The Library

Nihil River flowed through Neocity, curving under a wooden bridge near the Library. Mathilde had been walking along the river for the past few days. Not having her own transportation put her in a category of people needing special attention. However, special attention required money, which she didn't have to spare. She had been saving all the money from Mr. Burry's generous pocket, carefully putting it aside for this adventure. An adventure and an escape. It was the first journey she had embarked on since turning twenty. Children were no longer children at this age and could now choose for themselves. Mathilde had slipped from her parents' orbit, especially her mother's.

Neobirds were flying in great numbers here. They were the only ones unable to sense Mathilde’s loneliness and, even worse, her susceptibility to the dangers of the modern world: addiction, abuse, fractured relationships, and struggle to create new ones. She had always been a fragile child, and now, as a teenager, her fragility pushed her to unimaginable limits.

Pivotal moment came a few months ago, during the reign of Melchior the Third. Insidious narcissism entrenched in the walls constructed by Mr. Burry finally erupted on a massive scale.

After Mr. Burry's death, Mrs. Burry transformed into distant and inattentive version of herself, seemingly oblivious to her daughter's needs. She took on a new, riskier persona, resembling a reptile that had shed its former self. Grief clouded her senses and disrupted her ability to form any attachment with Mathilde, favouring her younger daughter, Claudia. With Mr. Burry no longer there to shield Mathilde from her mother's harshness, Mrs. Burry evolved into a complex and hostile character. One could say about her she finally became a full-fledged shrew.

Despite the lack of intervention or consequences for her behaviour, Neocitizens had no choice but to seek answers at the Library, where Mathilde hoped to find a solution to her current struggles.

This place granted orphaned children unique privileges, regardless of their age. Upon learning of the death of at least one of their biological parents, they could access this area. Surprisingly, they were the sole individuals, aside from the staff, allowed entry. The only requirement was to present a death certificate. In a hurried moment, Mathilde snatched one from her mother and quickly copied it. Once finished, she returned the paper to its original place - a vast drawer beneath her mother's bed. This detail might offer insight into her mother's character.

A heavy iron-wrought gate in rusted green welcomed Mathilde into the scene. She buzzed the red button, and after a few seconds, entered the heavily guarded building. Although there was no physical evidence of the security, entry required a fingerprint verification, preventing unauthorised intruders. Long, wide corridors extended into the imperceptible horizon, adorned with small green doors peeking out from grey walls.

By the front desk, Mathilde signed the register, presented the certificate, and then set off, accompanied by a bearded man in blue denim dungarees and a plaid shirt. They walked for miles, their footsteps tapping to the rhythm of a dull echo. After a few minutes of this unprecedented tango, they reached room number 77 - the place where all of Mathilde's desires and dreams awaited her.

In the form she completed after her biological father's passing, Mathilde clearly stated her preference for a specific woman - someone empathetic enough to navigate various unexpected encounters she had with the public. It was crucial for this woman not to be abusive, as such behaviour could never win Mathilde's heart.

Interestingly, prospective parents often emerged from those who had experienced the loss of a child and the subsequent grief. What was even more significant was that these new parents did not become abusers themselves. They held onto a sliver of hope that somewhere, someone else was seeking them out as replacements for their biological parents.

When Mathilde located the correct pigeon hole specified on the library card, labelled as number 1752, she retrieved the desired information and read aloud:

Kirkby Lonsdale

Age: 55

Expertise in developmental psychology, with a focus on language development.

Lost her only daughter to a leukaemia 5 years ago.

Mathilde jotted down the numbers from the top right corner of the card. Content, she turned back in the direction she had come from, prepared to await further instructions.

While packing at home later, a troubling feeling overcame her. She envisioned a dark abyss engulfing her mother, sister, and everything they had built together against Mathilde’s spirit. Envisioning regaining control of her life, she relied on her new adoptive mother. Eagerly expecting seeing her face and hearing her soothing voice, she sought comfort and support. She said to herself, “Mothers are encouraging and loving, not venturing on the crusade to pamper their own ego and causing discord between daughters for irrational reasons. We should never tolerate such behaviour; if it happens, we must eliminate it at any cost.”

When Mathilde's biological mother saw Ms. Lonsdale arriving the next day, she pleaded with Mathilde to stay. It was a common reaction that Mathilde later learned had occurred. Her wounded motherly instincts had been dormant until then, but the thought of losing her older daughter brought them to the surface. However, it was already too late to change anything or find a way out of the situation.

Mathilde's biological mother had never spoken openly to her, even though Mathilde had seen and heard her having long conversations with Claudia many times. Whenever Mathilde mentioned it, Mrs. Burry dismissed it as if those conversations had never taken place. This made Mathilde appear unreliable and delusional. The situation had gone on for too long and had become unbearable. When Mr. Burry eventually passed away, there was nothing of value left in Mathilde's family home. She had no choice but to move forward to avoid losing her sanity.

Later at the hospital, where Mathilde had visited once with her new mother, worried about her new daughter's condition, news from Dr. Parva shattered both of them. The diagnosis was the Womb Complex, a modern ailment that revealed harmful substances in Mathilde’s brain which, if left untreated, could cause various diseases, such as cancer. Mathilde felt like her life had once again found a secure foundation. With her fate in expert hands, she envisaged a long and stable future ahead.

Sometime later, as she was reading the newspaper, she came across the obituaries page and noticed her mother's name among them. The sight made her pause, bringing back memories of the past. She immediately called her adoptive mother over, and together they read the heartbreaking news. Mrs. Burry had passed away by suicide, and Mathilde's sister had taken care of the funeral arrangements and inherited all the assets, including the house. Despite this, Mathilde found something invaluable - freedom from fear and a chance to start a new and fulfilling chapter in her life.