Libraria

Chapter 1

"Hurry, Logan!" Christie called. "We're going to be late for school!"

Thirteen-year-old Christie Morris raced down the stairs and burst into the dining room, breathless. Her older brother Logan was sitting there rather calmly with a smirk on his face.

"Well, good morning to you, little sister," he greeted. A hint of laughter was in his voice.

Christie rolled her eyes. "I was so worried when I couldn't find you in our room! Why'd you have to scare me like that?"

"Look, Christie, I thought we had to rush. Aren't we late for school?"

"Okay, Logan, we aren't that late," she admitted.

"Knew it," the fifteen-year-old boy yelled with a triumphant grin. "Anyway, how much longer do we have until the bus gets here?"

Christie paused for a moment and checked her watch. "Uh, ten minutes."

She looked outside the window. It was a beautiful morning. Faint but cheery birdsong strained through the closed window. Sunlight filled the room.

"Christie? You there?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," Christie said.

"'Kay. So I have a really important secret for you. You can't tell any of your friends." His voice lowered to a whisper.

"What about Mom and Dad?" Christie said.

Their parents had left a couple of hours earlier for work, so she naturally became concerned when her older brother now mentioned he had a secret. She'd never hidden anything from her folks.

"They already know. They told me about it," he said matter-of-factly.

"Sounds good. Tell me. But keep it quick."

The teenage girl checked her watch.

Good, we have enough time if he keeps it short, she thought.

"There's a world—a hidden world—right in our house. And guess what? It's right in our room!" Logan was grinning ear-to-ear.

She gave him a quizzical look but said nothing.

"You know how there's a bookshelf—like, a really old bookshelf—in our room? Well, if you remove a certain book, then you'll access the portal. The portal to Libraria."

This seemed interesting to Christie. She listened eagerly to the rest of Logan's explanation. Their mom had discovered it as a little girl. When she grew up and married their dad, she bought the home so she could return to Libraria. But she was too old. Now, the siblings were old enough to visit their mom's world.

Once he finished, Christie spoke up.

"Look, Logan, I think you're making this all up. But after school, we can check to see if we can access this 'portal.'"

Her brother nodded in agreement. The two kids ran outside just as the bus pulled up outside of their house.

~~~

Christie could barely contain her excitement as the bus pulled up in front of her and her brother's home.

"All right, Logan. Take me to our room, show me the bookshelf with that special book, and lead me to Libraria," she demanded.

"But, Christie, I've never been there," he protested.

Christie huffed.

"Christiana, a little patience, please?" he pleaded.