Ari didn't open the book again that weekend and she only stepped outside to drop the trash into the dumpster. She dreamed about large blue eyes every night and woke up in a cold sweat as soon as they started moving closer to her.

Monday morning came and Ari walked into her kitchen to grab something to eat on her way to the pawn shop. Suddenly, there was a knock at her and Ari had been so on edge all weekend that it made her jump. She answered it with a smile after looking through the peep hole. "Momma!" she said as she hugged her.

Her mother wrapped her arms around Ari and squeezed hard, "There's my baby girl! I've missed you so much!"

Ari pulled back from her mom and said, "You just saw me on Thursday."

"Yes, but I didn't on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and that is far too long after having you around for the last 19 years. Almost 20! Plus, you left me with a house full of boys and I'm honestly about ready to send them all to live outside." They laughed together and Ari led her mom into the living room to sit down.

"What brings you here so early? Don't you have to be at factory in 30 minutes?" Ari asked.

"Normally, yes but your Aunt Tia called this morning. Sounds like she will be moving out again."

"Hmm...her and 'what's his name' not work out for the third time? Shocker...." Ari said.

"His name is Dick and yeah you would think she would learn." Her mother replied.

"I mean it's in his name!" Ari proclaimed.

They giggled together and her mother continued, "Well I'm going to help her move into her apartment and be there to console her through this one too."

"You're going to drive all the way to Florida? Do you want me to come with you? Mr. Fawn probably won't mind."

"No, we are meeting at her new apartment in Mississippi. I'll be fine to drive it alone, plus I know how much you love that creepy pawn shop." Her mother gave her a wry smile.

"Ok, so you'll be gone for a few days" Ari confirmed.

"Yes, but Bill will be out of town this week with the construction team, and I was wondering if it would be okay for the boys to stay with you for a few days" her mother scrunched her face as if waiting to be rejected by Ari.

"Of course, they can! Let the school know the boys will take the bus that comes out here and I'll get home each day before them. Plus, I know how to cook food from a box now. We'll be fine!"

"Are you sure? I can tell Tia she will just have to get a dog to console her..."

Ari giggled "No, go. I got this!" Her mom pulled Ari into a hug again and said into her hair "I know you do, pumpkin."

Her mom left while Ari grabbed a drink from the fridge, car keys from the counter, her satchel with the book safely inside and strode out the door. Ari had anticipated that she would be the first to get to the pawn shop, like always, and have enough time to set up shop and stow the book back on the shelf before Mr. Fawn even turned down Main Street. However, when Ari pulled into the parking lot, she was surprised to find Mr. Fawn's car was already parked in his usual spot. Ari timidly walked around to the front entrance. She slowly opened the door, hoping not to tip off Mr. Fawn that she was inside. 'Maybe I can still get it back on the shelf before he notices' she thought. But Mr. Fawn was already behind the counter looking at her book collection and the blank spot the book had occupied. He slowly turned around with a very displeased look on his face and his ears were turning red. Ari reached into her satchel and brought out the book. Mr. Fawn walked over to her and took the book from her hands. He turned to go to his office when he quietly uttered the words "You are fired."

Ari could not believe her ears. After all the time she had spent helping him with inventories, packing, unpacking, organizing, and soliciting for his store he was going to fire her over a book. She had to speak up and say something. Something intellectual and full of wisdom. That's what she meant to do, but all she could say was "What the hell?!"

Mr. Fawn stopped in his tracks and turned to face her again. She certainly got his attention, but not in the fashion she had hoped for. She continued "You're going to fire me over taking a book out of the store that you know good and well I would have taken care of and brought back. You know I would do anything for this store and honestly if you didn't have me here to help you probably would be closed like all the other stores around here. What is so damn special about those books that you would fire me?" Mr. Fawn stared at her for a long time in silence as if pondering the validity of her words. In truth, Mr. Fawn was weighing his trust in Ari, who had broken her promise, but he did trust her more than he had trusted anyone in a long time. This plain teenager who had shown him how to better sort the items in his shop so that the most interesting items were in the windows and brought more people into the store. The plain teenager who had shown him how to value each item based on web market values and how to advertise online. Yes, he trusted her because she cared and had a big, curious heart. So, with a heavy sigh that made his shoulders relax, he said "Grab the other books and come into my office." Ari looked at him confused but did as she was instructed. Once inside his office she sat down in the chair in front of his desk, while he closed the door and took the seat behind the desk. He motioned her to hand him the remaining books which he stacked all together at the edge of the desk and placed his hand on top of them. He left it there as he explained. "There are things about me that I'm going to tell you that will not seem impossible, but I need you to hear them and trust me when I say it's all true. Can you do that?" Mr. Fawn asked.

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"Yeah, I think so" she answered as she scooted to the edge of her seat.

