Since she was barely 5, Tonya has read thick novels that children her age has not even managed to read properly yet. She is now 13 now, all she does when she has no work to do is just read. Although Tonya is known to be very quiet  is mysterious. 

Tonya has a big imagination. Her world is just a big jungle of fantasy. Evey book she read, every character she imagined, they all live in the jungle. Her mom always said that her brain is not like others, Tonya’s mom always brag about how Tonya is going to be a good writer in the future. Her dad loves books also, hence it passed through Tonya. To her, books are doors leading to countless magic and fantasies, countless words floating around her world. 

Many people as young as her may have clothing stores or toy stores as their favorite place. But, not for Tonya. Tonya’s favorite place is a bookstore just a couple blocks away from her house. For her, this bookstore is her escape from the real world. She feels surreal everytime she goes there. Every book she touched is like gold. She sees herself as this generation’s King Midas. She feels like every book in the world has its own value, they are thousand times more valuable than gold as it holds information and imagination. She loves to feel the pages of every book, observe the covers, and do everything she absolutely can with a single book. When she opens the book, she sees words floating, scenes projecting, and emotions are felt. She read books as if they weren’t books, she treats them like they are movies. She always felt like she wasn’t reading. Tonya’s favorite way of reading is that she puts herself in the book, as if Tonya is a part of the book. She felt like she was not reading. Her mind is elsewhere, if she may say. 

10 years later, Tonya started writing her own book and owns a bookstore. She has the support from her friends and family. But, Tonya wants to run the bookstore alone without any help, she thinks that she needs to be responsible. Unfortunately, because she works so hard alone she started getting sick. Following that, because of the Covid pandemic, she became financially unstable as her bookstore experienced a drastic drop in economy. Not only that, she is now lonely, sick, broke and hopeless; she is also positive with Covid. She suffered Covid-19 and cardiovascular disease and started to lose hope. 

She started to think that she is hopeless and that she regret everything she had done back then, her low self esteem is possibly due to her past being very harsh. Her father is always an unsupportive important figure in her life, he wants Tonya to be a doctor, not a bookstore owner. She felt like her father was right all along. Not only that, she also experiences bully cases in her school saying that she is a nerd, a weirdo, and a bookworm. All she does that night is cry until she sleeps.

The next day, an amazing idea passed through her mind, she had an idea to keep her business going in the middle of a pandemic. She had an idea of having an online bookstore and not only that, she will also advertise her store and books on social media. Tonya also goes to books as an outlet/rebound from the real life.

Five months had passed, she recovered financially and her health condition got better. Tonya rebuilds her bookstore and finishes her own book and publishes it. She is now a well known writer and her book copy is literally sold everywhere. 

30 years later, Tonya passes on her bookstore to her kids. She is now a very happy woman and can prove to her father and bullies that she is not what they think she is. She dies peacefully after passing on her dream to her kids.

 

Crack. She heard something from the back of the door while she’s alone in her room. What is it? She slowly approached the door and could not believe what she saw behind the door, she saw everything she wanted as a child. Shelves filled with all kinds of books. She was so happy that she couldn’t stop smiling all day. She quickly approached the shelves to get a close look to the book, and there was one book that fascinated her the most. She then opened the book and started reading it. ...

“This book seems quite interesting, maybe I should give it a try.” She opened the hardcover book on her hands, a light suddenly shined from the book. Along with the light shining from the book, wind also blows from the book. As she read the first paragraph, she felt like she was already in a different world. “Once upon a time there was a magical world to come to you…” as she read it, she felt confused about the meaning of the word in the first paragraph that says “come to you..”

Then suddenly she teleported into a different world. She teleported inside the book, and felt very weird. She sees something that is very magical and it comes to her slowly. Still in shock because she is now in a magical world she has never seen before. “Where am i?”

Tonya had dreamed of owning a bookstore since she was a little girl reading under her covers by flashlight. She had traveled the world in those pages. To her, books were doors leading to different worlds. Whenever she opened a new book crisp from the store, she'd imagine herself entering through a gateway into the world of the book. 

