Once Upon A Time

• Anya Chen, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2016

One day, I was looking for a book to read with my friend, Shyrin. We had read most of the books on my shelf, so it was hard to find one we hadn’t read yet. Just as we were about to give up, my eyes caught sight of a glowing book. I pulled the book out. It was my book of fairy tales. The book glimmered and sparkled. I could feel it wriggling in my hands. It was as if the book was urging me to open it. “Put that book down NOW!” said a voice in my head. But my hands wouldn’t listen. I flipped the book open. There was a blinding flash that forced me to close my eyes...
When I opened my eyes, nothing made sense. I was holding a broomstick. A very ugly woman was screaming at me, then I was handed a long list of chores. I didn’t move. The woman frowned at me. “What’s wrong with you Cinderella? Quick! Or The One Who Edits shall be angry!”
“The One Who Edits?” I said. “Cinderella?” I looked at my clothes. To my surprise, I was wearing rags. I gulped. The book must have swallowed me and now I’m part of the story! The woman, who I guess was the evil stepmother, frowned harder than ever.
“Um... Hi... I don’t know much about here because I don’t belong here. I come from the world outside this book. Can you please explain about this Edit thing?” I asked. The stepmother sighed. Then she whispered in my ear, “The One Who Edits is a man who comes from your world. He has a book, just like yours. Every book of fairy tales is connected to his book. If something goes wrong in this book, The One Who Edits will see it in his book. Then he might send his Devourers here! Ahhhhhhhh! Here they come!” The stepmother ran away. I had never seen anyone ran that fast! I looked through the window. Animals that looked like giant erasers were tearing bits of the land and the people away. ‘They’re probably the Devourers.’ I thought. My curiosity soon turned to fear. I watched in horror as the monstrous rubbers ate my legs away, my body and finally, my head. Then everything went black.
After what seemed like a hundred years, I could see things again. I could feel things again too. I slowly started reappearing. This time I was in a very elegant ballroom. The prince seemed very peculiar, though. He looked familiar... It was Shyrin! I nearly laughed my head off! But when I remembered about the Devourers, I knew we had to dance. After the dance, a door appeared out of nowhere. We quickly ran through it. “Fingers crossed we will get back home! called Shyrin. She closed the door.
“Home at last!” Shyrin did a victory dance. I grinned. The book was once again old and dusty. I wonder when we will have another adventure.