Fragments of a Broken World: The Lost City [Complete]

Episode 14 - The Stories are Told by Word of Mouth

"Well, that's why I'm here."

"Yes! Let's start, I mean, perfect, um, hehe, look, I practiced a lot, but I always get nervous when speaking."

"Don't worry."

"Oh, it's just that... " She sighed. "I must make myself understood."

"Alright, I listen."

She, despite trying to maintain the excitement she was feeling, started talking to me at full speed and without taking many pauses.

"Great, well, follow me. Here, in this library, we have as many literary books as history and math books. We also have manuals for different professions. Some of the manuals were on the upper floor, and we moved them downstairs, so you'll have to excuse the mess of this place."

"Take a breath, librarian."

"I do, I do! It's just that while I talk, I breathe in the small pauses, so it's not noticeable. It's a good trick you acquire when you read aloud." She raises her index finger, adjusts her glasses, and answers me calmly this time. "And my name is Sali, not 'librarian.'"

"Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm-"

"Broken Forever, yes, they told me your name, and the truth is that I was expecting something else, but you surprised me, in a good way, of course."

I was going to ask, but yes, I can imagine what could be deduced from such a name.

"So you speak the same language as us."

"Lucky, right?"

"Yeah, and... do you like reading?" She asks me while approaching a bookshelf to look for something.

"Yes, just my favorite books are literature, history, and mathematics, although I don't know if you ever feel like you don't know what is fiction and reality."

"Oh yes, that happens a lot, especially in times like these. Look, take this."

As she hands me a book, I realize I can't recognize the title. It has a strange letter on the cover.

"What is this supposed to be?"

She smiles as she looks at the book and then looks back at me. "It's French, don't you know it?"

"I've never seen anything like it."

"There are several languages like this in the library. We read them, but we don't speak them. Well, it's not like everyone cares to learn two languages. Let's try this one."

She searches for another shelf and passes me the book.

"No, not this one either."

"It's English, wow, I think it's going to be complicated. Half of these books are in other languages, but luckily we have a dictionary to translate the words."

"And nothing in Nigerocongolese?"

"What we speak is a mixture of several of them, but it's not a language, but rather a branch of languages, like Latin for example. They wanted Swahili to be the official language before, but as expected, those who didn't like it or simply didn't know how to speak it refused."

"I see, I think I understand. In fact, that would explain why some people don't understand them completely."

"Well, of course, there are words you might not know or idiomatic rules. Do you know any other language?"

"I tried to study Arabic, but I only understand some things in writing and very few, and I didn't meet anyone who spoke it, at least not that I remember, which isn't much."