Droply 
The library had no sign above its door, and it only appeared after dark.
Theo found it on a rainy Thursday evening, on the way home from his cousin's house. He had taken a shortcut down a narrow lane he'd never noticed before, and there, between a bakery and a shoe shop, stood a tall, old building with warm yellow light glowing in its round windows.
The door was painted deep blue and covered in tiny silver stars. It was open, just a crack.
Theo hesitated. Then he stepped inside.
The first thing he noticed was the smell: old paper, candle wax, and something sweet, like lavender. The second thing he noticed was the silence. Not an empty silence, but a soft, comfortable one, like the quiet of snow falling.
Shelves stretched up and up, higher than he could see, full of books of every size and color. Some were as small as matchboxes. Some were as big as doors. Ladders on little wheels leaned against the shelves, and here and there, candles floated gently in the air, lighting the way.
"Welcome," said a voice.
Behind a curved wooden desk sat a librarian. She was small and round, with silver spectacles and a cardigan the color of the evening sky. A sleepy gray cat lay curled up beside her inkwell.
"Is this… a library?" asked Theo.
"It is," said the librarian. "The Library of Dreams. Every book on these shelves holds a different dream. You may borrow one each night."
Theo looked around in wonder. "What kinds of dreams?"
"All kinds," she said, with a small smile. "Dreams of flying over mountains. Dreams of swimming with whales in warm blue seas. Dreams of quiet cabins in the snow, and picnics in sunny meadows, and conversations with friendly dragons. But every book here has one thing in common." She tapped the desk gently. "They are all peaceful. There are no bad dreams in this library. I make sure of it."
Theo walked slowly along the shelves, reading the titles on the spines. The Lighthouse Keeper's Cat. A Summer Afternoon in a Hammock. The Cloud Garden. Sailing Home by Moonlight. Each title made him feel a little calmer, a little sleepier.
At last, he found one that seemed to glow just slightly brighter than the rest. It was a small green book with a golden leaf on the cover. The title read: The Forest That Hums.
He brought it to the desk. The librarian looked at it and nodded approvingly. "A very good choice," she said. "That one is especially restful."
She stamped the inside cover with a stamp shaped like a crescent moon. "You don't need to read it," she explained. "Just put it under your pillow tonight. The dream will find you. And in the morning, the book will find its own way back here."
"Can I come back tomorrow?" asked Theo.
"The library will be here," she said. "Whenever you need a peaceful dream, just look for the blue door."
Theo walked home through the rain, holding the little green book safely under his coat. At home, he brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas, and slipped the book under his pillow.
As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard it: a low, gentle hum, like a hundred bees in a summer garden, or wind in the tops of tall pines.
He was standing in a forest. The trees were enormous and ancient, with soft green moss on their trunks, and the whole forest was humming a quiet song. Sunlight fell in golden stripes between the leaves. A path of soft pine needles led deeper in, and Theo followed it, slowly, with nowhere he needed to be.
He found a patch of moss in a sunbeam and lay down. Above him, the leaves swayed. The forest hummed. And Theo drifted into an even deeper sleep, inside his dream.
When he woke up in the morning, the green book was gone from under his pillow. Only a single golden leaf remained, tucked into the pillowcase.
He kept it on his windowsill, to remind him.
Maybe tonight, somewhere nearby, a blue door covered in silver stars is waiting for you too. Choose any dream you like. Put it under your pillow. And let it find you.
Good night.
