The Midnight Library

Chapter 2 - The path not taken

She sat across from Milo, her mind still stunned at the revelation of the Midnight Library. The air was thick with the scent of old paper and a hint of something floral. She gazed at him, a blend of curiosity and hesitation in her eyes. Eliza repeated her question again. "Where do I start?" Patiently waiting for a reaction. She might appear composed on the outside, but inside she is in a state of panic. Milo thought to himself before standing up and walking over to a section filled with books that seemed a bit on the vintage side. Even though he is older, he moves with a certain grace and smoothness, as if he were still young. The leather of the covers appeared darker the further he looked. At the very end of his vision, a few were broken or torn, damaged beyond repair. His fingers are traveling over the bookshelves beside him. He comes across one in particular that piques his interest. "Ah, perfect. Let's begin here." He exclaimed, then carefully pulled it out. Milo returned to her side and sat down across from her. He crossed his arms over each other, adjusting his position to get more comfortable. "This is the first book you should read. It holds an important choice you've made when you were younger that led to a different path, a different life." Eliza retrieves the book, it has a certain weight to it but is still lighter compared to the other books she put on the shelves earlier that day when she worked. A few accents flow across the cover, with her name written in elegant font in the middle of it. It held a certain charm to it, seeing her name written in gold. Her fingers trembled a bit with excitement, and she took a deep breath, composing herself as she opened the first page of this book.

The midnight library around her blurred out, and her vision became unclear. She blinked a few times until she found herself in a familiar place. It was the old house she used to live in with her family during her childhood years. It wasn't a big one, but it was enough to make her family happy. A living room, warm colors, and the familiar scent flowing through the air. Everything was in the places where she remembered it. In particular, the couch was her favorite spot in the entire building. She used to lay there when the sun shone through the window, comfortable and warm on a sunny day, just enjoying the comfort of her own home. It was a fun and memorable time, that she cheerished deeply. Eliza continued looking around the room, the book tightly in her hand, as if afraid to let go. Suddenly, a few voices caught her attention. Her gaze turned towards them, a few tears welling up in her eyes as she recognized them. Oh, how badly she wanted to return to the old days, that were only a memory now. A scene started to play out that was described in the book pages she held. It was her mother and her younger self talking to each other. She remembered it well, as the little girl was seen holding up the audition papers to her mother, very excited to show her something. Meanwhile, Eliza chose in her life not to audition for the play and to focus on her studies instead, which led her to the path of a librarian. But in this scene, something different happened: "I'm going to do it, mom! I'm going to audition for the play!" The little girl, or rather her younger self, exclaimed confidently to her mother. She seemed to be very fond of her little girl. "I am so proud of you, sweetheart. Keep following your dreams. You'll do amazing." Her mother encouraged little Eliza, gently ruffling up her hair that stood a bit messy from the girls head. The changed memory began to blurr again as Eliza, who was still clasping the book, turned the page, and another scene began to form differently in front of her eyes.

This time, she saw her younger self a few days later, auditioning in front of the school. Her confidence seems to never waver, as she beams full of it. She stood in the middle of the big stage that was built for the event. A microphone is by her side, and lights shine onto the stage, setting the scene beautifully. A school band can be seen in the background of her, along with a few fellow students who accompanied her play. Little Eliza seems so happy and full of curiosity, as she continued the show, she had an exceptional talent to capture the crowd's unwavering attention. Behind the curtain, backstage, her mother was waiting impatiently with one of the staff members. She was hoping everything was going well, but she had not doubt in her mind that her daughter would make it. In fact, her mother was her biggest cheerleader, supporting her dream alongside her. She seems nervous but full of pride in what her little girl is doing right now. As the performance neared its end, a big applause filled the room, and everyone seemed satisfied with the girls performance. Eliza stood there watching, she couldn't believe that could have been her if she had made that choice. In real life, she was quite the opposite of confident, she rather held herself back from talking out loud. There was a significant difference in both of their characters. Compared to herself, the little girl seemed louder and more open, while she was more quiet and preferred to stay in her own comfort zone. But it didn't seem too bad, as she turned the page yet again.

Another scene played out, this time she is standing backstage in a dressing room. She saw her older self in front of a mirror, doing her makeup and hair for the upcoming concert. Eliza looked around the room, it was full of posters and pictures of different cities. A few of them showed her performance in front of thousands of fans. Several chosen pictures featured her bandmates, who were her close friends. More photos are scattered on the table on the side, she liked to keep her little moments captured in a picture to remember them. Eliza's older self was humming along to a song as she continued to pimp her appearance. She pulled out a little microphone that goes around her ear and the little cable that connects to the device, which she then put on the back of her belt. Everything seemed ready for the performance as she looked at herself in the mirror with a confident look. "I can do this." She said to herself, taking a few breaths to get the nervous feeling out of her. In this moment, the door behind her opened, and a band member peeked her head inside the room, searching for her. "Liza?" Her band member called out, Liza was her nickname, which they gave her. "Everything is ready, are you coming? We will do a quick sound check, and then it will start." She gave a quick reply of "Coming!" back to them. They gently shut the door, leaving her alone in the room. She took one last glance at a picture she held in her hands before setting it aside and walking out of the room, locking the door behind her. After a few moments, with the book still grasped in Eliza's hand, her face turned to the picture her older self had held. She gently stepped to the desk, intrigued and picked it up. It was her and her mother, the two of them together. A side hug, and both of them were smiling brightly at the camera. It gave a warm feeling inside Eliza's head, imagining that happening to herself. As she kept looking at it, the scene before her eyes started to blur out again, a feeling of slight sadness washed over her, and the picture dissapeared from her sight.

As everything got back into focus, she found herself back in the midnight library. The book is still open in her lap. Her eyes looked up at Milo, wide with wonder. "That was... incredible." she whispered. "I never knew..." Milo nodded, his expression gentle. "Every choice leads to a different path. Some paths lead to great triumphs, others to different kinds of fulfillment. The important thing is to understand who you are and who you want to be." Eliza closed the book, setting it back on the table. Milo put the book back where it belonged. After he came back, he began to put out the candles in the library. Her eyes were following him around. "Can't I read another one?" she asked him. "A different time. You should go and get yourself some rest. It is later than you will imagine." He said as she looked at her wrist, where a watch was sitting. It was one in the night already. "Oh... time flew by like nothing..." "Time is different here in the library, so be careful to always look at it when you come visit. You can get lost in the books, loose time." he explained, sighing. "That is one reason why I am also the caretaker of this place, to remind you that outside of here is your real world waiting." Eliza stood up, walking over to the door she once came inside. "Will you be there tomorrow?" Milo looked at her with a gentle expression. "Of course, I'll be waiting for you at midnight." he said as she opened up the door, stepping back outside. The door creaked softly, closing shut behind her, as she saw herself back into the library where she had been working. Her hand reached out to get her bag, putting it over her shoulder.