The school library was coolly twilight and silent. Maja was counting patterns on the carpet, waiting for Olek. It was after school and the rain was drumming against the windowsills. Maja liked to stay here longer because the books whispered with titles. Then bookcase seven sighed and slid out an inch. From between the volumes she felt a breeze, as if someone had opened a window. Maja knelt down, touched the back wall and withdrew her hand. The wood pulsed under her fingers, like a calm sheet of water. Olek came running over with a key torch. He shone it into a crack between the books. It smelled of dust, but also of something fresh, like after a storm. The light disappeared, as if it had fallen into the depths. Maja slipped the bookmark in and pushed open the hardcover volume. The page rattled and the bookcase unfolded like a curtain. Numbers they hadn't seen before glittered on the spines. Behind it flicked a corridor of letters, hanging in the air. The letters arranged themselves into steps, leading towards the glow. - 'I think that's a portal,' whispered Olek, but his voice trembled. On the other side swayed a forest of blue trunks. Fish swam between the trees, leaving streaks of sparks. A square map fell from a shelf and unfolded itself. The arrow moved and stopped on the word Enter. Maja threw the eraser; it didn't fall, but hovered over the threshold. From the library came the closing bell and Mrs Irene's footsteps. The shimmer accelerated and the steps began to disappear one by one. - 'We decide now or never,' said Maja. Then a shadow slid out of the woods and said their names.