There was no turning back now. Danny’s heart beat like a kick drum in his chest because he was on his own, he was breaking the rules, and he would do whatever it took to find his sister.
DANNY WAS MANY THINGS. He was a chameleon who could fade into the background. He was a good student. He was an orphan. And now he was a runaway.
For what seemed like the longest minute of his life, Danny watched the school bus drive away. How long would it take before anyone noticed that he wasn’t in his seat? Would they turn right around? Or would they get all the way back to Staten Island before Ms. Esposito looked over to see that Danny wasn’t there?
A terrible feeling filled his chest as he imagined what might happen to him. Where was he going to sleep? He’d never taken public transportation on his own and he didn’t have enough money to buy more than one meal. But he’d have to handle that later. After a whole two years he finally had proof that Pili was somewhere. She had held this very book and written her name down in the card.
Danny pulled open the heavy library door and stepped back inside, holding the clothbound book tightly in his arms. He’d never owned anything that cost much. His clothes were all hand-me-downs, and the times he’d been given gifts for Christmas or his birthday, they had usually been shoes and socks and underwear. For the first time, he understood what the word priceless meant. Rare.
The lobby of the New York Public Library was the same as it had been earlier that morning. Tourists still took pictures next to stone pillars and on the ancient-looking steps. A bald man with olive-toned skin carried a tote bag full of books past him. The tote bag read I HATE TOTE BAGS.
Danny chuckled to himself and took a moment to figure out his next move. For the moment, he was safe. Even though he’d done a reckless thing, part of him felt free. He was away from the Garners. Away from everything he knew. He should feel more afraid, but the promise of finding out more about this book fueled him. All he needed now was someone to believe his story. Believe in him.
He took a final steadying breath and walked past a group of women in flowery skirts and several college-aged kids who looked like they hadn’t slept in days. The library smelled like air conditioner and that strange smell old paper has. The lights were fluorescent and had a white tinge that made him feel exposed. He stopped in front of one of the librarians at the nearest counter. He cleared his throat but she didn’t look up at anyone who walked by, not even Danny, who was right in front of her. No one had noticed him all day except for the girl in the yellow dress. He regretted not having waited for her. He wished he’d gotten her name. Then it occurred to him. He could ask for Anjali! The librarian with the lemon-printed dress. She had known all about rare books. Sometimes it helped to retrace your steps in order to remember things. The last time he’d seen her she’d been on the second floor.
He walked slowly toward the stairs and noticed a large group of security guards. Danny heard the static of a walkie-talkie.
“Code … in the building …” a voice came through the walkie-talkie interspersed with static. Though he couldn’t understand everything through the bad connection, the person on the other end of the radio sounded urgent. He’d watched enough cop shows to know that “codes” stood for something. What if the code was about the missing book? What if they arrested him before he had a chance to explain? Danny couldn’t tell them that he’d run away from his field trip, that he’d been left behind and he had a mysterious book that he had definitely not stolen from the display case. Worst of all, he couldn’t admit to seeing things. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that adults did not like it when kids told the truth, because it always sounded like a made-up story.
He was beginning to think that he’d made a series of very grave mistakes. As the security guards spread out, carefully watching the library patrons, Danny made his way to the stairs. He kept his eyes on the ground and, though he tried to remain calm, his heart felt like a brick in his throat as he ascended the steps.
The halls were empty. His sneakers made squeaky noises the faster he walked. He stuck his head in the map room, but there was only a family of four taking pictures. With flash. The security guard from earlier didn’t seem to be around. He looked into two more rooms, but there was no sign of Anjali.
He went back down the other corridor to the room where the book had been on display. With each step, he hoped the golden arrows would appear, but when he reached the end of the hall, there was nothing but ordinary marble floors. He jostled the doorknob but it was locked.
“Oh no,” Danny said breathlessly. He held the book at eye level. Magic was unpredictable, he knew that from the stories he’d read. “Now would be a good time to open the door again.”
The slightest hope the book might somehow be a wishing genie vanished. He heard the static of security guards in the distance. He was going to be caught red-handed. All the warnings that Mrs. Contreras had given him piled up in his mind. Be good. Behave. Don’t do anything crazy. How he hated that word, crazy. It was only used by people who didn’t believe him.
He couldn’t give up yet. He couldn’t leave the library without finding out why his sister had checked out this book. Even if it meant hiding from security. He marched back up the hall and tried each doorknob. They were all locked!
“Come on,” Danny muttered. His belly felt like there were worms twisting themselves into knots. He heard heavy boot steps coming upstairs.
He tried one more door. It was one of the rooms he’d accidentally stumbled into earlier. The walls were crowded with old books. Curtains were held open by fringed cords. Two wooden tables were stacked with letters, papers, pens, magnifying glasses. One desk had an old-fashioned-looking phone, the kind he’d only ever seen in movies, and lamps with thick green glass. This room smelled old. One librarian had once told him that the smell of books actually came from moldy paper. He didn’t care if it was book mold or not. That scent always made him think of Pili.
Then he realized he wasn’t alone.
Standing in the corner, holding a scroll of paper, was the girl in the yellow dress!
“It’s you!” he said.
She froze at the sight of him, her big brown eyes crinkled at the corners. “Of course it’s me! Where did you go?”
In all his life, he’d never seen a girl wear so many bright colors all at once. It felt like every time he looked at her, he noticed something new. A plastic blue watch on her wrist. Dozens of rainbow jelly bracelets on her right arm. A small metallic book pin on the top of her dress that reminded him of the badges Girl Scouts might get. She set the scroll down on the biggest desk near the back wall.
Danny felt a bit sheepish, but he walked closer to her desk station. He took a deep breath and explained. “I’m sorry I left. I was scared. I thought you were going to call security.”
She didn’t seem upset. If anything, she was amused. Danny was so used to being a disappointment and letting people down that he wasn’t ready for how understanding this girl was. “Well, we did have to call security since you took the book.”
“I didn’t take it,” Danny said quickly. Then he paused. If this girl rejected him like the others, he had nowhere to go and no one else to turn to. “At first, I thought that my foster brothers had pulled a prank on me. They do things like that. But they wouldn’t have had a chance to go all the way back inside. Freddy and Teddy are sneaky, but I don’t think they know how to pick a lock, no matter how many action movies they watch.”