of the shelves, it was a big brown book titled: Once Upon A Time. Emma wasn't sure if she had seen this book before.  She flipped through the pages just to notice one of the pages glowing. It was a page where Snow White and prince Charming were going back to their castle. The page looked normal except the carriage's door that had a real keyhole. 

Emma turned the page thinking that it would be some kind of fake book that actually was a diary or jewelry box. But the next page looked normal there was nothing that keyhole would open. She turned the page back and the keyhole was still there, Emma took the key from her pocket. "Fuck it", she mumbled and put the key to the hole. It fit perfectly, Emma twisted the key and her eyes filled with a white light and her ears started humming.

Next thing Emma saw was trees, a lot of trees. A warm wind played with her hair and birds sang beautifully. "Where the hell am I?" Emma gasped.