Short Story: The Midnight Library Collection: #2 The Backwards Library

 The Backwards Library

The book arrived on a Tuesday that felt like a Monday, wrapped in paper that seemed to be writing itself as Morgan Mansen unwrapped it. Most thirteen-year-olds would have tossed aside a package that behaved so strangely, but Morgan had always been different. She understood that objects, like stories, had their own peculiar magic.

"Another weird book?" Elias Plucky asked, not looking up from the complicated puzzle he was solving. At fourteen, he was the most practical person Morgan knew, which made their friendship both surprising and perfect.
The book's cover was bound in midnight-blue leather that shifted colour when touched, revealing glimpses of stories that hadn't been written yet, or perhaps had already been written and were simply waiting to be discovered.
"Not just a book," Morgan replied, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns that seemed to move beneath her touch. "Something more."
As the clock in her bedroom struck midnight, or was it midnight striking her? The book began to hum a melody that sounded like stories being told backwards. The brass numerals on the clock face began to flow like liquid metal, rearranging themselves into something that wasn't a clock at all, but a doorway.
Elias looked up, his puzzle forgotten. "That's not possible," he whispered.
"Impossible things happen all the time," Morgan said, her eyes fixed on the transforming clock.
The doorway opened with a sound like pages turning backwards, revealing a library that defied every rule of normal space and time. Bookshelves stretched in impossible directions, some hanging from the ceiling, others growing from the floor like magical trees. Books floated in mid-air, their pages turning themselves from end to beginning.
"Welcome," said a voice that sounded like whispers running in reverse, "to the Backwards Library."
The woman who stepped forward wore robes that shifted colour like autumn leaves falling upwards. Layla Nightwhisper moved with a grace that suggested she could walk forward and backwards simultaneously. Behind her, shelves of books continued to rearrange themselves, stories unwriting and rewriting in a constant dance of possibility.
"You're early," Layla said, though Morgan wasn't certain if she meant early in the day or early in their understanding of stories.
A figure emerged from between the shelves, tall and ethereal, with skin that seemed to be made of shifting shadows and eyes that held entire universes in reverse. "I am Fernellius," he said, "the keeper of stories that move backwards."
Fernellius gestured towards a reading area where books floated in mid-air, their pages turning themselves in reverse. Some volumes glowed brightly, others were pale and flickering, and a few seemed to be unwriting themselves in real-time.
"Every book here tells its story backwards," Fernellius explained. "Not just the words, but the entire experience of the tale. Characters begin at their endings and work their way towards their beginnings. Conflicts are resolved before they start. Happiness precedes the challenges that would typically create it."
A small, glowing creature no bigger than Morgan's thumb suddenly appeared on her shoulder, its gossamer wings shimmering in the library's ethereal light. "This is Echo," Layla said. "She helps guide stories to their proper flow."
Echo's voice was like the whisper of paper turning in reverse. "Some stories are waiting to be understood," she said. "Some are waiting to be unravelled."
Before either Morgan or Elias could respond, a book flew from one of the shelves and landed open on a reading table. Its pages glowed with an intense, golden light that seemed to pulse with living energy.
"Benson Blackfoot," Fernellius said, indicating the book. "A character trapped between the beginning and end of his own story."
Fernellius gestured towards a reading area where books floated in mid-air, their pages turning themselves in reverse. Some volumes glowed brightly, others were pale and flickering, and a few seemed to be unwriting themselves in real-time.
"Every book here tells its story backwards," Fernellius explained. "Not just the words, but the entire experience of the tale. Characters begin at their endings and work their way towards their beginnings. Conflicts are resolved before they start. Happiness precedes the challenges that would typically create it."
A small, glowing creature no bigger than Morgan's thumb suddenly appeared on her shoulder, its gossamer wings shimmering in the library's ethereal light. "This is Echo," Layla said. "She helps guide stories to their proper flow."
Echo's voice was like the whisper of paper turning in reverse. "Some stories are waiting to be understood," she said. "Some are waiting to be unravelled."
Before either Morgan or Elias could respond, a book flew from one of the shelves and landed open on a reading table. Its pages glowed with an intense, golden light that seemed to pulse with living energy.
"Benson Blackfoot," Fernellius said, indicating the book. "A character trapped between the beginning and end of his own story."
The book told a tale of a young adventurer who seemed to be simultaneously solving a mystery and creating the very mystery he was solving. In one moment, Benson stood triumphant, holding a magical artefact. In the next scene, he was carefully placing the same artefact in a hidden location, ensuring it would be found later, or was it earlier?
"He's caught in a temporal loop," Layla explained, her robes shifting like moonlight caught in a gentle breeze. "A story that moves both forwards and backwards, with no clear starting or ending point."
Elias leaned forward, his practical mind trying to make sense of the impossible narrative. "How can a story exist like that?" he asked.
Whisper, a figure made of starlight and possibility, emerged from between the bookshelves. Their form flickered between solid and translucent, much like Benson's story in the book. "Some stories are more complicated than simple linear narratives," they said. "Some tales are journeys that happen simultaneously in all directions."
Morgan felt a familiar tingling sensation - the one that always told her something extraordinary was about to happen. "We need to help him," she said, pointing to Benson's book. "He's trapped in a story that doesn't know how to resolve itself."Morgan felt a familiar tingling sensation, the one that always told her something extraordinary was about to happen. "We need to help him," she said, pointing to Benson's book. "He's trapped in a story that doesn't know how to resolve itself."
