The Glow in the Library

I sat quietly on the edge of an old stone wall overlooking a lush vibrant field, the grass dancing back and forth while the summer breeze slowly made its way through the grass and washed over me with a quiet warmth of the summer night. It was the time in the evening when wildlife began to stir, when crickets began to call out to the setting sun, filling the air with musical notes. With my legs dangling freely from the wall I decided it was time to head into town. I placed both of my hands down on the uneven stone surface, and with a swing of my legs, I leapt off the wall, propelling myself forward as I fell through the air landing on the moss-covered ground with a muffled thud. I started to make my journey back home before the sun was fully down for the day. I crossed the field, just enjoying the warmth of the breeze every time it made its way to me. The smells in the air caught from the flowers and trees brought me inner peace. “Such a perfect day” I thought to myself, even time itself seemed to stand still at some points. Almost as if to let me enjoy how wonderful and picturesque this day truly was. The sky was painted with pastels as I made my way down the hill into the canopy of trees that awaited me.

As I entered the shade of the forest, the path became cool with the absence of sunlight. I could hear slight rustling in the foliage above as squirrels danced through the branches chirping at each other, as the chase continued. I made my way down the path, playfully jumping off rocks and snatching leaves off low hanging branches as I went. Stepping through each beam of sunlight that broke through the treetops and soaking in the warmth of the sun for a quick moment. I thought to myself, maybe it was because of the time of day or maybe it was the aromas in the air, but I suddenly was craving a hot tea. There was this bookstore in my town, called “The Lazy Stool” that had a coffee shop called “The Sleepy Owl” attached to it. The name always made me laugh, since anyone purchasing coffee from the shop would not be sleepy for a while. Everyone in town knew how strong their coffee was. I would typically spend my weekends holed up in the library reading every book I could get my hands on. I mostly gravitated towards fantasy/fiction books; I always appreciated the story telling. My whole body was moving on autopilot as I made my way out from the protection of the forest and onto the old cobblestone road. It was eerily silent on the street this evening, not many people out enjoying the weather, or perhaps everyone was inside of their homes for the night preparing for bed. I knew the library was open till eleven tonight, so I had more than enough time

The bell above the door rang out as I stepped into The Sleepy Owl, bright smiles came from behind the counter as the staff instantly recognized me and started to brew my usual. Stepping up to the counter, they asked me through whispered voices how my day was. A grin crawled across my face as I felt a tinge of embarrassment. My hand came up to rub the back of my head as I explained how I was on the outskirts of town watching the sunset in the field behind the forest. They both smiled as this wasn’t out of the ordinary for me. The steam billowed from my tea, as she passed it to me from over the counter. I could feel the warmth radiating into my body instantly, as I looked back up at her, she gave me a wink and said, “don’t push yourself too hard tonight”. With a bit of a chuckle, I turned and made my way to my usual spot.

I was a creature of habit. I liked my usual drink, and I liked sitting in my usual spot in the library. It was a secluded corner so I knew I would be alone, it had two spots for sitting but it was only ever occupied by me. It became an easy routine of mine, as I could escape into the depths of the library and spend a couple of hours among the books and get lost in the stories. I slipped through the rows of novels, picking them off the shelves every time one caught my eye, creating a substantial pile in my arms. Making my way to the corner, I turned past the last row of books and I abruptly stopped. I was surprised to see that there was a woman sitting in my spot. I hesitated for a second, stalling at the lip of the entrance. She felt my presence and as she looked up to see who was standing there, the setting sun crept through the window and connected with her blonde hair – illuminating the room with a shimmer of light. The way her hair fell down her slender frame, was as if liquid gold was flowing down her body. Her beautiful blue eyes scanned over me, slowly making their way up to meet my gaze.

Suddenly, I could feel my heart rate rising. Her eyes teetered between an aquamarine stone, and the ocean, with power flowing beneath them, as if in a moment everything could change. They washed over me like a gentle tide coming in from the sea, but I was still intimidated by her presence. However, she had a sense of calmness to her. I had never seen this woman before, she completely and utterly threw me off my routine, but for some reason I didn’t mind. I settled into the chair closest to me and set down the stack of books I had pressed in my arms. I could feel her eyes lingering, I met her gaze one more time only to see a small smirk on her face. She had olive skin with beautiful, accentuated cheek bones, and her lips were full and rosy as they slowly moved back into position from the slight smile. I suddenly became self-conscious of the books I had picked for my evening read, were they childish? Was she judging me for what I chose? Or does she enjoy my taste in novels? My mind began to wander as I was very aware of the fact that another person was in the room with me. I smiled back at her, and I cracked open a book to begin my reading. Enough with the nonsense of what ifs, I was here to read for the evening and that’s what I needed to do.

