The Difference

Chapter 5 Flooded

The next few days I begin skipping school since I already know what they are teaching me it shouldn't be much of a problem its just breaking three laws. 1.Skipping school 2.Reading 3. Having meetings unknowingly. I have read about three book that the keeper has given me. He reads, I read ,he tells me what somethings means, I tell him information containing the outside world, its a pretty good system that we have. We chat about the outside world and then every now and then take breaks. Pages fly by just like the days. Each day a new chapter. Today as I walk through the fallen door the keeper greets me with a friendly hello and I do the same. Then he says with a laugh

"Wow you look like a mess." I grin and know that he is telling the truth, it is pouring outside.

"Have you ever herd the term its raining cats and dogs outside?" He asks me. I shake my head no. Then ask

"Where did you hear it from."

"I read it." He says a tosses me another book for me to read. I look at the cover of the book there is a picture of a big fish on the font and the front of the book reads The Old Man and The Sea By: Earnest Hemingway.

"Looks interesting." I say

"Oh you will love it, at first its a little hard to understand but the writing its so wonderful." The Keeper says.

I sit down next to the small window that is boarded up there is normally light that shines through the window but the rain storm makes there much less light today. I can't see to read so I have to move over next to the keeper and his purple lamp. He looks up from his book and looks back down.

"You know I was just joking about you looking bad, look quiet pretty today" He says not looking up from the book. I smile and I open the book to the first page. Then look back over at The keeper. "Where do you get all these books from there must be hundreds of books here." I ask without looking up from the cover. I look back over at the man sitting in front of me. He smiles real big then his smile goes aways after a second.

"If I told you this you wouldn't be here sitting next to me." He remarks. What dose he mean? Would he kill me, no I don't see him doing that but he did kill that one guy or dose he mean that I would be afraid to sit next to him? I wouldn't be afraid though I kinda like him.

"What do you mean? and question remember when you told me that you killed that man why did you?" He closes his book, he dose this when he is serious. I close mine too to and copy him. 

"I killed that man simply because he was just like you...he wanted knowledge as well but he lied to me. He betrayed me. We used to be keepers you see, we would go to the cites where they would burn or destroy the books we would take the books and bring them here. One day there we got into a huge argument about The Laws of fractaurbem. He was getting sucked into the system, you see he started thinking differently that maybe the Laws were as bad as we used to think. But times are getting worse and you out of most people probably know that because of your father." The keeper stops talking. He sets down his book and just sits there silently.

"If you don't mind me asking" I pause then say "How did he betray you?" He looks up at me and frowns.

"We used to go to the cites where they would burn or destroy books well one time when we were there he told me to wait for him while he was trying to find a book, but he wasn't trying to find a book he was trying to get me caught. I waited and then realized that he set me up when the onservatrics showed up. I managed to escape but what he did never escaped from me the anger built up and up and then it burst." He sighs then opens the book then says "No more questions please at least for today."

"Wait...I have just one more and I swear I won't ask another one again, but you said he was just like me what do you mean, you think I am going to betray you?" The man looks up and smiles.

"No, no,no...you too are so different but there is one thing about you that reminds me so much of him. Your will. Your will to learn something new." This time I am the one who smiles. The keeper looks back down at his book and starts to read. I turn the first page of the book and the words flood into my brain, like the drops that hit the ground outside. Each word is like a new drop and together they form a flood of thoughts inside of my head. The storm of ideas grows bigger and bigger making a puddle of what maybe could turn out in the end to be a rainbow or maybe a disaster. I close the finished book, The Old Man and The Sea is a very intriguing book filled with many wonders and thoughts that would sure leave tears on your face by the end, both drops form inside and through the outside it seems. I look over at the keeper who is concentrating hard on his book. A Tale Of Two Cities. I sit up from the position that I was sitting in and get up. It is now mid afternoon and I should be getting home soon.

"I should get going it seems like the daylight is slowly fading take our reading time away." I say to The Keeper. He looks up from his book and closes it shut, he gets up from the small stool that he always sits in and walk over to the window.

"My Gosh it hasn't stopped raining yet? What are they calling for Noah's Ark?" I don't know what he is talking about but I am guessing it's from a book.

"Yeah I know its crazy if it doesn't soon we will get water logged." I remark. He laughs and then says

"So I am guessing you have never heard of Noah's Ark, so you haven't read the bible then that is a must read for you, you know people before the war would practically worshiped this book."

"Really?!" I say. It must be interesting. "Anyway though I really do have to go. Bye be safe and remember I was never here." I say with a smile

"I hear a voice where is it coming from, it must be my mind playing tricks on me that I have a friend." He say pretending that he doesn't see me and bumps straight into me. I laugh and walk over the door and down the old wooden steps. I look up at the top of the steps and he shouts down to me,

"I really wish I could do what you asked but I can't forget that you weren't here because I like spending time with you!" I turn around hiding that I am blushing. 

I step outside the building looking forward to see sunlight, but that isn't what I see I don't even see sunlight it is hard to even see outside. The rain makes it impossible, and the clouds above cover the sky making sure there isn't a single possibility of a ray of sunlight to shine through the thick layer of clouds. I step out into the rain and get soaked, white is the absolutely worst thing to wear when its raining cats and dogs. By the time I make it to my front door I am drenched, and my clothes have become see through. I open the door to our White house and step inside. I step out of my soggy shoes and socks and throw them aside next to the door, but even my feet leave a trail of water through the house. I run upstairs and change out of my clothes and put on some that are identical to the ones I was wearing before the only difference is that one was soaked and this one is completely dry. I walk down the step and hear the front door open slowly. I peek down the hallway and see my Dad just got home as well and as damp too. I quickly run to the bathroom and grab a white towel from under the cabinet. I run down the hall and hand it to him.

"So how was work?" I ask eagerly so I have new news to give to The keeper.

"Busy very busy or should I say flooded." he smiles then picks me up and spins me around in four circles. He hasn't done that since I was little. I love the feeling it makes me feel like I am flying like the birds. When I was little he used to call me little birdy because I made him pick me up and spin me so much. I sometimes miss those times.

"Oh...have you herd about any new changes with the system?" I ask hoping that he doesn't notice my sudden interest in his work all of a sudden.

"No not really just that they are now going to add a new law saying that anyone caught protesting won't be sent to the ordinaria carcere anymore they will be executed in public."

"What!" I say "Thats insane,mad,crazy!"

"Yes those are all synonyms and yes it is." He says. I give him a look, its the look that says this is not the right time to joke around. Everything todays seems so flooded all the protests, all my thoughts, the pages of the books, the words that form a paragraph, the rain on the streets. Even my sudden interest in the keeper. Each one of them flooded.