The Shop on Grimwood Street

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Main Character: Kaia, 17

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EXT. GRIMWOOD STREET – EARLY MORNING

The city hums awake. Traffic murmurs in the distance. A faint mist hugs the ground.

NARRATOR (V.O.):

The city never really slept — not with its blinking lights, buzzing screens, and echoing horns.

A quiet stretch of road appears. GRIMWOOD STREET. Between a pharmacy and a laundromat stands an odd little shop: ELDER & FINCH.

It looks misplaced. Wooden. Crooked. Covered in ivy and dust. Windows foggy. The door — faded red — has a brass lion-shaped handle.

NARRATOR (V.O.):

But on Grimwood Street… nothing ever truly changed.

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INT. KAIA'S BEDROOM – LATER THAT DAY

KAIA (17), smart and stubborn, flips through her sketchbook on her small bed. Her room is cluttered with books, notebooks, stars stuck to the ceiling.

She stops. Glances out the window.

KAIA (softly):

That shop…

Why is it never open… but always there?

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EXT. KAIA’S BALCONY – NIGHT

Kaia sits wrapped in a blanket, sipping cold tea. The sky is deep indigo. Her eyes are locked on the shop below.

Suddenly — MOVEMENT.

Three CLOAKED FIGURES slip out of the shop. Silent. Elegant. Their coats shimmer like starlight.

KAIA (whispering):

Who are they?

They glide down the street and vanish.

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INT. KAIA’S BEDROOM – THE NEXT MORNING

Kaia scribbles in her notebook. Her eyes are red from no sleep. A croissant sits uneaten.

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EXT. BAKERY ACROSS THE STREET – MORNING FOG

Kaia hides behind a bakery sign. She peeks toward Elder & Finch.

Three figures — the same ones — walk back into the shop as the morning sun begins to rise.

KAIA (to herself):

They’re going in now… Why?

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INT. SCHOOL – CAFETERIA – LUNCHTIME

Kaia talks to MAYA, her best friend. A table full of classmates chat nearby.

KAIA:

I swear, I saw people coming out of the shop at night… and then going back in before morning.

MAYA (frowning):

Maybe it’s like… a club? Or a 24-hour thrift place?

KAIA (firm):

No. Something’s off. It's too quiet. And no one else ever notices it.

Maya gives a hesitant smile.

MAYA:

Maybe you just need more sleep.

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EXT. GRIMWOOD STREET – LATE AFTERNOON

Kaia stands across from the shop. Wind flutters her notebook pages. She takes a breath and crosses the street.

She reaches the red door. The lion handle seems to look at her.

KAIA (softly):

Okay… here we go.

She reaches out. Grabs the handle.

SFX: CREEAAAK

The door opens.

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INT. ELDER & FINCH – MOMENTS LATER

The air changes.

Inside is massive. Towering bookshelves curve toward a starlit ceiling. Glowing orbs float like fireflies. Vines curl across the floor. The shop feels… alive.

Kaia steps inside slowly.

KAIA (whispering):

It’s… bigger than it should be.

A gust of wind brushes past her — from inside the building.

At the far end, a STONE ARCH pulses with a glowing blue portal. Mist swirls around it like stardust.

Kaia walks toward it, stunned.

NARRATOR (V.O.):

She didn’t understand it yet, but one thing was certain:

This wasn’t just a shop.

It was a gateway to another world.

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EXT. PORTAL ROOM – CONTINUOUS

Behind her, something stirs. A flicker of motion. A shadow watches Kaia from behind the shelves.

NARRATOR (V.O.):

And someone — or something — had just noticed she’d entered.

FADE TO BLACK.

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