It was a beautiful day at the start of autumn—the wind was breezing, the water was chilling, and the sun was finally cooling after its long blaze upon the summer. Today was a perfect day to leave the house and enjoy a walk on the windiest day in the land known as Gold Creek. But it is wise to wear longer and thicker than yesterday, for the wind has never been this fierce.
There was a lady who lived far to the east of this town, where forests shrouded her home from the sun, protecting her from the summer for long. Now that the summer was gone, it was finally time for her to depart and shimmer once more in the autumn's daylight starting from her decrepit bed.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"Uhm..." The girl left her bed tired as her phone went to snooze.
"What is it now? Oh, it's a bright day." She looks through the window and sees how bright and warm the outside is.
"What a warm day to start a school...It's warmer than many months ago..."
With the autumn, the water from the river returns from upstream and cold as it should be before August hits. The scent of unroasted wood and falling leaves in autumn had never felt better during a bath. Even the librarian had never been so refreshed to wash herself since summer.
"An A cup for a girl who never get an A on school? How ludicrous." She looks again at her mirror, and nothing has changed. But now she looks refreshed and ready.
"Do I need to clip my nails? I guess not."
"Teeth? I don't have time!" She drops the toothbrush in a hurry.
But autumn is only the second thing she loves because the lady's favorite thing to do is reading. She loves reading so much that she became a librarian so that she could collect pieces of literature and books for herself. Such a clever and wise decision of her to start the day.
"Hmm..." Eve hums with a page of Gulliver travels in her hand. There are more literature on the couch than on her hands to read.
*Growl* Her stomach rumbles.
"Aww..."
Not everything had always come to blessing in the sheet of autumn. Food rations are still low in the house, and the librarian is forced to eat a lump of meat again as a ration. In her tree house, there was no food worth eating than a piece of raw meat to survive.
But it matters not for the hungry stomach to whine about a lack of appetite. For the satiation today would be on the pages of a famous tale between Frankenstein and Lost Paradise, which started with curiosity that aligned with the librarian's perception.
"Another minced meat again, mom?"
"Of course! Who wouldn't like that? It's healthy and nutritious! Every child needs to have a lot to eat for a long journey in school."
"Yeah, I am." She looks both ways before throwing her eyes to the back. Luckily, she always had a book to distract the taste.
The librarian was ready to leave her tree house and enjoy the shimmering sun from the east that was no longer burning like yesterday. With a piece of literature and a long-sleeved sweater, the walk would be a long but bliss away from home. She was so happy to leave she couldn't leave herself to lock the door.
"I hate leaving to school." She uttered.
"Well, you shouldn't, dear! School is important." The father said from the garage.
"Beside, it's not like you're leaving alone, anyway!"
"Hey, Eve! Ready to walk, friend?"
On her way to walk, she passed upon a man from the east who happened to walk past her way to the town. The autumn has so happened to bring out special people from the tree houses for a walk like her. The man was so joyous and well-spirited because he could stretch his leg without worry from the scorching heat.
The librarian knew this man from a distance. He was perhaps the most well-known person from this side of the town, due to his cheerful and ever-present figure. He called himself a cleric because his faith was upheld by the importance of others and the love for anyone unbounded. Although preaching was not always his decision.
"Fancy meeting you here, aren't we?" He muttered to her.
"I suppose you and I should walk together on this beautiful autumn day?"
"I could not expect more." She said.
With a long path ahead, the two walked together rather than alone. From the eastern side of a lushful forest and greenish residence of East Pinnacle to the stony land of the west known as Great Stone, it was a journey worth talking about between the cleric and the librarian.
The view here is much better than they thought. With their feet on the hill, the wind had always been stronger than in the south where they were closer to water than the sun. A moment like this is what the librarian could not risk to abandon.
"Why didn't you use a car next time?" Eve ask. The two sat on a stone while watching the morning view.
"Because you didn't. Why should I?" Cyrus replies.
"It would be a waste of view, anyway. What do you think about going out and strolling for some fun together?"
"Not my cup of tea. I prefer reading than any of this..."
"Fair enough. But don't expect me to leave you hanging by this place again."
She loves reading and writing—yet she has no idea what to write for herself even after much literature has been read for years. It was difficult to imagine what kinds of stories you could make with such hands and time. However, she would always love to find out by reading more and more until she could inspire herself to make one.
She was persistent in her goal when the silence was strong enough to make her focus. As every librarian does, peace makes the best effort in their job. Yet she does her job so well that for a moment, the cleric is enamored by her effort. He really enjoys keeping an eye on her even when she is busy. Yet why was he so embarrassed to be caught by her?