One day, her imaginary gateway became all too real. It separated what once was the great line of what mankind describes as fiction. A blur is only seen through the lens of fantasy. A land beyond time, beyond imagination. She had only gone to that land one time during her lifetime, and she never got the chance to return. She got her dream bookstore, but she was nearing the late hours of her life and was surrounded by her closest friends and family. They were all crying their eyes out over her weakened body, and as she was about to draw her final breath, her gaze fell upon a book she used to read when she was a kid. 

Suddenly, her chest felt lighter and she was no longer on her deathbed. All she saw around her was the lush scenery of a land she had never been to before. She looked around a bit more and she saw a creature from her favorite book. Tonya went closer to the creature and tried to touch it. It got scared to see her but eventually, the creature got used to her. The creature has a very pretty color that warms up the body. The creature is painted with a mix of yellow and green stripes. Hence, Tonya decided to name her Greya. As weird as it is, after Tonya and Greya got used to each other’s presence, Tonya felt so happy around the creature. She could not stop petting the creature and admiring the beauty. The land around them only seemed to be becoming more beautiful with each passing moment. As if the world they were in spun around them. As if the all reason, cause, and meaning disappeared from the truly complicated world Tonya was just in, the humans’ world, bringing forth utter peace in that one moment.

“Thank you for being here, Greya,” said Tonya.

Hearing that, Greya’s green and yellow stripes turned into red and orange. She was very warm inside. She was glad that she could bring joy to Tonya. Sadly, that moment did not last forever. Just like how her childhood did not last forever, just like how time passed and Tonya grew, Greya was there for Tonya only for a moment. Through the moment they spent beautifully together, Tonya was reminded of how precious her time was as a kid. How she spent her time exploring a new world through her books, a world of fantasy. 

Tonya then tried to find a way back to her home. She tried every possible thing that she could do. And everything that she did has failed, she was still stuck in the wonderful world. Tonya shed her tears, drowning in sorrow, missing her old moment when she was a little kid. Suddenly, there is a beautiful woman, she appears in a cloud of magical shining dust. She told Tonya to drink a cup of tea and sleep right away. Tonya had nothing to do anymore, so she followed the beautiful woman that she believed was the Queen of the wonderful world. Tonya drank the tea then slept in her room. Tonya opened her comely eyes. She looked around. 

She realized that she fell asleep. In the bed where she read, She wondered and pondered upon the events that had just unfold. “A dream? A reality?” she questioned herself. “For whatever happened last night, it was truly a delight!” She remembers the trail of her adventure, promising to never forget. To never forget Greta, the beautiful Queen, the landscape, and the journey. From here on out Tonya, sets out for the interests of reading. Becoming a poet, perhaps a writer. As the power of literature can change a mind. A quilted story, can change a life.

Tonya had dreamed of owning a bookstore since she was a little girl reading under her covers by flashlight. She had traveled the world in those pages. To her, books were doors leading to her favorite fictional worlds, starting from the horror worlds of Stephen King to the magical worlds of J.K. Rowling. Books were Tonya’s only escape from reality.

Tonya isn’t doing really well in school and feels like her whole world is collapsing. In her darkest times, there was only one thing that she could lean on; her favorite fictional characters. She stayed up all night reading and re-reading her favorite novels, dreaming of meeting Edward Cullen, Hermione Granger or Tobias Eaton in real life just so she could feel the thrill of living inside these pages. But that was impossible.

Or so she thought.

As Tonya’s wish to meet her favorite character in her fictional world grew fondly, she started researching and reading if there was any way she could somehow shift her reality into that of her favorite fictional worlds. She stumbled upon a website with a huge banner explaining that “In reality shifting, you can insert yourself into an alternate reality through precise planning and meditation.” She followed all the instructions as precisely and as carefully as written on the site, and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, Tonya stood on an obscure path. It was dark and silent. A silent breeze brushed her hair. A rustling noise came from a near bush. Tonya stepped closer to the bush in curiosity. Suddenly, a lion leaped out of the bush and started roaring.

“Roooooaaarrrrr,” the lion roared loudly. Tonya’s skin turned white as snow as she stumbled backwards, trying very hard to not make any noise. Quite typically, she stepped on a twig and it snapped. The lion met her eyes. Tonya kept walking backwards as the lion approached her slowly.

“Don’t be afraid, dear child,” the lion spoke.

