Guardian: Protectors of Light

by Melanie Houtman

  *

  “James? Are you in here?”

  Samira opened her little brother’s bedroom door, her head peeking around the door’s edge. James, who she noticed was sitting on his bed, gestured at her that she could come in.

  As soon as she did, Samira could clearly see James had stationed himself on his bed; three books lied in front of him. He was reading the fourth one. A smile appeared on the teenager’s face as he saw his sister walking in.

  “Enjoying the book?” Samira said, pointing at the book James was reading, as she found a place to sit between the books in front of her brother. He nodded at her.

  “I sure am,” he said. With that being said, he enjoyed pretty much any book he’d order or buy, but that couldn’t ruin his fun. And then again, this one...

  “It reminds me of the fairytale Dad used to tell us,” James said. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind. “Why don’t we head for the library together?” he suggested.

  Samira nodded. “Sure! I’d love to.”

  James slammed the book between his hands shut. “Then it’s a deal,” he said. “How about we go now?”

  “Wait,” Samira said on an uncomprehending tone. “You mean now as in – right now?”

  James nodded. “Yeah. Why not?”

  “But it’s raining!” Samira complained. “Are you nuts? I mean – it’s no more than five minutes walking, but with the amounts of water that are currently falling from the sky, we’ll be soaked by the time we get there! And how are we supposed to take any books back home without letting them suffer the same fate as us?”

  James chuckled at his sister’s rant and gave her a small shrug. “You know I’ve never been bothered by rain at all,” he chuckled.

  Samira rolled her eyes and snorted. Indeed, he hadn’t ever been bothered. James had absolutely loved rain since he could walk. He’d usually spend rainy days running around outside, coming home all wet and, occasionally, muddy.

  The boy also found the rain rather calming on different days; there were moments he could barely even control his emotions or actions, and if it was raining during one of those moments, he’d just simply sit down in front of a window to calm down. Which he managed successfully.

  When it came to this certain subject, Samira was the rather opposite to her brother; she tended to get rather moody on rainy days. Especially when she had somewhere to go, which meant she was most likely to get there soaked. Going outside to get willingly soaked just to go to the library didn’t exactly make it to her “fun”-list.

  But then again, it was autumn break, and what else was there to do? Right, nothing.

  Then again, aside from staying inside all day, or going to the cinema... Samira shrugged. “All right then,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  James’s eyes widened as a smile grew on his face. “Really?” he said. “You’re serious about this?”

  Samira smiled at her brother and said, “Yeah. If it makes you happy. I’d be more than pleased to spend some time with you.”

  James smiled back at his sister. So would he; he and Samira had hardly spent time together for the past few months. His sister had just graduated from high school and had taken a gap year; yet she spent that year filling out college applications and taking part-time jobs. Meanwhile, James had started his senior year of high school, which meant he was busy studying for the extra tests, and, of course, his final exams in May.

  Most of the time, both of the two teenagers were simply too busy to spend time with each other, let alone with their friends. Sure, they spoke from time to time, but since Samira had left school together with the other members of their main friend group, James had been left on his own. He did have a couple of friends in his own year (Anna, a pretty and friendly Thai girl, being certainly special to him), but all of his closest friends were older than him. So yeah, it was about time they took some time to put school and stress aside and spent that time together instead.

  “All right then!” James cheered, while getting off his bed as fast as he could. He pulled his sister to her feet by taking her hands, and laughed. “This is going to be a great day, I feel it,” he smiled.

  Samira smiled back at him. “Curious,” she said, “As I’ve got the same feeling. Now, let’s go tell Mum we’re going out, and then get going to the library, shall we?”

  James showed his sister a mischievous grin. “Way ahead of you.”

  And before Samira could say anything in response, James had already run out of the room, and was making his way down the stairs.

  “That counts as a false start, James!” Samira shouted at him, before following the sixteen-year-old downstairs.

  Downstairs, they found their mother reading a book in the living room. “Where are you two going?” she asked, as she saw brother and sister racing down the stairs and grabbing their coats.

  “To the library, Mum,” James said.

  “Don’t worry; we’ll be right back,” Samira added.

  Cheyenne chuckled. “You two? To the library?” she said. “Remembering the last time I took you two to the library, “be right back” means “in a few hours”.”

  James showed his mother a mischievous smile. “Who knows?” he said.

  As brother and sister went outside, they noticed that the rain had stopped falling, leaving petrichor lingering in the air.

  “Don’t you just love how it smells outside when the first rain has passed after a dry spell, James?” Samira sighed.

