The Disappearing Letters
Their fingers brushed over the spines of countless books. Suddenly, John’s hand stopped on an ancient, leather-bound volume, with the title “Julie and John and the Disappearing Letters”.
He pulled the book from the shelf and blew dust away. Adorned with intricate patterns and strange symbols, the cover showed two young adventurers in a strange forest – they looked familiar.
“Hey, Julie, look at this,” he whispered.
Julie leaned in, her eyes widening with curiosity. “Is that us? They can’t be – the book looks old? I wonder what’s inside.”
They walked to a desk and sat down together. John opened a random page. He looked down.
John read this sentence.
He clapped the book shut.
“What?” Julie asked.
“I just read, ‘John read this sentence’. I read what was happening!”
“See if it happens again!”
John opened the book further into the story.
He closed his eyes and placed his finger on the story, and then opened them.
John read this sentence.
He slammed the book shut again. “It happened again! What does that mean?”
Julie thought for a moment. “I think this book is about us and it is the adventure we are now going on!”
“And if that’s true,” John continued, “then we cannot read this book – it will only tell us we are reading it!”
“Yes, I suppose you are right. Then our adventure must relate to another book!”
They returned to the shelf and browsed the spines.
“John, I like this title – Are All the Great Bookworms Dead? – it sounds like a mystery we should work together to solve.”
John nodded. So, Julie picked the book from the shelf, and they headed back to the desk, and opened the book to the first page of the story.
Julie gasped. “Wow, what a great start!”
“I know! A dog dragon, a starving, near-death, Great Bookworm. Did you notice some letters in the text have disappeared?”
They both turned their heads towards the book they had previously opened: ‘Julie and John and the Disappearing Letters’.
They both looked at each other.
Julie blinked. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, but we need to find out.” John instinctively turned to the end of the book, where the pages were blank – all the letters had disappeared. “It seems the letters are truly disappearing. Maybe we have to help Memorex?”
If you are interested in reading more about the adventure of Julie and John and the Disappearing Letters by Jeffrey Pennyfeather, then click the button below, where you will be taken to the story collection 'Bright Futures 2024'