"Good, then let me start with where I'm from. You have read most of these books and have seen the creatures and places within. I know they may seem like science fiction to you, but it is a very real world called Aldatu." Ari's mind swirled with questions and curiosity was pounding in her chest, but she just sat quietly as Mr. Fawn went on. "Over sixty years ago, I was homeless on the streets barely getting by. I was in so much pain from hunger one day that I laid down in an alley and waited for death to take me. It was then that I noticed it. A glimmer of what looked like a geode stone coming from behind a tarp. I removed the tarp and found a rip through the concrete building. I don't know what made me think to do it, but I stepped through and was met with a world like ours in some ways, but very different in others. I walked what seemed like forever and came across a field full of strange plants. I picked up the closest one and started eating. I ate until the sun set and fell asleep there on the ground. I was awakened by a man I now know as Kollser. At first, I thought he was human too until I saw the shade of skin was a light blue and his eyes were completely black. I tried to back away, but he held up his hand and bent down to speak and he said to me 'The light welcomes you, I'm Kollser.' He went and asked how I had come to be in his field, so I told him everything. He took me into his home, clothed me, fed me, and said since I did not have a home I could stay if I choose to, or he would take me back to find the rip. It was easy for me to choose to stay, it wasn't like I had a life to go back to. Ten years went by, and I helped Kollser on his small farm and we lived a simple life. When we didn't have any chores to do, I would draw on any paper scraps I could find. Kollser saw that I had a bit of talent and bought me four books full of blank pages. He told me that there was a ruler who would pay us handsomely to record the creatures and places of Aldatu. I was eager to repay Kollser for his kindness and what had grown into a friendship, so I agreed. We packed only the things we needed and set off to record everything we could. Kollser would point out what was important, and I would draw sketches and any facts he knew. We learned quite a bit too, especially if we found a tribe or village with someone willing to talk to us. You would not believe some of the magical things we encountered, and we did not understand what they were doing to us. Kollser's skin turned a dark shade of blue and he grew wings on his back. I gained a pair of horns, my ears became pointed, and my nose was like a sheep's just like the Reekalf tribe. The Reekalf tribe were also the ones who made rips in the world to travel long distances easier, just like the one I used to enter Aldatu. See, the magic of Aldatu seeks to change those within its realm. Eventually, Aldatu brings out your true form." He paused and sighed but it was shaky. It was like the next part of his tale was going to be the hardest to say aloud.

He continued, "After we had collected for eight months, we brought our findings to the ruler to collect our payment and go back to the farm. However, when we got there, they seized Kollser and I. The books we had made were taken from us and we were taken down into the darkness of the dungeons beneath the Fortress and tortured without being told what our crime was. It was several days later, right after two guards had come to make sure that I had received new bruises and a cut above my eye, that I noticed they forgot to lock my gate when they left. Slowly, I got to my feet and went to Kollser's cell. He was barely conscious but managed to ask me to get him out of there. I nodded to him and crept down the hall towards the lights. I eventually found the way up the stairs and the first room I found was a giant room with a large table in the middle. The table held a map of Aldatu with tiny figures in many areas. When I moved closer, I noticed that the figures represented the ruler's armies and around the table I found the four books we had made. They had used the books to map every tribe they could take, every vulnerability they could exploit, and every obstacle they would need to avoid. We had made the perfect war instruments. Before I knew it, there were voices outside the room. I quickly grabbed the books and a bag laying nearby. I shoved the books in the bag and snuck out of the room, down the hall until I found a window. I jumped out and headed for the edge of the island that the Fortress sits on away from the mainland of Aldatu. I climbed down the rock cliffs while I thought of ways to rescue Kollser. I thought I would hide the books and find help to free him. But, when I got to the bottom of the cliffs and swam across the channel to the mainland, the alarm was sounded. I had no choice, but to run. For days, I hid and ran with barely any time to stop for rest or forage for food. I was almost caught by the ruler's troops many times. Finally, I made it back to the rip I had walked through almost five years ago. When I got there a crasem was waiting for me and it wore the insignia of the rule, a large golden claw, across its chest. It snapped at me its jaws at me and lunged to grab me. I knew what I had to do to save Aldatu and keep the ruler from destroying all the wondrous places and species we had met. But I also knew that I would be sealing Kollser's fate. I fought with myself over and over, but eventually I ran through the rip. When I came through on this side, I had reverted to my younger self, but I still had the books. I turned to the rip and closed it just like the Reekalf tribe had shown me." He looked at Ari then and slid his hands from atop the books. "The rip would stay closed for a day or two and then I would have to seal it back up again. One day I went searching through the bag I had brought through from Aldatu and found a large satchel of gold. I turned some into cash to buy this place and I invested the rest at the advice of a banker. It wasn't until I lived here that I noticed the rip didn't come back. I had brought the books with me and didn't think anything of it at first, but anytime I had opened the books outside they opened a rip back to Aldatu. It was then that I knew they had to be kept hidden away so that nothing could come through and that I couldn't go back." Mr. Fawn finally looked up at Ari then. Her mouth was slightly agape, and her skin was pale. "So, please tell me you didn't open the book up outside...."