  “I beg to differ,” James huffed in response. “I think it leaves the air feeling rather stuffy... I don’t really like it.” His sister chuckled; she grinned at him.

  “Now there we share a difference of opinion,” she said. “Anyway, we should get going. You never know whether the rain comes back or not.” She looked at the sky while talking, as if she was expecting rain to fall instantly. It seemed almost inevitable that it was going to rain again, as there was a thick pack of gray clouds hanging overhead.

  “Sure,” James said. “We should get going already. The earlier we get there, the more time we can spend digging around in the books.”

  The siblings then smiled at each other and ran off to the library.

  Luckily for the duo, the library wasn’t more than three blocks away; within minutes, they’d arrived at the majestic, old building.

  A poster had been stuck to one of the front windows. Closing soon for renovation; All old books must go! We’re giving away books that have been in the library for 10 years and longer. Interested? See inside!

  As they entered, James’s jaw dropped in awe. It’d been so long since he’d been there; the building was small, yet breathtaking.

  It had two levels, similar to any other old library; this second level sure did make up for the fact that the library was particularly small in size.

  The reddish glow of the mahogany furniture gave the building a warm feeling; by the look in her brother’s eyes, Samira could tell they would be there for a while. It was as if James had reverted to his ten-year-old self.

  He knew he wasn’t allowed to run inside a library; otherwise, he would’ve done so. He walked and turned around for a bit, his eyes fixated on the piles and rows of books that towered above him. He even ignored gestures and whispers from his sister requesting him to keep it down.

  James eventually answered to her requests, as the librarian walked up to the two siblings and greeted them.

  “Ah, James and Samira, right?” the woman said. She was probably in her mid-forties, and she had puffy, short brown curls. James remembered her in an instant; she’d been a friend of his father’s. Her name was Carolyn.

  “It’s been a long while since I’ve seen you two,” Carolyn smiled. “Tell me; what brings you here?”

  James smiled at Carolyn. “Just browsing,” he said. “We actually came here because we heard you were giving away old books.” He tapped his fingers against his chin. “Could you show me where they are?”

  Carolyn clapped her hands together. “Of course I c
an,” she said. “Follow me.”

  James grinned at his sister as they followed Carolyn through the library. They ended up in the south wing; the old book section containing books which were being given away was rather a small part of the library’s whole collection.

  “Sweet,” James smiled, as he saw the bookcases in front of him, filled with books ready to be taken home.

  “I hope you’ll enjoy your visit,” Carolyn said. “Just tell me when you’ve found something you like.”

  Carolyn was about to walk away, but Samira stopped her by grabbing her arm. James had already walked toward the bookshelves.

  “Actually, I was wondering if you have any action books?” she asked. “Anything new?”

  Carolyn smiled at Samira. “Of course,” she said, “I remember you were always a fan of action-packed stories when you were little.” She noticed she was about to daze off into a memory of long ago, so she just decided to say, “Follow me.”

  While Samira was following Carolyn, James was already digging about between the old books. He scanned the bookcases, taking several books off the shelves as he went.

  He scanned each book quickly while flipping through it and reading a couple pages. Yet, there still wasn’t anything to have caught his eye.

  This kept going for a while, until he stumbled onto a book, which had been stuffed away way to the back of one of the bookcases.

  “Hmm...” James mumbled, intrigued by his new find. He reached out for it, and brought it to one of the nearby tables he’d stalled out the other books on as well.

  The book certainly looked old; the binding was made of leather, and on the front cover, in golden, curly letters, a title had been written. Nothing else.

  “Guardians of Light,” James read the book’s title. On both the front and back, the book had been decorated with curly patterns. Despite its age, the book looked as if it was in good shape.

  James couldn’t hold his curiosity, and decided to read the first page; the book started with a picture of a magical landscape, with white trees and flowers growing everywhere. It looked beautiful.

  “Once upon a time, a long time ago, were six Spirits. These Spirits were called the Spirits of Light; the Almighty Spirit, the Spirit of Innocence, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Joy, The Spirit of Night and Day and the Spirit of Darkness. These six Spirits combined their powers to create a magical world and balance every element in it,” James read. Suddenly, he remembered the story his father had told him so many times.

  This was that story! Someone must’ve taken the original fairytale, and used the original story to expand it. Or something like that; James didn’t really care. He’d found it!

  Overflowing with joy, he ran through the library. He didn’t run too fast, though; he didn’t want to get kicked out before being able to show his sister his miraculous find.

