by J C Gilbert
“Aflowerfromyourdragon,” said Lilly, holding up her phone.
“Doesn’t look like a flower.”
“No, I mean the name. It's available on Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. It's too long for Youtube, but I know how you feel about video, so that won't be a problem.”
“Wait, what's happening?”
“I guess it is kind of long,” said Lilly.
I liked the idea of sharing some of my work, but I know how it would turn out. I’d post my favorite, and it would get a whole lot of likes and comments, and I’d feel fantastic. Dad would probably comment on it with something awkward, demonstrating once again that he wasn't clear on what the difference was between a comment and a private message.
That would be super cringe.
Then I’d post another and people will say nice things, but it won't be as much, and I’d feel terrible. Then I’d keep on posting, chasing the dragon so to speak.
But eventually, I’ll be exposed as not having proper talent. People would like my posts because they feel like they have to, like their daily Alex chore or something, and I will have successfully found another way to be an inconvenience on everyone's lives. No thank you.
“Velociraptorgirl is taken.”
“I don't really draw dinosaurs.”
“What? No, I mean for me. I figure that if I draw a velociraptor every day for a year then eventually I’ll get really good. Then whenever anyone needs a drawing of a velociraptor, I’ll be their man. Could maybe branch out into other theropods, but only once I've established myself as an authority.”
“You do that, Lilly.”
That afternoon I wasted no time in getting home and back to my book. I closed my bedroom door and pulled out Alice and started to read. Just like the previous night, I began to fall. All the same things happened. My heart stopped, my lungs drained, and I was pulled into the pages. However this time it was less distressing. I was going to The Library, and that was awesome.
When I landed, I saw the Librarian walking down a row of shelves. She was carrying a stack of books.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello there, Alex! Good that you are here. Help me with these would you?”
I took the top book from her pile and went to tuck it under an arm when the title of the book caught my eye.
Darcy Knight
“I know him,” I said.
“Do you now?”
“He goes to my school.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“How come?”
“Because his story has been touched, Alex.”
“What do you mean?”
“It has been tainted by the void of creation. Let me show you.”
She placed her stack of books on the floor where she was standing and led me on. As we walked, I noticed that the light was changing. Most of the main area of The Library was lit by warm candles and some other more mysterious luminescence.
But as we walked the light shifted from orange to blue. It grew brighter and with more and more intensity. At last, we came to an open space. In the center of the space was what looked like a miniature blue sun.
Lightning crackled over its surface. The sphere hovered some distance above a stone base. It was roughly the size of an elephant and was completely out of place in The Library.
“What is it?”
“Tell me, Alex, how much do you know about the creation of the universe?”
“Um, not a lot. I know that there was a big bang.”
“Ah yes, the big bang. From an infinitely small point outside of space and time, massively condensed matter began to expand rapidly. Now when you picture that tiny speck of everything can you tell me where it is?”
“I don't know.”
“When you picture it?”
“When I picture it, I see it in darkness with nothing else around, but that's not right is it?”
“No, it isn’t! Because how could there be something outside of that condensed speck of matter if everything that exists is condensed within it?”
“I guess that it is just impossible for us to picture it, maybe?”
“Yes. That is exactly it. You see, the universe started from a speck within the great void. The void is, in essence, lacking in essence. It is nothingness itself. It is the great canvas. The thing on which all is painted. It is the source of all creation and creative energy. When harnessed it can do amazing things.”
“It is weird to think about.”
“It is impossible to think about. It can be fun to try, but we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we can ever get close to getting close.”
“What does all that have to do with this?” I gestured towards the miniature sun.
“What we see in front of us is the Heart of The Library. It is a piece of the void. In the same way that the books both are and are not the people within them, this orb both is and is not that ancient void, that primordial creative nothingness.”
“I thought you just said that it was impossible for us to even get close to thinking about it?”
“It is, that is why we have the Heart of The Library. It helps. Now your friend there, his story has been touched by the void. There have been some instances when this has not led to disaster, but such instances are rare.”
“Is he in trouble?”
“Terrible trouble, I’m afraid. He has been for some time. You see, those who have been touched by the void must suffer the forces of chaos and magic entering into their lives. It will likely claim him in the end.”
“Oh,” I said. My mind drifted back to the sword Darcy had at school. Maybe he needed to be armed?
“The Library and its Heart are one. They are mirror images that just happen to look very different. It is both the most powerful and the most dangerous thing that there is. As The Library’s Keeper, you must make sure that the power of the void does not fall into the wrong hands.”
“How can I possibly do that? That's far too much for me to handle!” I protested.