It was almost closing time when I heard the muffled sound of this mysterious woman getting ready to leave. I looked up from my book to see her standing there, even though the sun had already set, it seemed like her hair naturally let off this low, wonderful glow. She stood motionless for a second, and then turned to face me. She stepped forward with a smile on her face, her eyes never leaving mine as she made her way over to me. The way she moved was smooth and delicate, every step she took was precise, and still her hair bounced back and forth playfully through the air. She was one step away from me when her lips parted, her voice was angelic, like birds singing on a summer day. What she asked me was something so simple but elegant, “Excuse me, I noticed you earlier and wanted to come over here and introduce myself before I left, my name is ...” as I eagerly waited for her to finish her sentence, a sound of a branch snapping broke through and caught my attention. I looked around puzzled because I couldn’t understand where the noise came from. That’s when my vision blurred, I rubbed my eyes, blinking rapidly, but everything was so distorted, and I couldn’t understand what was happening. I looked back at the girl to see if she heard the noise as well, but she was frozen in place.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief one more time and when I opened them, I found myself laying in the lush field outside of town. Shadows stretched long across the land as the sun was low in the sky. I let out a sigh as I heard birds singing in the distance and realized that it was all just a dream. I sat up and brushed the dirt off my back, the woman seemed so... so real but, unreal. All those fantasy books I’ve been reading, now even my dreams are preoccupied with the imaginary. My mind was still spinning, trying to comprehend that everything that just occurred was a dream. I stood up rocking on my heels as I let out a big stretch, reaching my hands to the sky. I guess I shouldn’t have expected something so extraordinary to happen in my life, I might need to cut back on the number of books I read.

This time making my way down the path, it seemed like more work, it was darker, there wasn’t any noise from the animals in the forest. I quickened my pace just enough that I could be in town in a couple of minutes. Another branch snapped behind me, it jolted my memory of the dream and how I was woken up. Was there something or someone watching me? Could I have been followed? I was in a brisk walk at this point, as I burst onto the cobblestone road, I was very alert and felt anxious of my surroundings. I noticed that The Lazy Stool and The Sleepy Owl were still open, so I darted across the street into the comfort of the building. Turning around, I was confronted by the puzzled faces of the staff at the coffee shop. I faked a smile and told them that I was in a hurry to at least read one book this evening. They half smiled as if they felt my trepidation, but they told me I had a half an hour, surely that would be enough time.

The library was dimly lit at this point, it gave a feeling of intimacy. I grabbed a book from the shelves and made my way to my corner. I was about ten steps away when I noticed a soft glow coming from the doorway. My heart was racing, could she be there? Is she real? Her hair flashing in my memory, remembering the feeling of when our eyes first met. I took a couple more steps towards the cusp of the entrance and froze. If I turned around now, I could forever believe that she was sitting in the room, fate had her waiting for me, but I chose to go home instead. Or I could take a couple more steps, turn that corner, and face whoever was on the other side. It could be her sitting there, or the total disappointment of someone leaving a light on. I stood for several moments until I remembered a quote I had heard the other day, “Everyday in life we are given the opportunity to either step forward into the unknown or step back into safety”. The choice is yours every single day. I took two more steps forward, the glow of light was just beyond the edge of my shoe, just another step and I would see who was sitting there, if anyone was.

This. This right here is what I loved about the novels I read, the anticipation of the unknown, the wish that everything that could be possible, would be. I had to step into the unknown. I had to know if someone – if she – was there. I took one more step forward, turning myself into the secluded room…And there she was, as beautiful as in my dream, her blue eyes floated up to meet mine. A soft smile spread across her face I couldn’t help but to smile back, her blonde hair was brighter than any light in the library, as if any where she went, light could never truly be extinguished. I wanted to be in that light forever, I stepped into the room and slowly sat myself in the chair, cracked open the book in my hands and began to read. I smiled as I thought to myself, the rest of the story has already been written.