  Guardians of Light

  Not much later, the two teenagers were making their way across the streets back home. Of course, James had decided to take the book. What did he have to lose? The library was giving it away, anyway. If it didn’t match his childhood memories, he could easily stuff it inside his bookcase to maybe read it someday.

  As they were walking down the street, Samira and James discussed a few details about the book.

  “I’ve read the first few pages,” James said, “and the prologue to the story is pretty much the same as the story Dad used to tell us. But there are lot more pages after the prologue, so I’m guessing someone wrote a whole lot more!”

  “Well, I’m curious to find out the rest of the story,” Samira said, while examining the book. “The title’s different as well.”

  James nodded. He wanted to add something, but he hadn’t even opened his mouth before getting interrupted by a familiar voice.

  “James! You book worm! What are you two dorks up to?”

  As soon as he heard his name, James turned around and grinned. Samira joined him, smiling as well.

  “Hey, Bells! Thom!” The two teenagers approached the siblings quickly, waving and smiling at them.

  “Hey, Sammy, Jamey,” Thomas said. “Let me guess; James has bought a new batch?” he continued, after laying an eye on the book Samira was holding.

  James gave him a triumphant look and said, “Actually, no. I got this one from the old book section in the public library.” Pause. “They’re giving them away.” Another pause. “For free.”

  Bella smirked and crossed her arms, bending her torso a bit forward. “So, now we’re on that tour again, aren’t we, James?” she said.

  James smirked back at her, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging. “Nah,” he said, “I highly doubt I’ll be doing this again. I mean... they have good books, but I see this book as one in a million, eh?” He slowly drifted off as if he forgot what his point was. “...My point is that I might slow down on my buying-routine after finishing the books I’ve got to read now.”

  Thomas leaned back, crossing his arms as he raised his eyebrows in a sceptical way. “Now why am I having a hard time trying to believe what you just said?” he said, baring his teeth in a wide grin.

  Samira couldn’t help but letting out a chuckle. “He’s got plenty of books to read for now. I think he’ll be busy finishing those for a while.” She turned to look at him. “But slowing down after that? I don’t believe it either.”

  “It’s true!” James had gotten on his tiptoes and pointed his index finger into the air, as if it’d help him prove his point.

  As they were talking, small drops of rain started to fall from the sky, which quickly fastened their pace and grew in size. All four teenagers ran off to find the nearest shelter; the house of Antonio, their mutual – yet Thomas’ best, for that matter - friend, who made their usual gang of five complete.

  The doorbell rang, followed by the muffled sound of shouting voices behind it, probably discussing who had to go get the door. Then, the door was opened by the one who’d lost the discussion.

  ...And apparently, it was Antonio himself. He wore a grumpy face, probably from annoyance due to the fact that he had to open the door, but his face lit up as soon as he saw his friends standing in front of him.

  “Hey, guys!” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Seeking shelter, of course!” James said, who’d tucked the book underneath his jacket. “There’s a storm raging out here!”

  “Don’t exaggerate, James,” Antonio snorted. “It’s, well... raining. But please, do come in.”

  He didn’t have to tell them twice. Everyone followed Antonio up to his room after taking off their wet clothes and shoes, and all sat down on the bed. It wasn’t until there when Antonio’s eye suddenly fell on James’s book, after James had taken it from underneath his vest; he’d tucked it inside the inner pocket in his vest as he’d tucked it under his jacket.

  “What’s that?” Antonio asked, while making a small gesture toward the book with his hand.

  Samira, who answered before her brother could, said: “I just got an idea! Why don’t we read it now?”

  James threw her a sceptical look. “Uh- you mean, as in right now?” he said, while flipping through the book. “...Sam, I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but this book is kind of long. As in really long.”

  Samira laughed. “And all of a sudden, you seem to have a problem with that?” she giggled, and paused. “Just the first five chapters or so, to see what it’s like.”

  James shrugged. “All right then, I’m in,” he said. “What do you guys think?”

  Bella, Thomas and Antonio nodded agreeing. “Sure, why not?’ Bella said. “It looks pretty interesting.”

  “Yeah,” Thomas added. “I’d like to know what that story’s actually about. You haven’t told us that much yet, after all.”

  “Well, I’m curious to find out more too,” James said, while opening the book on the first page. “I’ve never seen the part of the story that comes after the prologue, either.”

  Samira leaned to th
e side, a little closer to her brother, to be able to read along as he read the story out loud. “Well, let’s find out, then,” she said. “Let’s start at the prologue.”