"Are you okay?" Eve caught Cyrus eating a nut in broad daylight beside her.
"Yeah! I'm just...ehem...minding my business." Cyrus looks away with a red face. He seems to choke on a piece of nut in his throat.
They returned to their walk and headed through a main road on their way to the Great Stone. A monument lies at the center of the town, signifying the state of this land and its history for long. But before they could walk further from the roadway, the cleric stopped to ask an important question to her.
"Is there any chance that you would be interested to do more than reading, friend?" Cyrus asked.
For a moment, the librarian paused to think about the words from the man. Those chances could be thin and impossible for someone who attended only with literature. However, she didn't hesitate to take it if the odds were present.
"I suppose. But it depends on how desperate I could be."
"Why desperate? Why not aspired?"
"Aspiration to do something others won't do?"
"Aspiration to commitment." Cyrus replies.
"Then we don't align together, Cyrus." Eve walks off.
"Hey! W-wait for me!" Cyrus follows from behind.
It has been long since the librarian remembers when she had ever socialized this far without the cleric. Maybe because she had never seen people outside the tree house, unlike the cleric, or perhaps because she never thought of spending time outside of him. It was a long-lasting friendship she could have for years.
The librarian is not always fond of talking with people because she doesn't like people's words. Their opinions never matched with hers, or they would always interject with everything she said. But she was just an innocent lady with nothing but a word from the wise authors.
She and the cleric arrived at the Great Stone where the ground was piling with rubbles of the hill, and trees didn't grow, making the ground always exposed to the sun. The land was so open with the sky that no shadow could be cast even in the early morning. Walking through this place was a blinding adventure during summer.
"So...wanna bet?" Cyrus teases.
"I'm not betting." Eve replies.
"Okay, see ya!" Cyrus ran off before her.
"Wait! Don't leave me!"
But with the autumn, the wind only gets stronger from here, and the two had never felt more vigorous to even run. Her sweater hasn't even sweating, and her fingers are shivering instead. The cleric ran on the frontline while the librarian had to catch up with his colorful yellow robe. It's hard to forget the color that the man always wore every day, and how bright it was that even she could tell from a distance. The color is just beautifully memorizing to forget.
"*Pant* *Pant* Slow down! Slow down!" Eve yelled.
"What's that? You want more? I'll go faster, then!"
"No, wait! Ugh!"
But she was too distracted that she did not see the elephant before her. A lot of people from the Great Stone were gazing and enjoying the wind until they were stopped like her. They felt a wind so uncomfortable it could not be made by the clouds.
"Hey, look!"
"Uh oh..." She stood awkwardly right before the others.
"It's Cyrus! He's here!"
"Ugh, you guys don't have—oh..." She pauses with disappointment.
The cleric's name was not an exaggeration. People are attracted to him like a magnet—always finding and adoring him the fastest before they would think. Like sun that shines above the librarian's head, it was difficult for someone to not even realize how comforting his presence was when he arrived at Great Stone.
"Cyrus! Come here! Come here!" A girl jumps onto him after seeing the boy afar.
"Wohoho! No need to fight, everyone! I'm all for everyone!" Cyrus calms the fuss with his arms up.
"You thought we forgot about you, Cyrus? Just where we need you!"
Cyrus replies, "I'm always envy being too spotted lately."
On the other hand, the librarian would appear merely a shadow to others. Her silent, cold, and judging figure could stand long enough for others to pass through her without a gaze. While it may seems like a curse, she finds comfort in knowing more of the benefits of staying in the background than being the one making the trouble.
What could have been better than being a witness to a secret? The librarian already knew more than hundreds of gossips behind her ears, and secrets left at the corner of the town by a man or a woman who sets foot on this town.
Like when a group of men secretly dumps out the town with barrels of paint in the evening a few days ago? Or a woman who secretly cheated on her husband from the north? She had the story unfold before her, but none of them were to be an interest to her. Not when most of them are risky to share.
"Phew, I hope they didn't know about that missing paint..." A boy whispers behind the crowd, unaware that Eve is standing before him.
"Don't be too loud, jackass. Someone could hear us and I don't want that to be Cyrus especially."
"Uh-huh...got that." She thought.
"So, anything new on the house lately? I heard you were moved to music class?"
Cyrus was flattered, "Thanks, but I'm not a swimmer expert. I took a "less physical" training because I didn't want to risk my health. You know, because of..."
"Oh, yeah! We get it. Hope you had it better now since the last time you picked that band..."
