The Library With a Secret

In a quiet lane near the corner sweet shop in Gurgaon, there stood an old building with tall green gates and faded bricks. Most people walked past it without noticing, but I never could. A small, hand-painted board hung over the entrance. It read:
"Gulmohar Community Library – Established 1957"

I had always thought libraries were places full of dusty books and boring silence. But this one felt different—even magical.

One summer afternoon, after my tuition class ended early, I wandered through the gates. The moment I stepped inside, a strange breeze brushed my face, even though there was no fan or window open. Rows of bookshelves greeted me, tall and packed with books that smelled like rain on old paper. A tiny bell rang as the librarian looked up. She was an elderly lady with a kind smile and silver hair tied in a neat bun.

"Hello," she said gently, "You must be Parth. We’ve been waiting."

That confused me. Waiting? I had never visited before.

She handed me a book without asking what I liked. It was titled “The Boy Who Could Hear Stories.” I opened the first page, and something unbelievable happened—the words began to move. They shimmered and danced, rising off the page like mist. Suddenly, I wasn’t in the library anymore. I was standing in a jungle, next to a talking parrot and a boy who looked just like me.

It was a story—but I was inside it.

For what felt like hours, I explored magical forests, helped lost creatures, and even solved a riddle from a wise owl. When I finally turned the last page, I found myself back in the library. My shirt had jungle mud on it, and a small leaf was stuck in my shoe.

The librarian didn’t seem surprised. “You chose the right book,” she said. “That’s the secret of this library—every book is a doorway.”

I gasped. “So it’s not just stories?”

She nodded. “Every reader finds the book meant for them. Some get adventures. Some get answers. Some just find themselves.”

From that day, I visited the Gulmohar Library every week. I never told anyone at school because… well, would you believe it if someone told you their library had portals?

Each visit, the librarian handed me a different book. One week I traveled underwater to help a dolphin find its family. Another week, I became a robot on a planet with no humans. And once, I even met a version of myself from the future, who reminded me to always be kind and curious.

But one day, the green gates were shut tight. A notice said the library was under renovation and would reopen "when the time is right." I waited for weeks. Then months. It never reopened.

Now, whenever I pass by that lane, I stop and look at the old gate, half hoping it might creak open again. My friends think it’s just an old building. But I know the truth.

Because somewhere, in a quiet corner of my city, there’s a library with a secret.
And I was one of the lucky few who discovered its magic.