“You-You can talk…” Tonya trembled, still sliding her feet backwards.

“Of course I can. Can you?” The lion asked. 

“I-I...” Before she could fish a sentence out of her mouth, a small figure leaped out of the same bush.

“Aslan! There you are!” The figure spoke. When it came to the light, Tonya noticed that the figure was a little girl, and she seemed oddly familiar. Then it hit her.

“Lu-Lucy Pevensie…?” Tonya stammered.

“Oh, hi! I didn’t see you there,” Lucy said, cheerfully.

“Wait… Aslan?” Tonya pointed to the lion. The lion nodded. “Am I in…”

“Welcome to Narnia!” Lucy leaped into Tonya and hugged her legs.

“Narnia???” The look of shock and confusion was obvious on Tanya’s face.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” A voice appeared behind her. She quickly turned around to see another Pevensie sibling, Peter, the oldest one.

“Oh... Oh my…” Tonya stumbled for words.

“Oh, here you guys are. Who’s this?” Another voice appeared behind Tonya and she circled back. It was Edmund.

“I-I’m…”

“Is there a party I wasn’t invited to or something?” A girl appeared behind Edmund; Susan.

Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, and Aslan the lion. It seemed so real.

“I’m dreaming aren’t I?” Tonya can’t believe what she’s seeing. A sudden pinch stung her skin. She looked down to see Lucy grinning.

“Isn’t that what you do to check if you’re dreaming or not?” Lucy smiled innocently. Tonya was too confused to argue back.

“Did the shifting actually work?” Tonya talked to herself.

“What’s shifting?” Peter asked.

“Well, in my world, we somehow can put ourselves in another world, like yours right now. I didn’t think it could actually work.” Tonya looked up at the characters and they all looked as confused as she was.

“Why did you choose Narnia?” Edmund asked, unfazed by the whole situation.

“I didn’t make any choices…” Tonya thought. “I mean, my mom used to read me The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe every night before bed. I found comfort in your world.” Tonya said softly.

“What’s wrong with your world, child?” Aslan spoke.

“Everything…” Tonya began to speak. She and the supposedly fictional characters walked together down the snowy paths of Narnia. Tonya told them about the struggles of her reality and how she had to find an escape before she further hurts herself. The characters felt bad for her and consoled her, even though they have no idea what she was talking about. Then, an idea struck Tonya.

“I want to say,” she said confidently.

“What?”

“I’m deciding to live here, forever!” Tonya cheered, and everyone gasped, horrified. 

“You wouldn’t dare! What about your world? You can’t possibly leave everything behind...right?” Edmund questioned, and he much hoped that he'd get a reasonable answer, or at least he thinks she must’ve been bluffing. 

“My world isn’t worth living anymore, and I have found comfort with all of you, so it’s the right thing for me to do to live here, with everyone!” Tonya rambles, gleefully.  

“I hope that you’re not being serious there,” Aslan said, “I should’ve known that you grew too attached to us on the way here. I know it hurts to hear this, but you aren’t supposed to be here for long.” 

“That is certain, Aslan is right,” Lucy sighs. “Humans from the real world only visit their fictional world just for a tad bit of time, and it's very harmful to you to live here, considering visitors from the real world only last long for a week, and then, gone!” She exaggerated with hand gestures, and Tonya’s eyes widened. “I assume… I still don’t understand anything,” Lucy confessed innocently. Tonya tries to refute. 

“Well….I’m not like the others! And I am convinced that I would survive longer, stronger, and better than they do!” Tonya huffs and stomps in anger. But, looking at her fellow Narnia friends, they seem to give worried glances to each other, then to Tonya, and Tonya’s heart shrank. 

She feels frightened. Should she really go back to her reality? Would it be worth living there, instead of living here in her favorite fantasy world? She had a dilemma at first, but she is sure that she would want to go back to her world, right? 

She lists out the possible outcomes if she chose to go back, but she couldn’t think of any. “I can’t think of anything worth living for in my world…”

“What about your mother and father?” Peter asked. “You don’t want to worry them. We would know, we learned that the hard way,” Peter looks at his siblings.

“Yes, and you know well of the dangers of Narnia. The wars, the evil creatures. You have a safe life out there waiting for you to live it!” Susan said with a warm smile on her face.