"I know. Turns out Jeremy wasn't lying about the school's drum band. If you mind, can I join you at the stadium tomorrow? Just want to help your performance whatsoever..."
Every day when the sun is shining bright, the librarian always starts her day at the greatest library in Great Stone where she also earned the name librarian. She could read and lay for an entire day while watching comedy and tragedy befall someone without an intervention.
The library was huge, connected to a nearby academy where people come and go with their favorite literature and swear no scream in this peaceful place while she could get to stay in a tight spot to read her books. Even at night, it would look dazzling.
The librarian grabbed as many books as she could behind the shelves while the library was just opened. There were not many people and so many books were shelved. Right before she could open the door, she always made sure that the most favored books belonged to her first.
Yet the early autumn didn't give her a blessing of wisdom. The air felt stale in the town, and there was not much happening to see and feel behind the library's window. Maybe she needs to wait and open the door so that someone can help her fulfill her wish for inspiration?
"Woo! Wee!" She rolls the ladder.
"Hm, I wonder what should I read now?"
"Nope—Nope—Nope—Aha! Eh, Nope—I already read everything...?"
"Aww! I'm bored! I've already drained this section for so long!"
*Click* "Alright! Welcome—Welcome. Come get your free boring books here..." She opens the door.
But nobody came looking for the library today. It might be the storm that was coming into the town. The sky may seem bright, but they were all white and grey because of the heavy clouds. It has been silent since and it was then empty.
"Hey! It's too silent. Way too silent..." She uttered.
"No. I can't do this...I must..."
"Ugh...where are those near-graduates when I needed them?"
There was no story, drama, or even gossip behind the shelves. This could not be accepted! She thought of leaving the library immediately and heading towards the academy in front of her. But when she was there, she was shocked to see a crowd and not a passerby.
"What? What happened here?" She stays near the library.
People are standing, smiling, and chatting without moving a muscle outside the library. They were waiting for something, that's for sure. But the librarian could tell that they were not looking for her or any libraries. They were all just staring blankly in an awkward smile into an empty hill. The cleric appears beside her, confused about the crowd too. Not even an hour and everyone had already turned their backs on him, and the man didn't like it.
"Cyrus? What happened?" Eve caught him.
"I don't know! People suddenly just went away to the college and ignored me! Sucks, I was just about to discuss about that weird discussion about pineapple on pizza but...meh." Cyrus sat on the stairs with a bummed face.
"Do they tell you what happened?"
"Well, they did tell me something about...someone's coming here?"
"Someone?"
The clouds grew heavier and darker, and the air was too cold that the cleric could not stand it. He searched for a shelter under the library as the librarian waited outside. The people in the town didn't even bother to head in. The storm took out several buildings and left a dark library for the two to linger. But the windows and the bright morning light keep the inside warm and away from the dark.
"The weather is not...good," Eve mumbled.
"Someone must have done this." Cyrus shivers with pain.
From afar, they can hear a lone sound coming from a distance to the town. Like a wheel carrying a cart, there would also be a horse and its shoes tapping the ground. And for every stomp on the ground, could only worsen the storm until it's pitch black.
"He's here!"
"He's here?? He's here!!"
"Is that a cart I hear?" Eve pokes her eyes out to the window.
It was the darkest morning this town had ever seen. Like witnessing the second dawn with their own eyes, the two would also witness a cart heading at full speed—A view not very common around here.
"Stop!" The man on the front commands the horse.
The carrier stops at the center of a town, right before the librarian's eyes and where the people had been waiting. Dozens—if not more, had been waiting from the brightest morning for it to arrive. But they were waiting for a man, not a cart.
"Woo! He's here!"
"It's him! It's the Carven himself!"
"Dion! I'm here! Notice me! Notice me!"
"Dion, I bought all of this for you!"
"Dion?" Eve looked out.
"All bows for...Prince Carven." Said the maid elegantly as he stepped aside.
"Prince...Carven?" The two glance confusedly.
The long-awaited guest was a prince. He may not wear a crown, but he stood beautiful and charming on the carrier without a boast. He was adored and loved by the people so much, they left the town in festive. When the librarian get a closer look on him, that's when she was speechless.
Clouds recede, the sky brighter, and the air returns warmer. But one thing that hasn't changed is his emerald eyes—a beautiful but lifeless stare. The blueish upper layer on his pupil reflected the serenity of a sky, the greenish lower layer reflected the purity of nature, and both combined to form a rare beauty that mesmerizes everyone who looks upon it.