“I have been running The Library for some time, Alex. One thing that I know with absolute certainty is that character is far more important than someone's age, experience, or skill set. Give yourself some time to adjust. There are forces in the multiverse that work tirelessly day and night trying to seize the power of the void. Dark forces. I don't want to hide that from you. But you will learn to handle them and defeat them. Just give yourself time.”
I looked at her, doubting.
“Come, let me show you something.”
After a brief hike through rows of shelves, we came to a familiar set of ornate double doors. It was where I had tried to hide from the Librarian only the day before. She led me inside.
I walked into the darkness and blinked. In the soft starlight, I could make out dark shapes swirling about the room. Every so often they collided into one another with a crash.
“Oh shoot,” said the Librarian. She grabbed a broom from against the wall and started to hit at the objects.
“What is it?”
“Accretion.”
“Sorry?”
“They are trying to form planets. It is very irritating. You see, this is what they did to become planets in the first place. Planetary formation is a hard habit to break.”
“The books are planets?”
“No, but they contain planets. In a manner of speaking.”
The Librarian gave up with the broom. She climbed up one of the shelving ladders and jumped at the largest clump of books. They crashed to the floor with a thud and a clap. The remaining books began to slow. The Librarian took up her broom again and easily knocked them from their orbits.
“There, that's better,” she said, catching her breath.
“Is that a common occurrence?”
“That entirely depends on prevailing philosophical discourse. I wish they would just settle on a theory and be done with it.”
“Right,” I said, understanding only in part.
“You will find that it
is always a clear and starry night in here.”
“They are beautiful,” I said, staring upwards at the millions of twinkling lights.
“Pick one.”
“Pick one?”
“Yes, pick one. Point to one. Any one. It doesn't matter.”
I did as she asked and pointed at a star.
“Ah, no. Pick a different one. Sorry.”
I chose a different star.
“An excellent choice. Wait there.”
The Librarian began scanning the shelves, shaking her head, pulling books out, putting them back, and scratching her chin. “Ah-ha,” she said, at last. The Librarian picked up a volume from the floor. She flicked through and handed it to me with a page open.
I took the giant book in my arms. It was heavy. In the low light, I could just make out a drawing of a star system. Six planets were orbiting a red star.
“You see the second planet from the star? I want you to press it.”
“Like this?” I pressed at the planet. The star system faded off the page and turned to a map of a world. It was mostly made up of vast red continents with a few yellowy-green seas.
“This planet sits in what is called the Goldilocks Zone, not too cold, not too hot. Would you like to go there?”
“We can do that?” I asked, deadpan.
“We sure can. Hopefully it is more hospitable than Paris.”
“Okay, tell me what to do.”
“Just press where you want to go,” she said, smiling.
“Like this?” I pressed in the center of the largest continent.
“No not there!” cried the Librarian.
We fell.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
We landed in a red desert. I looked around. It was all dust for as far as I could see.
“That was close,” said the Librarian.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, well, we almost fell into a lake of sulphuric acid, but no. It's not your fault.”
“I don’t see it.”
“It's quite far off, I think. Map travel can be very inaccurate, you see.”
“The light is strange here.” It looked like it was the very moment of twilight.
“I think this planet may be tidally locked. It always looks like this here.”
“It's beautiful,” I said, captivated.
“I am sorry that there is no life about. It is always the life which is the most interesting.”
“This place is magical.”
“Most planets harbored life at some stage, and still would if it weren't for entropy.”
“Entropy?”
“Life takes hold. It evolves. It adapts to new environments. It thrives. And sooner or later, well, there it is.”
“There what is?”
She gestured to the surrounding wasteland. “Extinction finds a way.”
We jumped back to The Library, and I found myself once more in that starry room. The Librarian led me out and down another set of corridors. It seemed to me that we were heading again to the Heart of the Library.
We stopped next to a well-stocked shelf of particularly ornate books.
“Now that I've shown you the maps and the planetary atlases it is time to show you the stories. This is where all the real action happens.”
“Are you telling me we can go into the books?”
“I sure am.”
“That's amazing! Why did you wait to tell me that?” My mind was spinning with the possibilities.
“Because it can be dangerous. There is always a lot happening in a book. Always remember, these books are people’s lives. Some books will need you to take action to put things right, but just as important is knowing when to leave a story to play itself through.”
“OK. I think I’m ready.”
“No matter what happens make sure that you do not bring anything back through with you into The Library, and certainly do not take any person you should meet through.”
“How come?”
“Because you risk mixing up different stories. This mustn't be done. It can take forever to sort out down the line. You remove one character, and you would think the plot would hold together, but no. You don't want to be stuck doing book edits for the rest of your life, do you?”
“I suppose not.”
