The Jackalope Librarian

( 空 ) ONE / Quinta Voce

I used to live deep within the wilds of a magical forest, burrowed with my four brothers and sisters beneath the empty shell of an ancient tree. Its roots wound through our home and gave us each our own space to sleep, but most nights, we would choose to curl up in a pile at the very end of the burrow and sleep to the lullaby of our heartbeats.

Jackalopes were supposed to be solitary creatures, but my siblings and I never knew the meaning of the word. The eldest was Olympia, and she was more Lope than Jack—a warrior with a heart of gold, always protecting us from predators and facing whatever hardships we fought head-on. She used to dream of going on adventures and bards singing of her fortunes in taverns.

Following her were the twins, Lumen and Caine, who could not have been more opposite. Where Lumen was mischievous and excitable, Caine was humble and craven. Lumen often scared Caine until he would start to cry, and then he would be scolded, and try to shift the blame onto anyone else. Once he blamed me and said I'd stomped on Caine's tail, and apparently I replied, "We have tails?!"

I was very young.

The one closest in age to me was Runa, and she was the most beautiful thing in the entire wood. Her fur shimmered in the sun and glowed in the moonlight, and the way she would run through the forest and bounce off of trees and rocks was a sight to behold. She was so lovely you wanted to keep your eyes on her, but she wouldn't let you. She wanted to be quicker than the eye could see.

And then there was me. Eurydice.

I was the youngest, and despite being raised by my four siblings, I was nothing like any of them. I wasn't brave like Olympia. I wasn't cunning like Lumen. I wasn't tender-hearted like Caine. And I wasn't beautiful like Runa.

I wasn't really anything at all, but that was okay, because I dreamed of being so much more than I was.

Olympia would stomp at me if I strayed too far from the burrow to go and sit at the forest's edge, but her protective anger never dissuaded me. Whenever I could I would steal away, run as fast as my little legs would take me, and I would curl up underneath a fallen log and gaze at the city across the open field. Most creatures of the forest simply called it The City, but I had overheard people coming and going mention its true name: Quinta Voce.

The Fifth Voice.

The Fifth Jackalope.

I hardly knew how to count to five, but I knew that Quinta Voce was my fate.

Many years passed and I watched from the forest's edge how the city grew. Adventurers would come and go, people would grow and die, the seasons would cycle and life would begin again the next year. Nothing ever stayed the same, and yet, I could count on the cycle of life for its continuity. Perhaps it would claim me someday and someone knew would watch over Quinta Voce from my place. Maybe even venture in.

Oh, how I longed to walk the cobbled streets—take part in the booming festivals I could hear from afar, eat all of the foods whose smells made my mouth water, meet all of the people whose gaze I could never meet. I wanted to dance, sing, play, live.

My siblings never understood my desires. Olympia told me that the city was full of dangerous people who would hurt me if they got the chance. Lumen pretended like he was one of them and trapped me in a net of vines as a prank. Caine begged me not to leave him alone. Runa simply said I was foolish.

Perhaps I was foolish, now that I look back.

One year, right at the beginning of what the city folk called the Festival of Hearth, I dared to step out from within the forest and into the field of tall grass. I had to hop through to see where I was going, my nose tickling on the stems of wildflowers.