Celestial Year 345...

Chapter 5 of "This Was Not The Life I Wanted"

It was late at night, almost three in the morning. I put on my mask and took out a crowbar I had equipped on me.

I started to unlatch the top window of the biggest library in the city, towering and silent, its ancient walls filled with secrets. I had one goal in mind; steal the book and get out as fast as I could. 

I made sure no one saw me and I was clear, but in my head, I knew something was wrong, it was awfully too quiet. "Did someone see me?", "Am I going to get caught." All these thoughts started rushing my mind, but no matter what cost, I had too get this book.

It took me awfully too long to open the latch of the window, but after around twenty minutes, it was finally done. I popped the window open and attached a rope for me to climb down the roof.

"Sigh..."

I carefully climb down while looking down to make sure I was in the clear. My feet touched the ground, and I started to look through the endless aisles of the library to find the book boss told me to fetch. 

"I think it was called uhhh... ahh right, "Ancient Writings of Valara"," I murmured silently while trying to find the book.

After hours of searching, I found nothing. I felt like giving up and leaving, but I couldn't... I needed the money.

That's when I suddenly see a gleaming light, shining on a lectern. 

There was stanchions surrounding the lectern, so I walk toward it with caution, thinking that it was something dangerous.

The closer I got, the more curious I get. It felt like my mind wanted to see what was within the barriers, and at a certain point, I couldn't control it. My body started moving faster by itself, and by the time I could realize, I was already within the barrier.

Suddenly, something from the lectern started floating and glowing. It was pieces of paper hurdling all over the place. The automated alarm in the library went off, making a loud ringing sound. Security guards from outside rammed through the door, running straight at me.

...But it was too late.

My mind was gathering all the information on the pieces of papers.

I started seeing names dancing before my eyes like "Razi" and "Trazullon". I also saw hieroglyphics of dragons and demons fighting humans with magic and swords. Ancient letters I couldn't understand flew across my eyes. 

"What do all these things mean?" I questioned myself.

Finally, everything faded away. My vision suddenly blacked out, and next thing I know, I was unconscious.

3 Weeks Later

When I regained conscious, I woke up at the hospital, with doctors all around me. "He's awake!", the doctors yell while I open my eyes. 

I regained full conscious and ask them what happened?

"What happened to me? Why am I at the hospital?", I asked the doctors.

"You've woken up from a three week coma, we all thought you were dead", the doctors explain.

I could only briefly remember what happened that night, something about a book and paper. But there was only one thing I remember clearly, the writings that was on the paper itself. It's like that info was stuck into my memory, something I can't forget.

After weeks of staying in the hospital, I was finally released, but that wasn't the end of my journey. The police were waiting for me outside, ready to escort me to jail.

After I get there, they bombard me with a bunch of questions. "Why were you in the library that late?", "Why was there a bunch of random papers on the floor when we found you?" I just sat there in silence.

I spent the rest of my life in a prison cell, my mind haunted by the images I could never unlearn.

No one believed me. No one ever would.

But if you're reading this, I hope you do.

Because this was not the life I wanted.