“Besides, if what you said about us just being ‘characters in a book’ is true, doesn’t that mean we’re all going to be there for you wherever you are?” Edmund cracked a small smile.

“I guess you have a point…” Tonya agreed.

“We’ll always be here whenever you need us, Tonya! Just crack open our book and meet us again!” Lucy giggled. Tonya found herself smiling and missing her mother.

Tonya took a while to consider the choice. Finally, she gave in and sighed. “Alright, then. I’m going back to my world. Thank you for welcoming me. It was very fun meeting all of you. I hope we could meet again,” Tonya said. 

“Our pleasure Tonya!” Lucy said. Tonya walked away, waving goodbye to her new friends. Out of nowhere, she found herself laying on her bed. She sat up and looked around her room. A book had fallen from her bookshelf. She picked it up and smiled at the title;  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. She stepped out of her bed, and ready to start her day.

No matter how hard she tried to deny herself of that ever happening, she never could forget about the time she met the Pevensie siblings and Aslan the lion from Narnia. From that moment on, she was determined to be surrounded by her most favorite characters and novels; those that can bring her comfort wherever and whenever she wanted. Just a few years later, she built her own bookstore to share that feeling with others who are trying to find an escape from the cruelties of reality in the safety of lines and pages.

        In her mid-20s Tonya began a real life adventure. She started in Paris. Tonya suffered a boring life, because … umm… ah… she was lonely. She has no family. They were separated when she was born. She travelled to the port city of Callais and boarded a ship. The ship was destined for Morocco. The scene in Tangiers was chaotic but she met a guy named Randy. 

Randy is short, and decent. He’s Morroccan and speaks French fluently. He’s a good guy. He has a motor bike, and him and Tonya leave the port. They go to Randy’s house and start talking, getting to know each other and Randy is French too. They start planning an adventure. They will travel by motorbike. They are going south. They will enter the Atlas Mountains and continue into the wild Western Sahara. They should be prepared, so the next morning should be a good choice… maybe 6 AM.

Someone has to sleep on the sofa since Randy has a small apartment. They use Rock - Paper - Scissors to decide. Randy loses. Tonya gets to sleep in the bed.

There was a rustling sound -- and Randy’s motorbike was damaged by a storm. Their adventure shifts to finding parts in Tangiers to repair motor bike. First, they’ve got to get some breakfast. Coffee, juice, baguette, and there is butter on the table. They eat breakfast quietly. 

They get on a bus. And--they crowd onto a fall bus until they reach the parts shop. They buy the parts, and take the motor bike to shop. 

They drive around town a bit then go back to Randy’s home and watch TV. Tonya decides to stay in Morocco and open a book story.  

Her favorite book was titled Jack and the Beanstalk which her grandma gave her as a present. But her book was stolen from her. She’s freaking out and feels very sad. Therefore, she embarked on a mission to find this beloved book of hers. The next day she prepares all the gears she needed and goes to find her stolen book. She was very determined in getting her book back, as she left bright and early in the morning. She marched her way through town, studying every person she saw, eyeing every nook and cranny in search of her beloved book.

It was until she saw a particular object in the distance that she recognized the color of. But she forgot what it was, so she ignored the thing and continued her journey. As she walked to the beach, the strong scent of the sea sent clouds scudding through the sky. She took a sip of the seawater and immediately regretted it. She did not know what she was thinking. She looked left and right, making sure nobody saw what she did, but she then spotted a person across the beach, holding a familiar book. She made sure to take another sip of the seawater before approaching that person holding that familiar book. 

As Tonya sauntered towards the mystery man, he immediately vanished into thin air, leaving a message on the ground that said: "meet me at the library by 9 PM." The man suddenly appeared out of thin air and left another casual remark on the ground that said: "make sure no one is following you" and vanished into thin air again. She was left aghast but nevertheless, she let her feet drag her to the library. It’s 9.00 PM sharp when she arrived at the library, her heart beating fast inside her chest as she opened the door. A colossal beanstalk materialized through the floor and consumed everything in its path. It was an old library with flickering lights, and Tonya wanted to leave as fast as she could. But not without her book. As she walked down the bookstore hallway, she saw the man standing in the middle of the library with the book in his hand. As soon as she saw the man with the book, she wanted to come to that man but she was scared. But because she wanted her book back, she forced herself to move her feet and take her book back from that man. As she walked towards that man, her heart started to palpitate furiously and a sense of extreme nervousness dawned on her. 

