Another Life in The Grand Library

Chapter 1. The Newcomer Librarian : Dryad Viridian

Chapter 1. The Newcomer Librarian : Dryad Viridian

The girl walked fastly beside the wood fences that lined the road. She didn't look left or right; she just kept walking on the sidewalk as if there were not even a fence between her and the next corner.
It was late afternoon. The sky had darkened but the sun still shone brightly.
She stopped, placed her violin case on the ground and leaned it against the fence. Then she placed both her arms on the top of the fences then buried her face into them as if trying to block the world out.

"Ooh... My God... it was so embarrassing! I want to disappear!" she said to herself.

She remained there like that for several minutes before a deep sound broke the silence.

"Why the long face?" he said.
The girl knew whose voice it was even though she did not turn around to look at the person.

"Oh.. why ask? You knew. I hit the wrong notes! I'm so stupid. I ruined the whole show in just less than a minute!" She said, "I'm so useless!!"

The man chuckled, "Well..., that couldn't be helped. Accept that you're not an expert in music, anyway, so..."

"I hate ME! I hate ME! I hate ME!" the girl's voice cut him off.

"Hey, stop that, already," he said , sounding concerned. He then came closer to her, tapped her shoulder with one hand. "Look, I'm not going to pretend to have any better idea about music than you do, but let me assure you that, despite your inexperience, the concert went pretty well. That should tell you something."

"But still...," she sobbed a little, "All eyes were on me, and I didn't play well. I'm embarrassed. Everyone will remember it forever."

"Oh, come on, Dryad, it was just a small thing, no one noticed it, though..." he said, trying to reassure her. "And I tell you this, most humans have bad memories, so as time passes they will not recall any of it."

She finally turned around to look at him, "You think so?" she sniffed.

He nodded and added, "Yeah, it's true. People remember certain events and some are very important to them, but other memories become unimportant and forgotten. As for the mistakes you made today, they will forget it someday. So, you should not regret it. you hear me? Forget it," the man now stared at the horizon. He placed his arms and leaned forward . He spoke in a serious tone. "You may be an amateur musician now but you will get better." Then he smiled, "I know it."

She chuckled bitterly, "You needn't have to encourage me. I was about to quit the orchestra."

"Oh?" he said, "It's a shame, though. I always love the violin your late father gave you. It is... not expensive, I know it's not the best instrument, but the memories of it are rich and unmarred, unchangeable..." he trailed off, and turned his head to her, "...precious."

Dryad looked up at him as she
remembered the morning of her father's death. His funeral. And back before that, she remembered the night when he went to buy her first violin.
"Ellias..." she whispered her violin's name. Her family had a tradition to name their main instrument. "Maybe Ellias should rest for..."

"You seriously will give up?" he asked surprisingly.

"No. I'm not finished talking yet, Brilliant! I mean, he should rest FOR A MOMENT because I feel like I lost the strength to even hold Ellias with my hands. I at least need time until I'm ready. To start over. To find a way to redeem myself, again." The girl said. She sounded bitter.

He nodded. "That's understandable," he said. "Just... never say that you hate yourself anymore, you hear me?" He said looking at Dryad. There was sympathy in his eyes.
"You are not useless. If you say it, it sounds like you blame God for creating a failure creature. And you are not a failure. People naturally are born with their own negative and positive traits. You just don't realize yet what your strengths are," he lectured her.

She smiled, "The only strength I know is that I have you beside me."

He chuckled. "Oh! Thanks?"

"Seriously. I mean, not everyone has a very vivid imaginary friend like I do. You feel so real, sometimes I can't even tell which one is the real world and which is my imagination. So.. well, I consider it as my strength."

Brilliant sighed, "Dryad, I think you should go out and find a REAL friend, instead of talking with me," he said. "People would think you're going mad if they see you talk to me, I mean... to yourself."

Dryad turned to him. She could see very clearly before her eyes when the wind blew Brilliant's ash-silvery hair that hung loosely to his shoulder. She even could see her own reflection on his piercing blue eyes. His navy denim jacket matched perfectly with black turtleneck, navy denim pants and high black boots. A silver military necklace glistened from his broad chest.
"You know, you are a very... very vivid imaginary brother," she whispered and smiled wider. And that made him smile too.

"Now, you look nicer with that face. Feeling better now?" he asked as he straightened the collar of her shirt.

"Much, thank you," she replied and grabbed the violin case with one hand, "We should go now. Shall we?"

"Of course," he said.