The Strange Street to the Wrinkled Memories

The guardian

Meena told, "The librarian and her daughter had called for a worker to help them clean and set up the library. To rearrange the library to maintain well before our queen's birthday. I thought you were the worker invited by them from the village side."
Shravya nodded, "Maybe I could help then, I guess. I am on the picnic so there isn't any work for me now in here. If you direct me in the way to the library, I will put in my best efforts to help them."
"Sure, why not? Morning you can leave and you will be there by noon."
"Thank you so much!"
"So how is our village after these many years, when you see?"
"Extraordinary beauty... But it has a vast area."
"For that why have you used 'But'?"
"Because my leg aches. Walking from the other end to this corner of the village is very hard because it has a vast area."
Meena laughed, "Give me the cup if you have drank the tea."
Shravya finished her tea and handed the cup to Meena. She went in to be fresh when Meena brought the dinner. She set up the table and Shravya sat for dinner. There was bread and butter and vegetables. Having the dinner, Shravya asked, "Why haven't your son come home for dinner?"
"Oh that!" Exclaimed Meena, "They have their training tonight. Just relearning all the martial arts."
Shravya was very much eager to learn things, so she continued, "Why tonight?"
"They practice every year just before our queen's birthday. On that day, there may be attacks from other land because the whole village will be enjoying the birthday without searching for outsiders, so it's easy for our enemies to enter in and attack us."
"Attack, for what?"
"For a book."
"Just a book!"
"Yes, a book."
"Have it ever got stolen?"
"Never, there happened to be many efforts from different far away villages for stealing, but nothing succeeded."
"Amazing! Your son and other soldiers guard it, right?"
"Maybe it should be a no."
"Is there someone else to guard it."
"Probably, the village feels."
"An elf? Other powerful creature? Snakes or animals guarding it?"
"What?"
"What guards the book, according to the villagers? Griffin? Qilin?"
"No, no! Certainly no."
"Then, who is the guardian? Dragons, unicorns, something like that?"
"No dear! We, the aged villagers believe it's a boy. But at the present, children like you in the village, this generation says that it's some magical power that guards the book."
"What! The villagers believe it's a boy."
"Not a boy. We believe it's our prince. The guardian."
"Just a belief? Why, didn't your prince tell you all who is guarding the book?"
"The guardian is not in the palace. Our prince is not in the palace."
"What? A prince who is not in the palace."
"Have your dinner."

Shravya ate her meal, still thinking about the prince who guards the book, the queen who rules this empire, a mad prince who is in the palace, the book that is still being guarded and about herself. Complete madness with these many curiosity of herself and about the village eating up her head. The time itself was spinning inside her, what was her past, what would be her future. To know both of it she must have an idea of her present. Time isn't just the twenty four hour clock but the clock of life.

She soon fell on to the mat to find some peace for herself. She was laying on the floor and Meena was sleeping on the bed in the room. Shravya thought of her dream, where was she, whose were the two sounds that called her from behind, who was that boy at the top of the pillar balcony, where did it lead. She had no answers.

She looked out of the window and saw the palace shadow which was much near. She wanted go their atleast for once. She soon fell asleep.

The sun light fell on her and she turned round and round to cover her eyes, but the birds began chirping and so she had to get up. She got up and became fresh. The door was opened and Meena came in.
"Oh! You have waken up. Morning! I will get the breakfast."
"Morning!" Greeted Shravya as she sat in the dining table. Meena brought sandwich for her with a glass of fruit juice. She was eating when she asked, "The way to the library?"
"A few kilometres from here is village houses itself, then you will get the entertainment sites, then the railway station on the left and few steps from there school and library on the right."
"Thank you so much", she munched in the last bite of the sandwich. She then got up and walked out of the door with her snacks pack. She hugged Meena, and whispered in her ears, "Thank you so much."
Meena smiled at her as she walked away.