"Alas, some fresh air after a long ride to this...junkyard. But regardless, I am here and I expect more than whatever this is." The boy mumbled to his servants.
"Your father assure you that this is for your good, Mr. Dion." The servant replies.
"This isn't the theatre, Bernard. Why are we here?"
"The roadway to the theatre is rather a poor passage for this little thing to go. Perhaps walking there alone could be an opportunity for you to look around?"
"Besides, it's not like you forget how important education is. Right?"
"I came here to deliver a performance, not being lectured by peasants about thing or two. If those puppets are not there when I'm done, then all of you can say goodbye to your career."
"Now...where was I?" Dion pulls a paper.
The prince gave them a heartfelt speech that touched every townspeople's hearts and turned the land into bliss. His voice is so soft and his words are so inspiring that nature decided to listen and brighten up. A miracle that he could do so.
"How did he do that?" Cyrus glares at the sky.
"You think he did that?" Eve looks confused.
"Yeah? Maybe he can do that."
The librarian saw the light shining at her library again. Sun shimmering to her skin with warmth and the pure orange light had turned into a yellowish dawn. Yet there's still no one coming to the library even when the door was left wide open. The prince had taken all the attention for himself.
"Aww..." She mumbled.
The librarian and the cleric decided to wait under the sun while others were gathering in line for their attention. The two weren't fond of his charm, yet they wished for a reason to meet him for each a different purpose. They greeted the prince with a surprise, just as he surprises them.
"Thank you so much, Dion! I'll never wash this arm!" Her arm was scribbled by Dion.
"Dion, I rubbed one out for you on my precious Dion pillow! I'll go for more until you sign my pillow!" Said a student confidently to his face. The look on Dion's face was priceless hearing so.
"Well, hello there! Fancy meeting a handsome boy here." Cyrus greeted.
"Handsome is an abbreviation for handily boresome." Eve muttered.
"Huh? Who are you two?" Dion pauses.
For a moment, the cleric felt a seemingly unsettling look behind the lens of the prince's eyes—like a spark taking away the light of his smile and flashing him back with silence. It was an ocean of lifeless water and immovable flow. A fear that soon instills upon the man's heart and ache him with pain.
"Aah! You're scaring me!" Cyrus thought fearfully.
"Thank you for admiring my immeasurable beauty! Happy to help." Dion sarcastically replies.
His eyes were so glossy that sunlight reflected itself towards the librarian's eyes in a flash, like thunder that awakened her nerves and made her feel more conscious of the wind. Was it this cold before? Has her sleeves been this tight? A life was reflected in that stare.
"Aah! Don't look at me like that!" Eve backed fearfully.
"Excuse me, but could you wait in line to get your yearly signature on me?"
"We're not here to get your signature!" Eve yelled, but Dion only focused on Cyrus.
"We're actually wanted to know about you. Are you happened to be famous? I can see that from your eyes..."
"Oh, who wouldn't say that? Aren't you a new prickle on a cactus lately? My name's Dion Carven, and please keep an eye on that."
"Uhm?"
His name remains a mystery for them. They could only hum in confusion as they awaited his story yet again. But the man was so tired of adoration, not even he had finished settling on this town since his arrival. So the man left and never to talk to them since.
"That's rude!" Cyrus mumbled.
"A challenging man. I like him." Eve uttered.
"No, I don't! He's doing so much for himself." Cyrus complaint.
The people followed him into the town, as he started settling for good as a townsfolk. Instead of heading to the academy or her library, he was heading somewhere far into the tighter town of Great Stone. What could he have done that made him here? This might be the best question for the librarian.
The librarian and the cleric could not leave him wandering alone. They decided that today, they must chase after him and find out the mystery behind his work in an instant. Perhaps it would be better than waiting for nothing.
"This is such a weird day, isn't it?"
"How's so?"
"Ugh, you can't even tell?"
"I'm sorry?"
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
"What was that?"
"What was what?" Cyrus looked back.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
"You hear that?"
"Hear what, Eve?"
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
"Weird. So weird..." She mumbled.
"Eve, are you sure you're okay today? Maybe the air today was messing with your head." Cyrus mumbled.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Eve yelled left and right, but no one responded.
"Hello? Anyone?"
"What was that?"
"I don't know about you, Eve. But with the situation around here. Might be wise if you go with me to the theater together. That's surely where he would go now..."
*Clank* *Clank* The thing moves slowly towards Eve, but pauses.
"Yeah. Let's go there and see if he's going to make it worse here." Eve joins Cyrus on her way to the theater.
*Clank* It moves immediately behind her notice.