"Alright man, this is my stop," Cole said to his buddy as he got off the bus, "See you tomorrow at school!."
He got his earbuds out of his pocket and started the walk home. The bus dropped him off at a dinky little shopping plaza and his house was only a couple blocks from there. He was waiting for the crosswalk sign to turn green when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. Cole turned his head, various trinkets and baubles glittered behind an ornately framed window. The words "Macavity's Miraculous 'Mporium" were painted on a wooden sign above the door. Had that shop always been there? Cole wondered. It definitely looked like it'd been there for years, if not decades, but Cole swore the store next to the pizza place was a deli, not a "mporium," whatever that was. Cole checked the time on his phone, 4:37, his parents wouldn't be home for another four hours, he could afford a little detour.
The crosswalk sign turned green as Cole walked towards the strange store, the loud horns of the crosswalk anxiously blared behind him.
Cole pushed the heavy wooden door and a dainty silver bell rang sweetly over his head, announcing his arrival. The smell of dust and incense filled his nose. To say the shop was cluttered was an understatement. Shelves were tightly packed with all sorts of things, overflowing bins littered ever corner, and hanging herbs and crystals covered every inch of the ceiling. The small room was lit by various lamps of all shapes and sizes that seemed to be placed as arbitrarily as anything else.
Cole wandered about, careful not to step on or bump into anything, a lot of the stuff on the shelves looked ancient and he'd hate to go into debt before finishing his junior year. Everywhere he looked were strange and curious gadgets, books with bizarre titles, and unlabeled pouches filled with who knows what, but none of them seemed to capture his attention. If he ever tried to get a closer look at something he'd find his gaze slipping over it and onto the next object. That feeling made him uneasy.
Deciding he'd seen enough, Cole turned and headed back towards the door when something gripped his attention. It was thick book, bound in a rich, ruby red. On the cover, in beautiful, golden letters was the title: 'Classic Fairy Tales.'
Cole had never cared much either way about fairytales. Sure they'd been part of his childhood, and he'd seen his share of Disney movies, but they weren't something he dedicated any thought to. Regardless, something about the book captivated him. He had to have it.
He picked up the book and felt its weight in his hands. He flipped through the gold-leafed pages, careful not to fold or rip them.
"Wonderful choice!" a voice suddenly said from behind.
Cole spun around, holding his book to his chest. There stood a tall, slim woman with frizzy, graying hair that hung in wild curls down to her hips. She looked at the book and then at Cole,
"A lot of people misunderstand fairytales, you know. They forget that fairytale characters are archetypes, frames to be filled by the reader's imagination. Once you understand that, the stories become a lot more engaging, they pull you right in," she chuckled. She had a kind smile, but something about her eyes inspired distrust in Cole.
"Uh, sounds... great," Cole stuttered trying to regain his composure, "How much is it?"
The woman waved her long hand dismissively, "Doesn't matter, that's your book now."
"It is? No, I can't just- just take it for nothing. It's gotta cost something."
"Fine," the shopkeeper sighed, "how much do you have on you?"
"Uh," Cole pulled out his wallet, "like, five bucks?"
She snatched the dollar bills from Cole's hand, "It was an honor doing business with you."
Suddenly Cole was outside the door. He looked down at his new book, the title shining in the afternoon sun, and turned back to look at the store, half expecting it to have vanished, but there it was, the weathered wooden sign creaked as a gust of wind blew past.
Cole carefully put the book in his backpack and resumed his walk home.
---
Cole kicked off his shoes, grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen, and headed into his room. He put his backpack on his bed and pulled out the book. He ran his fingers along the etched title. What was it about this dumb old book that called to him? He sat down at his desk and looked through the table of contents. There were a ton of stories here, a lot he knew, and a lot more he'd never even heard of.
Suddenly. the pages shimmered. Cole blinked, did he imagine that? Again, like sunlight on a lake, light danced across the page. Cole could hear a hum begin to rise from the book as the ivory paper grew brighter and brighter. Cole cried out as a searing sensation flashed across his left wrist, he looked down and saw words etched in the same gold as the book cover on his skin. He read them aloud in confusion and a force like a tidal waved ripped him from his seat and into the book itself.