It was a cold November Wednesday and Helios' lecture was now over. He went to the garden of Eden and bought his weekly bouquet of flowers and had a nice chat with Eden. He went to the library to start his shift. A month ago he had applied to work there. He liked the idea of helping people find books and borrow them for a little while. This nice library had a space for students where mostly old people came to sit and read. There was an old record player and some dusty vinyls next to it. He wasn't getting paid much but he enjoyed it and felt satisfied, he just had to keep everything in order and put back books after they had been given back.
He brought a new vinyl every week – which he had bought at the record store next to it – and played music so the silence would bearable.
Helios started to recognise the people who come here, he loves to talk with them. They are all so nice and lovely. It didn't took him a long time to learn where everything was. His good memory was helpful, he knew the library by heart now. That's why when he found a part behind aisle 13 that he had never seen before, his heart skipped a beat. An entire shelve was there, with hesitation he approached it and looked around feeling suddenly like he was going insane. How could he have missed it?
What struck him was the beauty of it, the mahogany wood shelves were adorned with golden lace. Even though the library was pretty and old, this shelve was completely different from the others which were getting old and damaged. The books on it were looking so old and fancy, this was the type of shelve you would see at the Élysée. He took one of the book and noticed they looked brand new despite their age. He frowned when he opened it and saw nothing, the pages were all blank. He whispered quietly 'What is this?' and he jumped when someone answered 'A shelf, that you were not supposed to see.'
He turned around in panic and was faced with a young woman looking oddly dressed. She wore a slip black dress and black gloves you would wear at a fancy party for rich people. Her red hair was long and wavy. She looked like an angel. 'I don't understand.' Helios mumbled, feeling his breath quicken, his shirt suddenly too tight. 'You don't have to, follow me.' His curiosity was peaked, the situation was strange and nonsense but he did anyway. 'Where are we going?' He asked waiting for her to walk away when all she did was come closer to the the shelf. She, with the tip of her finger, slowly pushed the book towards her and obviously the shelf moved and opened.
Helios couldn't help it but let out a chuckle, 'Are you seriously leading me to a magic world? What is this shit?' She walked inside and turned around. 'Come.' Her voice sounded flat and emotionless. 'Kay' he breathed deeply before stepping inside the small passage. 'Are we entering poudlard?' He joked but the silence had set between them as he walked behind her. It felt akward and the heat in the corridor was making him uncomfortable. They walked for what seemed hours when it probably was only for a few minutes before a bright light blinded him. He heard the sound of a creaking door and the woman walked in. He followed her, and was dumbfounded.
He was at the library, 'Is this a sick joke? Are you fucking kidding me?' He was now speaking loudly with annoyance. 'Quiet.' She ordered dryly. Helios scoffed, 'Great, amazing.'
'Are you utterly unaware?' She asked, her voice deep, vibrating through the hallway. He followed her mechanically, 'I don't get it.' She turned around and faced him, he could now see the deep blue of her eyes and the frown on her face made him uneasy. 'I am starting to think you don't know where we are.' Helios rolled his eyes, 'Finally you get it! I have no idea, what the hell is this? Why did you put a fancy shelf in the library and since when can you create a magic hallway that lead us where? to the library again?' She smiled and looked content with herself.
'Poor thing, how did you escape.' She did not ask a question, it was a statement and Helios had never been more confused, he was losing his patience. 'I'm going home.' He pushed her and didn't look back, 'Good luck with that' He heard her say as he walked through the door. It was raining, proper pouring rain. The sky was menacing and dark. He thought that this was unexpected, it was supposed to be a sunny day. He began walking, the rain making his glasses foggy and it was now hard to see anything. He stopped, his heart falling at his feet when he glanced at where the garden of Eden was supposed to be.
He came closer and took his glasses off, the shop there was a barber and looked very old. He tried ignoring it but the more he walked the more he was starting to realise something was really wrong. The people looked like they were straight out of Grease. Could this be real? He kept walking and arrived in front of UCL, relieved it was still here. He then walked to his campus and entered, avoiding the fact that everything looked old. He went upstairs and noticed how everything was completed different, the stairs were still in wood and the walls were covered in tapestry. The door of his bedroom was red and odd but he opened it anyways to find two men he had never seen before and a rush of panic made his hands shake when he realised his stuff was gone.
He apologised and stormed out, he began running in the street. He didn't care if he was entirely wet from the rain, he couldn't breathe. His head was spinning but he kept running. Back at the library, everything made sense, most of the books here were unknown and brand new when he knew they should be old and crusty. He began thinking and maybe the only logical explanation was that he time travelled. Which let's be real was impossible but how could he explain what was in front of him then? He found the fancy shelf again and he never thought he would be so relieved to see the woman, sat on a chair. In this moment he really wanted to hug her. 'Please, take me me home.' He paused, finally breathing, 'What is going on?' He asked, almost begging.
'If you don't understand then you are not ready to hear it yet, but yes sure I can take you home.' She explained and remained calm seeing Helios' frustration. 'What's your name?' He asked and she replied, 'Diana.' She opened the shelf again with her magic touch and this time she let him go first, 'You know the way' was the last thing she said, as if there was another way.
And, Helios found his way back to the library and went home. 'Jeez, you're soaking wet dude where have you been?' Jamie asked, laughing and Helios knew he couldn't tell him what had just happened when he himself had no clue where he had been. 'Fell in a fountain' felt like the right and logical answer which sent Jamie into infernal laughter and he couldn't help but laugh too.
YOU ARE READING
antidote
RomanceHelios, a history student works at a library and meets a young woman whom he will have a disturbing conversation with. Their conversation will torment him and lead him to a world he doesn't know.
