Shreesha Panta
“Do not go near that place!” she heard her neighbour shout at her son. “If you dare repeat your actions, everything will be over. Do you not realize how haunted that library is?” the mother questioned, tears streaming down her face. It was visible to Lily that the mother loved her son deeply. Also, it was nothing new for her to hear about the strange happenings and ghostly sightings that surrounded the library. In her small town Maplewood Heights, everyone feared to go near the lush and green woods. The reason wasn’t the fear of ferocious animals or the deep parts of the jungle, it was the forgotten library that sat at the edge of the forest. Most of the townspeople avoided going near the place.
Lily didn’t care a bit about the mysterious library. She was a curious person by nature, but none of the curiosities were worth inviting trouble for. Like it or not she had to visit the jungle everyday to fetch wood and she used the path that the townspeople used to avoid. However, one fine day, when she was walking down that path, she found the path closed. She wondered where all the other people had gone and whether they went from the other path. She asked a nearby. The man replied “Oh child, most people went back to their homes. They couldn’t risk their lives for something as simple as a job.” At this point Lily couldn’t understand what was so strange about the library that the people feared so much. She walked the path that led to the library. As she was coming back from the woods, she couldn’t help but find the library oddly beautiful. It was a grand building, almost like a palace, with such intricate details. It had gotten dusty and the paint had chipped from places. The old structure stood in all it's grandeur. She couldn’t help herself and faltered into the library, curiosity getting the better of her.
As she pushed open the creaky door, she was greeted with a rush of cold air. She went into the grand hall. Everything was covered with dust and cobwebs but still Lily could see the magnificence of the library. It must be a wonder to read here, thought Lily. She made her way through the aisles of the forgotten books, feeling a sense of melancholy as she realized how much knowledge had been abandoned and left to decay. Suddenly, a glint of light caught her eye, and she found herself drawn to a hidden staircase leading down into the depths of the building.
As she descended, Lily found herself in a secret chamber filled with ancient tombs and artifacts. Leafing through the dusty pages, she discovered the truth behind the library's abandonment. It had been a place of knowledge and learning, but a tragic event had led the townspeople to believe that it was cursed and haunted. The librarians had been forced to flee, leaving everything behind, including their most precious books and documents. She was flabbergasted with all the new information before her eyes. If she had never come here then this library would have remained dead to the world. Everyone would think it was cursed when in reality the library was still the same, old one that people knew ages ago.
Determined to right the wrongs of the past, Lily shared her findings with the townspeople. People were skeptical at first but Lily’s perseverance, in convincing them, led them to finally believe her. Together, they worked to restore the forgotten library, turning it into a place of community and learning once more. As the library came back to life, the spirits of the past seemed to find peace, and the once forgotten building became a beacon of light and knowledge for the town.
And so, the mystery of the forgotten library was finally solved, and it became a symbol of hope and perseverance for the whole town. Lily's bravery and curiosity had led to the restoration of a forgotten treasure, and the library once again thrived, filled with the whispers of ancient wisdom and the laughter of children discovering the joy of reading.
