Héctor looked both ways, worried someone might see him go inside, but the coast was clear. He opened the door to the Room and was greeted immediately by Juliana, Sal, and the most unbelievable sight he’d ever seen.

The Room had changed, yet again. Juliana and Sal sat at a large booth in what looked like a diner, shrunk down to be just the right size for the three of them. Next to the table was a large glass case with various slices of pie, cake, and other desserts slowly rotating inside it.

“What is this?” said Héctor, letting the door close behind him.

“I was hungry,” said Juliana. “And I kinda have a sweet tooth, sooooo . . .” She shrugged. “This was what was here.”

“But why a diner?” he asked. “Why not just have food show up magically like it does for me?”

“It just . . . shows up for you?” said Sal as they scooted over to make room for Héctor. “What do you mean?”

“Well, whenever I’m not looking, the things I want appear,” he explained. “Like . . . okay, let me try this.” He sat up straight and took a deep breath. “I’m really thirsty. I need a glass of water.”

It happened just out of sight, before Héctor could look at the table: a glass of cold water, condensation running down the side, sat before him. As if it had always been there.

“That is wild,” said Juliana as Héctor took a drink. “Everything I ever used or needed was always in the Room. I guess I never thought to ask for anything specific. It was like . . . like it always knew.”

“But how?” asked Héctor. “How can it know?”

Sal shrugged. “You got me stumped. I have no idea how any of this is possible.”

Héctor stood up. “We need to figure this out. Like, how does this all work? Are there rules?”

“There have to be,” said Sal, after swallowing down a bite of apple pie. “I mean, it hasn’t given me everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Well, what if your theory is still right, Héctor?” said Juliana.

“You mean that it has to be what we need?” he said.

She nodded. “You needed water. I needed a place to calm down and to have some food. Sal needed a quiet room to read. It makes sense.”

Sal scratched their head. “But how would we test this?”

“Well,” said Héctor. “What do we need?”

The three of them were silent for a moment. Juliana twisted up her face while she thought. “I guess I really need a nap,” she said, rubbing at her eyes. “Today has been really hard, and I could use—”

“Oh my God,” said Sal, interrupting Juliana. “Look!”