The Librarian took down a blue book with ornate gold leaf. A pattern of vines weaved and swirled all over the cover. The title was Elberath.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“It certainly is,” said the Librarian, lost in thought. “On this shelf, you will find many books which have survived being touched by the void.”
“Survived? How?”
“Due to the careful work of countless Keepers. They all have a bit of chaos still, but are relatively safe these days.”
“Where are all the Keepers now?”
The Librarian hesitated. “Mostly they retire back to their own worlds. No one can be expected to curate creation forever. It is tiring work! Now-”
“You said mostly? What about the others?”
“I don't want to worry you, but sometimes they simply disappear. One day they will be here with me, I’ll pass them in the halls and smile, and then I’ll never see them again.”
“Oh.”
“The Library needs a Keeper. Sooner or later it finds a new one. Keepers always turn up with different stories. Sometimes they have inherited a key from an elderly relative. Sometimes they turn up with tales of ghostly figures or disappearing bookshops. There is only ever one Keeper.”
“So, what happened to the last Keeper?”
“She went back to her own lands. She was only going to be away for a day or two. That was a while ago now. You remind me of her, actually.”
“Thanks.”
“I wouldn’t worry about such things if I were you. The Keeper probably settled down with her family. She had many friends, as I recall.”
Not that much like me then, I thought.
“Now this book is full of life, not like that empty planet. It is a sort of a vacation spot for me. Lots of jungle and lakes and lovely things like that.”
“Is Elberath a person?”
“Yes, or at least he was. If he is still alive now, then he must be ancient. I’ll just take you around a quick tour of his kingdom. We won't be bothering him.”
She handed me the book. I opened it to the first chapter and began to read.
It was the year 2192 of the second age…
Soon we were falling fast.
We landed on a muddy path in the middle of a dense jungle. All around me was the noise of insects and birds. There were things in the trees too, jumping from here to there. Squirrels maybe?
“Just wonderful, isn't it? I like it here.”
“It’s lovely.”
Just then a pair of insects sped through the undergrowth and into our path. They looked like wasps but were the size of cats.
“Shoot, I always forget about them,” said the Librarian.
“What are they?”
“Run!”
The enormous gorilla bounded off into the trees with a crash. The wasps had seen us and were hurtling towards me. I leaped after the Librarian.
The jungle floor was a mess of vines and logs and streams. Plants with sharp leaves cut at my legs. Stray twigs whipped at my arms.
The wasps were closing in.
The Librarian stopped. “Jump on my back!” she shouted. I did as she asked just as the wasps were almost upon us.
The Librarian picked up her pace. I held tight as she thudded on. She looked back over her shoulder and then ran even harder.
After a while, she slowed to a stop. She panted as she caught her breath. An assortment of twigs and leaves clung to her black fur. “We,” gasp, “lost,” gasp, “them.”
She set me down on my feet and I collapsed against a standing stone, sinking to the ground. There were two similar stones nearby, each as tall as I was. They formed a sort of a circle around a crop of red mushrooms.
<
br /> “Well this is just great,” said the Librarian, “we must be miles away now.”
“Miles away? From where?”
“I wanted to show you the city here. It is really something special. The market is among the most lively and interesting that I have ever seen, and I have seen a great many.”
“I love markets.”
“Also, they have no problem with gorillas here which I suppose I should consider a bonus.” She gave me an accusing look.
“It sounds like just the place for us then.”
“Ok, I have a plan. There is a hill a little while that way,” she gestured to what looked like just more jungle, “I’ll be able to get a good look from there. Some of these hills have stone seats which make your vision go all funny. Hopefully, it's one of them.”
“Sure,” I said, ready to stand up.
“No, you wait here. I’ll get there quicker that way. If you run into any trouble just go back to The Library. But make sure you come back for me. I shan't be long.”
She crashed into the mess of trees and vines. I listened to her progress for a while. The sounds faded into the distance, and soon I was alone.
I took a moment to consider where I was. The powers of The Library were simply incredible. To all the world I was shut up in my room reading a book. Yet here I was, in the middle of the most magnificent jungle sitting among these picturesque stones.
They seemed familiar somehow.
I searched my memory for the association. Then it struck me. They looked like the circles in the fairy forest back home. The mushrooms completed the association. It felt like I was in a children’s book.
I sat and absorbed the nostalgic scene. A ladybug the size of a mouse crawled across the clearing. I followed her progress over the mud and leaves.
That's when I saw them. Two figures walked into the clearing. They were half a foot tall and deep in conversation. Their voices were high pitched, and I didn't understand the language.
They looked exactly like little humans. Their clothes were made of leaves of brown and green. One of them had a white flower in their hair.
Then I saw their wings. They were translucent and delicate and hung against their backs.
They were fairies! They were actual fairies!
