It all began with a silver thread. Ava saw it, glistening in the sunlight: a ribbon looped around an old book on the very top shelf. It was much too high for her to reach, but something kept telling her that she must get to that book.
Ava always spent Saturdays perched on the window seat in the back corner of the public library, surrounded by books. She loved the way the sun beamed through the stained glass window, casting a lattice of golden light across her body. She loved that no one ever came to the 100 section (“Philosophy and Meaning,” said the sign at the end of the aisle), so she could read in peace. She loved the way the silence settled over her like a quilt. She loved the way it felt both jarring and exhilarating when she saw herself reflected on the page. She loved losing herself in extraordinary stories, escaping from her ordinary life — and then, one crisp fall Saturday morning, she saw a twinkle of silver, and something extraordinary happened to her…