See

~|Rinto|~

I always loved the library at sunset. The light streaming through the stained glass windows, leaving small rainbows streaking across the spines of the old books. Especially at times like this, with a warm cup of tea on my lap. The shelves stretched from ceiling to floor, at least 20 feet tall. The air was filled with the scent of vanilla. I closed my eyes and breathed in. 

The large tome in front of me on the table beckoned my attention. A small beam of blue light danced across the page. The candle in front of me flickered, casting an eerie shadow over the words. A large picture of a demon seemed to move, as if it knew what I was looking for.

This was not it.

I'm pretty sure I had gone through every title from demon, to ghost, to phantom, to even fear, but nothing seemed to explain what I saw. Except for ONE SENTENCE! Dear gods, why does everything always have to be so cryptic!

I slammed the tome shut and banged my head on the desk, covering my face with my hands. 

"Everything all right over there, Rinto?"

I shot up, almost falling out of my chair. I can only imagine how strange I looked, my brown hair mussed, tea stains on my apron, bags under my eyes. Thankfully, it was just the senior librarian. I forgot for a second that i was not alone in the library. You would think for this being such a pretentious school that more students would actually take an interest in their studies. What a bunch of rich kids. I mean, granted, i was a rich kid too, but they totally took it for granted! Like, I saw one kid shove an old copy of sitaran in his bag without a care in the world! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND A COPY OF HIS PHILOSOPHY?

"Hello? You there, Rinto?"

"Hm? Oh, Yeah. Everything's good!"

She raised an eyebrow at me, a lock of hair falling out of her loose bun, but returned to replacing books on the shelves. It's a wonder that she had so many books to stock, since i never see anyone else in here. Granted, I do have classes from morning to evening, and the only time i ever really get to be in here is after sunset. Now that i think about it, maybe the library isn't as unused as i thought. 

She wheeled the cart over to the checkout stand, and reached behind the counter to grab her keys.

"I gotta lock up, Rinto. I have class in the morning."

It is always strange to imagine Lydia anywhere outside of the library. She always seems so at home among the books, i forget that she is only a volunteer. Even the way that she walks reminds me of the crackle of opening a book for the first time.

"Yes ma'am!" I quickly got to my feet and brushed off my skirt. I gathered up my books and my bag, and hurried towards the door. I didn't realize how late it got, but now that i looked out the window, the moon was already hovering above the treetops. 

I jogged across the threshold, and gave Lydia a quick wave as i hurried off to my dorm room. I waved to the animated statue of the crow as I rushed up the stairs to my room. Most of the magic nowadays is gone, but some of it remains in little things like statues and paintings. Art is one of the few things that has a lasting impact on the world, so the old Authors, as we call them now, liked to animate their works. No one has been born with magic in a hundred years, though, so the few things we have are precious. 

I finally reached my room at the end of the hall. I swung open the door, dropped my books on the desk on top of a half finished essay that i was writing for my english class, and collapsed on my bed. The old bed frame creaked. I was surprised that the school hasn't replaced these bed frames. I'm pretty sure the one that i'm sleeping on is haunted by some ghost from 1292.

I let out a long exhale, not caring that the room was fully dark. I reached for one of the books on my desk, which I could reach from the bed if I stretched just far enough (the rooms in the castle are very small). I huddled near the window, where the pale moonlight streamed through and illuminated the pages every so slightly. The story told of an old woman who lived by the sea, and fell in love with the sea god, Marin. As I tried to lose myself in the words, the moon drifted just too high. The ledge above the window blocked it out JUST ENOUGH that the pages were no longer covered in the light. If only I had lit the candles before I got comfortable in the bedcovers. Now, I was too comfortable to get up. 

I let out a sigh of exasperation, scraping at the back of my throat.

And that was when every candle in the room lit up.