Mia McKay pulled the family minivan in front of the library. "Come on, girls," she said, opening the door and taking Bibi out of her car seat.
Inside, Jenny the Librarian already had a small crowd of kids gathering. She had a pile of books, a story of her own, and, in her handbag, the wishing stone.
Jenny smiled at that. She loved children. That was why she'd become a children's librarian.
She turned and spotted a red-haired woman and an African American girl, and froze. Those two had been in her house this morning, hadn't they? She paused. No, that was Stephie's mom and Zahara. She clutched her head. Today had been very trying on her.
It had been a Goth woman in her house...
Stephie and Zahara moved to find seats in the front of the reading room, and Walter sat with them. Walter's voice had shot up in pitch, and he was giggling with the other two girls as they whispered enthusiastically. Clearly, the three were becoming tightly knit.
Jenny quieted the room and began to tell her first story...it was one about a boy and his best friend. The boy received a mysterious package from his grandfather...
"...and inside, was this," she said, holding up the paperweight from her desk at home. It was a reddish rock she'd picked up somewhere or another. She placed it next to her.
