THE LAST PAGE

Lena had always believed that stories held secrets, but she never expected to find one hidden in the blank pages of her grandmother's old book.

It was a stormy Sunday afternoon, rain tapping at the windows like impatient fingers. Lena curled up in her favorite armchair, the ancient leather-bound journal resting in her lap. The cover was worn, the spine cracked-evidence of years spent tucked away on dusty shelves. Inside, the pages were filled with her grandmother's elegant handwriting, stories of faraway lands and whispered legends.

But as Lena turned the last written page, she found something strange. The next page was blank-except for a single sentence scrawled in faded ink:
"If you can read this, you are ready."

Lena frowned. Ready for what? She traced the words with her finger, and as she did, a warm tingle crept up her arm. The room around her shimmered, the rain fading into silence. Before she could react, the world dissolved into a swirl of colors.

When the spinning stopped, Lena found herself standing in a meadow under a sky painted in hues of twilight. The air smelled of wildflowers and something electric-magic.

A voice, soft and familiar, spoke behind her. "Welcome, Lena."

She turned to see her grandmother, younger than Lena had ever known her, smiling with mischief in her eyes.

"Grandma?" Lena gasped. "Where are we?"

"The world between stories," her grandmother replied. "Where every blank page is a door, and every reader a traveler."

Lena's heart raced. "What do you mean?"
Her grandmother took her hand. "Some stories are meant to be lived, not just read. And you, my dear, have just written your own beginning."

With that, the meadow stretched before them, endless and alive with possibility. Lena realized she was no longer just a girl with a book. She was a character in her own adventure-and the next page was hers to fill.