The Door to Secrets

Ava wasn’t supposed to be in the museum after hours, but the guard had seen her wandering

the city in that dark mauve blazer — the one that made her look like she ran the world —

and assumed she belonged anywhere she stepped. So he’d simply nodded her in.

The museum at night was a different creature: quiet, glowing, full of secrets.

Ava’s heels clicked softly as she wandered past marble statues and gold-framed paintings.

Everything felt still… until it didn’t. A shimmer rippled across the giant

mural at the end of the hall. Ava blinked. The mural blinked back.

Before she could gasp, the painted city inside the frame began to glow.