After experiencing what seemed to be the most primal fear, she finally stood face to face with that man. She was surprised when she saw that the man was her grandfather, but then she realized that her grandfather passed away when she was younger. When she was about to take her book from her grandfather, she heard a very loud and unpleasant sound. She immediately woke up and realized that it was all a dream, and that loud sound was her alarm. After suddenly waking up, she immediately ran to her bookshelf  to check if her book was still there. Tonya was very relieved when she saw her favorite book on her bookshelf. From then on, she kept her book in a safer place so that it would not get stolen. 

Tonya had dreamed of owning a bookstore ever since she was a little girl, reading under her covers with a flashlight. She travelled the world in those pages. To her, books were doors leading to exciting adventures and fantastic creatures. There was nothing she loved more than the world of make-believe, where the impossible became possible, the unusual became usual, and only the depths of her imagination limit the steps of her journeys. 

Flashforward 28 years later, she grabs the keys out of her pocket and unlocks the door of her very own bookstore. It was small, no bigger than 300 square meters. She named it “The Shop Around the Corner,” inspired by the 1940 movie with the same name and its remake, You’ve Got Mail. While the bookshop isn’t located in the fancy Upper West Side of New York City like in the movie, it’s still charming and full of personality. The store has a warm and inviting atmosphere, with exposed brick walls, rustic wood bookshelves, and fairy lights. A bouquet of roses sits prettily on the counter, and little figurines of famous literary characters decorate the bookshelves. 

When the clock on the wall read 9:00 AM, she flipped the yellow sign hanging on the glass door from closed to open. It takes a while for customers to finally come in, but when they do, the bookstore becomes all the more lively. Observing from behind the counter, Tonya sees a young girl with blonde hair pick up The Wind in the Willows, a book that Tonya remembers reading after she got it as a gift on her 10th birthday. Another young boy with big, rounded glasses struggles to carry a whole stack of books all by himself, a sight that makes Tonya chuckle. 

A couple of hours after the store opened, a young girl walks into the store. She goes straight to the counter and stands in line. After the customer in front of her finished paying and receives their receipt, she takes a step forward. 

Tonya smiles and greets the young girl as she does with any other customer, “Good morning, can I help you with anything?” 

She smiles back and answers Tonya’s question, “Hi, I’m supposed to get this book for a school assignment. I was wondering if you could help me find it.” She showed Tonya the title of the book that she’d written on a piece of paper. 

“I think we have that one, wait here just a moment.” After a few minutes, Tonya comes back and gives the book to the young girl. She murmurs a thank you. “You don’t sound too excited to read it,” Tonya points out jokingly. 

The young girl puts on a faint smile. “I’m not much of a bookworm. Books are a bit boring if I have to be honest. I just read them when I have no choice.” Tonya, being an avid reader, was a bit taken aback, but also intrigued by what she said. “Maybe you just haven’t read anything you enjoyed.” 

“Maybe,” she shrugs. “I just don’t know where to start. My friends aren’t really bookworms either, so I don’t get a lot of recommendations.” 

“Well, you are in a bookstore. Why don’t you go explore?” 

Exploring from edge to edge of the bookstore, Tonya accompanies the young girl, Lily, she found out her name was, to find books that she might like. After scouring the store for almost half an hour, they return to the counter with Lily carrying a stack of books. 

In the midst of scanning the books, Tonya says to Lily, “Books are special. Once you find your favourite one it’s gonna stick with you forever.” Lily smiles in response, eager to get home and read the books she bought, wondering which one would be her favourite. 

Tonya remembers a quote, one that stuck with her ever since she heard it for the first time. She says it to Lily, “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, they’re the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” 

After cautiously putting her books inside her tote bag, Lily doesn’t forget to thank Tonya. She heads for the door. When she put her hand on the door handle, she turns back when she hears Tonya call out her name. 

