Alexia Faria’s entire life is turned upside down, when she discovers an eerie door in her backyard, which has seemingly appeared overnight. Upon entering it, she is buried in pitch-darkness, surrounded by hooded figures with terrifying spear-like staffs in hand.

She is actually in another world altogether: the Paradox world. A world divided in two realms: the light and the dark. The dark realm is where she sees the hooded figures, she is later rescued and taken to the light realm. There, she finds out that there is going to be a war between the two realms and it is going to shake the foundations of her world and everyone she has ever known. The light people, who rescue her from the dark realm, need her help to prevent this, and for that, she will have to journey back to the dark realm, where everyone won’t be quite as friendly. There, she will have to battle not only the unfriendly but also the magic of the place itself, which will remind her of every bad memory she’s ever had, every mistake she’s ever made, every tragedy she’s ever witnessed.

Will she be strong enough to stand the barriers the darkness will place in front of her? Will she have enough light in there, to fight them off, or will she get overwhelmed and let the darkness swallow her up whole and plunge the two worlds in everlasting darkness?

“You humans can’t see in complete darkness, right? But y’all can’t see in harsh, blinding light, either. If there is only joy, in your world, someday, it might lead to carelessness and greed for more, giving birth to a worser darkness. That’s why there’s a need for equal amounts of both: light and darkness.”

—Queen Rosalind of the light realm

About the Author: Ananya Pathak is a student, zealous reader and passionate writer, who studies at Podar International School. She is 12 years old and lives with her parents in the bustling city of Mumbai. She enjoys writing short stories, poems and adores writing fiction in particular, because she loves to cook up her own characters, stories and ideas. She loves to travel to get new ideas, create plots and find inspiration. Out there, there are places waiting to be explored, mesmerising sceneries waiting to be described, tales waiting to be heard and amazing experiences waiting to be written down.

Imagination, according to her, is just as important as breathing, because it is the only reason the world is working, the way it should, today. People imagine to change, because imagination is what brings change and this is why we have evolved over time. That’s why she imagines all the time, and that’s why she writes, to pen down her crazy imagination.

On the whole, she adores writing, reading, imagining and traveling and she will continue to do so till the end of time because she is free to write what she wants to and she is free to imagine, free as one can be. She believes that if everyone read or wrote a little something—anything, everyday, then this world would be a better place because no matter how bad a person is, they’re still human at the core. And reading and writing bring out that human in any person.

Connect with the Author on
Twitter @ananyapathak14
Facebook @Ananya Pathak
Instagram @ananyapathak2311

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: White Falcon Publishing ; 1 edition (2019)
• Author: Ananya Pathak
• ISBN-13: 9789388459709
• Product Dimensions:  12.7 x 0.2 x 20.3 cm

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