Every story has an origin, a seed that grows roots that dig into the darkness, trying to take hold of the soil while the story told blooms in the sunlight. Some of today's widely known stories, such as Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs and Little Red Riding Hood, have dark origins, their true nature hardly known.
The stories embedded into the pages of this book originally grew from a seed planted in darkness. But that does not mean all stories are horror-filled and dreadful. As you, the Reader, venture into worlds unlike any other, you will discover moments where you will turn your home into an impenetrable fortress and others that leave a warm smile on your face. The stories laid before you are written in such an order to take you on a journey of unimaginable proportion.
Your journey begins with dreadful beasts and haunting demons that will leave you hiding underneath your blanket. Then, as you venture through the darkness with your hands covering your eyes, leaving you with a small crack to see what is next, you will begin to discover small shimmers of light. Curiosity then takes hold and thrusts you into elaborate mazes that will make you think and keep you guessing until the very end. Hopefully, by this point of the journey, your mind has not gone to mush, your courage is still intact, and you're ready to push on in the belief of the light at the end of this horrible tunnel. As you push forward with each turn of the page, you come across something that feels familiar, either an emotion or a reminder of a past memory, and slowly, your feet touch familiar ground. A moment here leaves you feeling hopeful as you continue to read on to encounter lighter and happy-hearted stories.
Finally, as is with all great adventures, there will come an end, and you, the Reader, will close this book as a changed individual who has experienced what so few of us do nowadays—a journey of a thousand lives.