“Don’t forget to come back when you’re finished with those books. There are a lot more books waiting for you here,” Tonya says while pointing at the bookshelves. Lily smiles, almost giggling, and says thanks to Tonya once more. She opens the door and steps outside, memorizing the steps to the bookstore to keep her promise to visit again. 

Once the store was uncrowded once again, I returned to the bookshelf and reentered the room to find that the book was left opened and now visibly seen with words and illustrations. The book talked about parallel universes and their bewildering intricacies, but as I read through the pages, it seemed that a page has been torn off. As I pondered upon how this page might have gone lost, Greig and Greig Jr. emerged once again out of thin air. With sudden and vehement admonishment, they told me that I should take caution and make haste. They stipulated that I use the book to alter time in the Divine Dimension and take them back with me to Lake Leaucaux, where the truth about father will be unveiled and uncover everything that I should have known since long ago. I was substantially perplexed by everything that they said and more prominently by what it all meant. None of the things nor names they said sounded familiar to me. I was the most dazed that I ever was. Before I could open my mouth, the alleged CCTV management men entered the room. It did not take me long to realize that they were not who they claimed to be and that they too knew something about all this. It appeared that only one man from the three was able to see and hear Greig, with the other two unable to do so. Greig informed me that he recognized Rickard as being from the Divine Dimension, where he was banished for treason and depravity. I did not know which from the men Rickard was, but judging from their demeanor, it became apparent that he was the seemingly daunting man standing in the middle. Once again, now more clamorous than before, Greig and Greig Jr. imposed on me to make haste and to read a particular passage from a particular page from the book. The men stayed silent but made footsteps to approach me with unsettling stares. I felt as if I were trapped and with a lack of forethought intensified by immense fear, I did exactly what Greig and Greig Jr. told me to do. Yet just as I was about to read out the last word of the passage, Rickard grabbed my arm and all four of us got transported into another world. 

At first, I was delirious and puzzled but I soon recovered whilst hearing Rickard’s evil laugh. From my discomposed self, he snatched the book from my arms, thanked me insincerely for my help, something by which I was still exceedingly befuddled, and departed as fast as he could. From behind, Greig and Greig Jr. exhibited such disoriented faces and did not waste any time to take me directly to Lake Leaucaux. My mind was still beyond addled by this all, but as my existential thoughts rapidly consumed me, I saw father from afar. He seemed healthy and happy, just like the last time I saw him. My disruptive thoughts dissipate at once as I ran to his arms and go into his embrace. Feelings of joy and dejection were all submerged within me. I was at a loss of words, something at which I was usually adept. Father reassured me that he is well, but warned me about the possession of the book. He explained how Rickard has spent all his life trying to find, acquire, and ultimately destroy the book for the reason that when the book is burned, by which it is impossible to do unless studied from reading it, the ashes from it will allow him to gain omnipotent powers. Father explained that Rickard has always wanted to use the powers of the book for evil, as the book possesses the ever so abundant and powerful forces of the whole universe. Thus, should it fall into his own very hands, he would become invincible and the universe as they know it would be controlled by none other than forces of wickedness.

It turned out that father had been trying to prevent such a thing from occurring throughout the majority of his lifetime, and his untimely death was caused by Rickard’s malevolence. He whispered to me in his soft voice that it is now my time to continue the fight that he has carried out and he apologized for having to put such a burden onto his beloved daughter. He wished that he had told me sooner, but I know he was only doing what he thought was best for me, and for that I will always be grateful. And so there I was. An average teenage girl whose life was once like any other turned into bestowed protector of the universe in the blink of an eye. Shocked and overwhelmed would be a grotesque understatement. I did not know what I was necessitated to do nor how exactly it is I was going to do so, but I did know that I could not waste another second and so I asked father what I should do. He told me that I should trust Greig and Greig Jr. to guide me and to always follow my intuition. Just as I wanted to seek more guidance, he vanished ever so abruptly. I was shattered once again, but now the ever more determined to make him proud. So where do I go from here? That I am not certain of, but what is certain is that that day was definitely not mediocre nor mundane.

But then, a boy came and bullied her. She cried and she now has an objective. Which is to avenge him by reading a lot of books and getting smarter. 10 years later, she became the CEO of a large bookstore and showed that boy that that she can be more successful than him