Chapter 1 : The Book
The first time I read about my death, I laughed.
Of course, at the time, I didn't know it was my death.
It was my seventeenth birthday.
The day had started like every other day in the small town of Blackwood.
Rain tapped softly against my bedroom window. Gray clouds covered the sky, turning the morning into a dull blur of shadows and silence.
Most people hated rainy days.
I loved them.
Rain made the world feel quieter.
Safer.
I pulled on my black hoodie and glanced at the clock on my wall.
7:13 AM.
Late.
Again.
"Aria!" my mother called from downstairs. "You're going to miss school!"
"I'm coming!"
I grabbed my bag and rushed downstairs.
The day passed slowly.
Classes.
Homework.
Teachers talking about things nobody cared about.
By the time school ended, the rain had become heavier.
My best friend, Emma, walked beside me beneath a shared umbrella.
"Happy birthday again," she said.
"You've already said that five times."
"I'm making sure you remember it."
I laughed.
"I think turning seventeen isn't exactly life-changing."
"Maybe today is your lucky day."
"With my luck?" I snorted.
Emma grinned.
"You never know."
If only she knew how right she was.
A few hours later, after dinner and an embarrassingly small birthday cake, I decided to take a walk.
The rain had finally stopped.
The streets were empty.
The air smelled like wet earth and old wood.
I wandered farther than usual, eventually reaching the oldest part of town.
A place most people avoided.
The abandoned district.
Broken buildings stood like skeletons beneath the moonlight.
Everything was silent.
Then I saw it.
A light.
Faint.
Golden.
It flickered between two ruined buildings.
I frowned.
There wasn't supposed to be electricity here.
Curiosity got the better of me.
It always did.
I followed the light.
One narrow alley became another.
Then another.
Until I stopped in front of a building I had never seen before.
My breath caught.
The structure was enormous.
Ancient stone walls stretched into the darkness above.
Tall windows reflected silver moonlight.
And above a pair of iron doors were three words.
THE LIBRARY OF LOST FUTURES
I stared.
"What kind of place is this?"
The town map never mentioned a library.
Especially not one this large.
The golden light glowed from inside.
The doors were slightly open.
As if someone was waiting for me.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
I should have left.
Every instinct told me to turn around.
Instead, I stepped inside.
The doors closed behind me with a heavy thud.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Rows upon rows of books stretched endlessly into the darkness.
Thousands.
Maybe millions.
The library looked larger on the inside than it should have been.
Impossible.
I walked between towering shelves.
Dust floated through beams of golden light.
Everything felt ancient.
Forgotten.
Alive.
Then I noticed something strange.
Every book had a name.
Not titles.
Names.
People's names.
Real names.
I pulled one from a shelf.
JAMES TURNER
I opened it.
The first page contained a date of birth.
The second page described his first day of school.
The third page described an accident he'd had when he was twelve.
My stomach tightened.
This wasn't a story.
It was a life.
I quickly shoved the book back.
"Nope."
I turned around.
And froze.
At the center of the library stood a single table.
A black book rested upon it.
Unlike the others, it wasn't dusty.
It looked new.
Waiting.
For me.
Something pulled me toward it.
Step by step.
Until I stood directly in front of the table.
My hands trembled.
The cover was black leather.
Elegant silver letters shimmered across the front.
I looked down.
And felt my heart stop.
Because written on the cover was a name.
My name.
ARIA NIGHTINGALE
I stared at it.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to move.
Unable to understand.
Then the book slowly opened by itself.
And on the very first page, a single sentence appeared.
A sentence that would change my life forever.
"Everything written in this book will come true."
The lights in the library suddenly went out.
And somewhere in the darkness...
Someone laughed.
