In another aisle of the Midnight Library, Lucas discovered a book chronicling a life where his sister never drowned. With trembling hands, he read of family dinners, laughter, birthdays filled with joy—a world so vivid he could almost hear it. Then, the final chapter warned: “You may enter, but you cannot return.” As he stood before a door shimmering between the shelves, he faced an impossible cho...

Elena stumbled into the Midnight Library after chasing a flickering light through the fog. The shelves stretched endlessly, each spine whispering a name she knew—friends, family, strangers. Then she saw a book with her name, but unlike the others, its pages were blank. As she flipped through the emptiness, a sentence slowly appeared: “This is where you were never meant to be.” Terrified, Elena rea...

The elevator groaned as it carried Mira to the rooftop, past thirty-five floors of flickering lights and muffled televisions. When the doors slid open, the noise of the city thinned to a distant hum.

She stepped into the night air, the wind tugging at her coat. Below, the city stretched like an endless circuit board—streets glowing with rivers of headlights, windows burning like tiny stars. Up he...

The night was quiet except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. Amelia crouched down, a rag in her hand, scrubbing furiously at the stain spreading across the wooden boards. The smell of iron filled the air, sharp and metallic, clinging to her skin like guilt.

She paused, her breath hitching. A nervous laugh slipped from her lips.

“Gosh, I have to stop getting blood all ...