In The Grand Library, there are no ordinary days for the librarians. Where most visitors found fascinating books, few of them found secret untold, but then Dryad found another life.
The sounds of raindrops against the windows mixed with ticking sounds of the old grandfather clock inside the shop, created a soothing background sound.
Haze's family ran an antique clock shop in the town. After the parents passed away, Haze was actually responsible for the business, but since he always went out somewhere and was busy with his own duties, Eurydice decided to take over his part of the shop and run the place. She let her only younger brother explore outside and live in a different house on his own. She knew Haze would come visit her in his free time anyway.
The clock shop was quite old. Passed down from their grandfather to their parents, until now at Eurydice's hand. The big grandfather clock was in the corner of the room. And more clocks of different sizes hung on the wall. There were long tables on both the left and right side of the room, with a few books and tools on it. A shelf full of spare parts stood tall. Beside that table was another big shelf that was mostly made of glass, showcasing their finest creations.
In the kitchen, there was a bar table with four tall stools sitting on each side. There was a blackboard hung on the opposite wall. It was covered with all types of maps and notes. There was also a curved window with curtains hanging to shade the window. And above the curtain, there were old portraits, painted years ago. Other smaller photographs hung on the other side of the wall.
"How do you like your tea? We have green..., black or chamomile. Hm... what else does my sister have here? Ah! Coffee. Chocolate powder...then..." Haze murmured while looking through the cupboard.
Dryad watched Haze's movements as he busied himself with the preparation. Her heart was still pounding wildly no matter how much she tried to calm herself. She tried not to let the thoughts of what happened today consume her whole. But still, there was something that she needed to clarify.
She took a deep breath and spoke up, "Um, Haze... can you tell me something about Alexey?"
Haze paused his searching for the cups. He froze for a moment and looked down. "You want to know? Why?"
"Well... Thinking about all that happened in Another World, I need to clarify something," Dryad said. "You keep calling Brilliant with the name Alexey. I am just curious. Why?" Dryad asked back, speaking the second 'why'.
Haze sighed. But he forced a bitter smile. For him, it was a painful truth to admit. His hand reached the drawer below the bar table. Between old notebooks, there were some photos. He picked them up and showed them to Dryad. "This... what I want to show you."
Dryad examined each of those photos. Captured moments from young adult-hood to recently, like puzzle pieces of a big memory. Her jaw dropped as her widened eyes directly landed on someone. A very familiar figure in the pictures.
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