Once Upon a Story [ HIATUS ]

Night Time Talk + A/N

As you know, I'm reading The Will of the Many and focused on finishing it, meaning I won't be posting the next part of the Not Castlevania series anytime soon. In the meantime, I'll post old stories pulled from my Amino archives. There won't be any quote-on-quote new content until I finish it. Until then, enjoy the refreshed content.

Word count: 1054
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She was tired, and the air was cool. The mood was calm, not blue, but neither was it joyful. Today was a regular day for Naru. Sitting at her desk, she wrote and wondered where time had gone.

"Three long hours are past, but the present is bland, and the future looks even more boring."

She rolled her chair back, escaping the room to visit her friend: the reader. Little did she know, Andrea was dealing with a mess of issues.

"This nonsense is even worse than yesterday."

Andrea couldn't remember where she had left her book, one with empty pages where her mind could imagine stories at will. Usually, a snap of her fingers brought the book to her hand, but her mind was too preoccupied to remember that detail.

"Do I even want to clean up?" she sighed, curling up on a bookshelf. "Whatever, I'll just nap for now."

The area rose to a comfortable temperature as the air filled with moisture. Thin droplets poured from seemingly nowhere, covering the loud flutter of pages in a soft rain. Far away, thunder rumbled with no lightning, and cars drove by.

The sound travelled outside the doors, alerting Naru of the bizarre weather change.

"It's raining in the library?"

Thinking about it, it made sense. Andrea loved the rain, but it made her sleepy. It wasn't ideal for reading. Opening the doors, Naru couldn't hold her surprise.

"What happened here?"

Books were flying off shelves, flapping and floating about. The spiralling maze of bookshelves was crooked and broken, clumsily stuck together like a child's first craft. Even the lights strung about were flickering, most not even lit.

There was no order and no librarian in sight.

"Andrea, where are you?" Naru called out to her friend. She let her mind take over, floating about, looking for the distressed girl.

She hoped to find her friend before the rain became torrential. Shivering from a wet patch of her sweater touching her skin, Naru realized she was wet. It wouldn't be long until Andrea unknowingly ruined her library.

Following a trail of progressively heavier rainfall, Naru found Andrea dozing on a bookshelf. She landed by her feet, knowing her friend was awake.

"Are you aware that the place is a mess?"

"To an annoyingly high degree, yes," Andrea replied, sitting up, eyes swollen with tears and fatigue. "I've been trying to get some shut-eye all day, and every time I lay down, my mind turns on."

"Maybe take a few deep breaths and stop the rain first," Naru suggested. "Your books are getting wet."

Only then did Andrea seem to realize how bad the situation was. Her friend's hair glimmered, and her clothes were spotted with dark areas. She was wet from the rain.

The pitter-patter slowed to a stop, and the remaining water evaporated, leaving no trace it had fallen. Naru sat, legs dangling off the ledge and opened her mind to listen. Without saying a word or looking her way, Andrea knew she wanted her to pour out her feelings, something she rarely did.

"You know, conversations are supposed to be two-sided."

"Think of it as talking to yourself."

Andrea snorted; she was amused. Nonetheless, she rambled about the worsening day.

"And I've been unproductive all day, but my mind won't let me rest even though my eyes tear up every time I yawn."

She chuckled sadly, wiping tears as she strained another yawn. "Human limitations are frustrating at times. We can't function without sleep, but some struggle to find it. It's like the universe is punishing you for something out of control. 'You're an aberrant,' it says, 'An outsider. You don't match the normal data and, therefore, will be discarded for the sake of balance.' And then starts a journey to fix your errors or fit within an acceptable range only to realize nothing will fix your uniqueness."

"Poetic."

"I think ironic is the right word." Andrea yawned again, tears blurring her vision. "Had I been more awake, half those words would have never left my mouth. Heck, none of those words would have strung out so beautifully."

"I can't argue with you there," Naru sighed. She was the same. Many times, she produced her best work at night. It didn't help her sleep hygiene, but it was the way she worked best. She understood Andrea. They were the same, two sides of a coin.

Andrea had her bad nights, and so did Naru. Sometimes, it was caused by the aggressive typing before bed. Sometimes, their eyes were glued to a story, scrolling on their phone screen. Other times, the girls had no clue why they couldn't sleep.

But in the end, whenever it happened, it was just 'another bad night.' They complained and wished they could sleep without issue at night, but was that honestly their wish? Would they be who they are without those hours awake at night? Would they be okay, living their whole life during the day when noise and light bashed their senses? Would they truly be happy without their silent hours of solitude?

Only at night could they be themselves, without judgement from the world, away from all prying eyes.

"Say, Andrea, are we okay?" Naru asked. "Can we say with conviction that we feel good about who we are?"

"Yes, because if we don't, we'll truly be lost."

"Fake it until you make it, huh."

"I call it more of a mad dash for the next safe point, but your analogy works too."

"Maybe that's why we're always tired. We're always running for a safe space," Naru snickered, and it went silent. A calm breeze ran through the library corridors, ridding the space of its heavy atmosphere. It whispered past Andrea's ears, blocking out the ring bugging her for hours now. Her mind finally relaxed, and Naru watched the library rearrange itself. Even the bookshelf they were on floated to another space. In minutes, everything was back to its usual order.

Andrea returned to her couch, still upside down on the ceiling and covered herself with a blanket. Her book appeared above her head, flipping pages as she closed her eyes. Naru saw her dreams appear on the pages and smiled. But her brows turned down, sad and pensive.

Only in her moonlit silence do you see your true self, she thought, Innocent and playful, looking for someone to understand you perfectly without judging you by the heaviness in your eyes.