Whisper's starlight form flickered with understanding. "Benson Blackfoot is a character who exists in multiple moments simultaneously," they explained. "His story moves in all directions, forwards, backwards, sideways, creating a narrative that defies traditional storytelling."
The book before them showed Benson simultaneously solving a complex magical mystery and creating the very mystery he was investigating. In one moment, he stood triumphant, holding an ancient artefact that glowed with impossible light. In the next, he was carefully hiding the same artefact in a location that would ensure its future discovery.
"The challenge," Fernellius said, his voice carrying the weight of countless backwards-told tales, "is helping Benson understand that his story isn't broken. It's simply more complex than most."
Echo fluttered around the book, her tiny wings casting shadows that moved in reverse. "Some stories are labyrinths," she whispered. "Not meant to be read in a straight line, but explored like a magical puzzle."
Elias leaned forward, his practical mind wrestling with the impossible narrative. "How can someone be both the creator and solver of their own mystery?" he asked.
Layla Nightwhisper smiled, her robes shifting like moonlight caught in a gentle breeze. "The best stories," she said, "are the ones that challenge our understanding of how narratives should work."
Morgan's fingers traced the edges of Benson's book, feeling the way the pages seemed to breathe with potential energy. The story moved like water flowing in multiple directions - sometimes forwards, sometimes backwards, sometimes sideways in ways that defied logical understanding.
"Look," she said to Elias, pointing at a sequence of moments that were simultaneously happening and not happening. "Benson is creating the mystery and solving it at the same time."
In one moment, Benson stood atop a mountain peak, holding a crystalline artefact that pulsed with impossible light. In the next scene, he was carefully burying the same artefact in a hidden cave, ensuring its future discovery. The narrative twisted and turned, creating a complex tapestry of time and possibility.
"He's not trapped," Whisper said, their starlight form shifting like a story being rewritten. "He's experiencing a story that exists in all moments simultaneously."
Fernellius nodded, his ancient eyes reflecting the complexity of backwards storytelling. "Some narratives are more than simple linear experiences," he explained. "They are living puzzles, waiting for someone who can understand their true nature."
Echo fluttered around the book, her tiny wings casting shadows that moved in impossible directions. "The story wants to be understood," she whispered. "Not solved, but experienced."
Morgan understood something profound about Benson's story. It wasn't a linear journey but a complex web of moments interconnected in ways that defied traditional narrative structures. She watched as the book's pages turned themselves, revealing a story that existed simultaneously in multiple states.
"He's creating the mystery and solving it in the same moment," she said to Elias, her voice filled with wonder. "The artefact he finds is the same one he's hiding. The clues he follows are the ones he's already planted."
Elias leaned closer, his practical mind struggling to comprehend the impossible narrative. "That doesn't make sense," he muttered, but his eyes betrayed his fascination.
Whisper's starlight form shifted, showing glimpses of Benson's story from multiple perspectives. In one moment, he stood on a windswept mountain peak, the crystalline artefact glowing in his hands. In another, he was carefully burying the same artefact in a hidden mountain cave, ensuring its future discovery.
"Time is not a straight line in this story," Fernellius explained. "It's a circle. A spiral. A complex tapestry where beginning and ending are the same moment."
Echo fluttered around the book, her tiny wings casting shadows that moved in impossible directions. "Some stories are living puzzles," she whispered. "They want to be experienced, not simply read."
Layla Nightwhisper approached, her robes shifting like moonlight caught in a gentle breeze. "Benson's story is a reflection of how memory truly works," she said. "Not as a linear progression, but as a complex network of moments that exist simultaneously."
Morgan's understanding of Benson's story deepened with each moment she observed. The narrative was a living, breathing entity that existed beyond traditional storytelling constraints. She watched as the book's pages turned themselves, revealing a complex tapestry of moments that were simultaneously beginning and ending.
"The mystery is its own solution," she said to Elias, her voice filled with a mixture of wonder and understanding. "Benson is creating the very puzzle he's solving. Each clue he finds is one he's already planted. Each discovery is simultaneously a revelation and a memory."
Elias leaned closer, his practical mind struggling to comprehend the impossible narrative. "That's not how stories are supposed to work," he muttered, but his eyes betrayed his fascination.
Whisper's starlight form shifted, showing glimpses of Benson's journey from multiple perspectives. On a windswept mountain peak, he held a crystalline artefact that pulsed with impossible light. In the same moment, he was carefully burying the artefact in a hidden mountain cave, ensuring its future, or was it past? Discovery.
"Time is a circle in this story," Fernellius explained, his ancient eyes reflecting the complexity of backwards storytelling. "Not a linear path, but a spiral where beginning and ending are the same moment. Where memory and discovery exist simultaneously."
Echo fluttered around the book, her tiny wings casting shadows that moved in impossible directions. "Some stories are living puzzles," she whispered. "They breathe. They exist. They want to be experienced, not simply read."
Layla Nightwhisper approached, her robes shifting like moonlight caught in a gentle breeze. "Benson's narrative is a reflection of how memory truly works," she said. "Not as a simple progression from one moment to the next, but as a complex network of moments that exist all at once."
The book before them became a window into a world where time folded and unfolded like an impossible origami. Benson moved through his story, solving a mystery, creating a mystery, hiding clues, finding clues - all in the same breath, the same moment.
"He's not trapped," Morgan realised suddenly. "He's free. Completely and utterly free."