The Vanishing Staircase

The Vanishing Staircase

There was this new library in the neighborhood which was opened very recently. Anu’s parents took her there on a Saturday morning and it was a wonderful world in itself! Anu is 6 years old and enjoys everything other than reading!

The library was on the first floor and to reach it, there was this spiral staircase. The staircase was made of strong iron and was painted blue in color. Anu held the handle tight for grip and climbing it was an adventure by itself which she thoroughly enjoyed!

After about 15-20 steps, the staircase ended and then came the entrance to the library. They had to remove their footwear outside and once inside, the librarian welcomed them with a smile. There were neatly stacked books in those shelves and the quiet in the library and the pink color shelves impressed her. There was a separate section for kid’s books and the room was painted with bright colors!

Anu forgot the time! After about half an hour, her mom said its time to leave and Anu didn’t have the heart to! Her mom promised to come over the following weekend and so Anu went back home but with 5 books in hand and a wide smile on her face and the membership card!

She came back home and soon the books engaged her. She was totally engrossed as they were her selection of books and nobody had to tell her to read. Her parents were so happy that she had totally forgotten the tv, the mobile and other games which she gets hooked on to once home! Their instructions to read never went in her ears!

The following week, she had shared about the library to her friends in school, van, the classes she goes to and her friends were interested to visit too. Anu made her mom share the address of the library.

Soon came Saturday and Anu was excited right from the morning! She was pestering her parents and soon they had to give in. when her mom took her, Anu almost ran to the staircase and her mom stared at her. Then they both climbed up and soon reached the library.

Anu’s mom asked if she can read books here to which the librarian said of course, she can! So, when Anu was browsing through the books for check out, Anu’s mom came out to take her purse from the bike which was parked down. She went down the stairs. Soon she heard Anu shouting for her and what she saw made her freeze! 

Anu was standing near the library entrance and was shouting “Amma” but the staircase had disappeared! Anu’s mom quickly came back to her senses and told Anu to calm down and call the librarian. Soon, Anu went inside and told the same to him, he smiled at her and said, its okay. Don’t worry, Start reading some book now and soon the staircase will reappear. Anu couldn’t believe her ears and came and told the same to mom.

Her mom said, okay go on then, read something quick and within 10 minutes her mom came up panting. Anu was relieved to see her mom inside the library! 

When her mom asked the librarian what’s happening here, the librarian said, its just a trick to interest kids into reading, ma’am. These days, they are more into gadgets and nobody enjoys the world of books. So, we have made an optical illusion that once a child enters, the staircase will be invisible and will become visible again after 10-15 minutes of their reading. While they are engrossed into books, they don’t even remember about the staircase. The staircase is very much here but the illusion makes it invisible.

Anu’s mom smiled and said, though the idea is good, it’s a little scary for the parents, like what happened just now. The librarian said, we do understand ma’am and that’s why it was visible for you from down in no time and its not visible for her from top! Anu’s mom appreciated this idea and soon the vanishing staircase made the library even more famous! All the kids started to visit the library more often and that became the landmark to the neighborhood!