Cara Evelyn

Chapter-5

~It has been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.~
-Arthur Conan Doyle-

Sun rays filtered through the net curtains hanging over the window by my head. I could feel the warmth of the sunlight on my body as it illusioned a bright red light behind my closed eyelids. I had been awake for fifteen minutes now but opening my eyes felt a burden to me. Moreover, the light warmth of the morning sun felt good after the cold night by the sea. I wondered if she was awake by now or not but then I dismissed the thought when I recalled what she had said about not compromising anything over sleep. I turned to my side, hugging my pillow and opening one eye to peek at the world behind my closed eyelids.

The alley in front of me was lit by golden sun rays which reflected off the shiny wood of the book racks. It was a great feeling to wake up to hundreds of books enveloping you safely. I shifted on my back and stretched comfortably before sitting up and looking out of the window. My eyes took in the sight of fresh green trees guarding their umpteen fellows on the edge of the forest for a millionth time and I smiled slowly. I was lucky to live by the sea and the forest at the same time. The sea was located at the back of the library where we had our private beech while the forest continued to the right side. The building was oddly built at a turn in the road and had a lot of privacy here for which I had developed a fondness over time.

"Why so early?" I turned around to Rob's voice who stood at the end of the alley, his chocolate brown eyes melting in the sunlight. I smiled at him and looked down at my wrist watch that I had forgotten to take off last night before I drifted off to a sound sleep.

7:35.

"It's alright. We have an hour and a half to breakfast. We can settle the books I brought last night." I set my face in my palm and squinted at him due to the bright light pouring inside. He walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress by my feet.

"I'm already done with it, dude. Sorry, I slept last night. You know, you can use some sleep until breakfast. I know how hectic that journey is." He placed a hand on my calf and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah. It is. I know. But I'm done with all the sleep and it won't get to me again, trust me. Don't say sorry for God's sake! Why did you even bother to manage that mess by yourself? I could have lent a hand, Rob." I shook my head and frowned at him before averting my gaze outside the window. "It's not fair." I grunted.

"It's fair. You traveled all the way to bring them so I did my share of setting them in the racks according to the genres. No conflicts. Friends?" He raised a bro-fist to me and ruffled my hair with the other hand. I let out a chuckle immediately and returned the fist. "Friends." It was hard to stay mad at him. He was three years older than me and definitely more mature in every sense. He was a brother to me and I always listened to him because he was more experienced and wise. All those years that I had spent creating the mess in my life, he had been the one to clear it off behind me. I could never pay him back.

"I've brought someone home." I looked at him sheepishly before resting my back against the book case behind me as I joined my fingers together in my lap.

"Finally." He sighed and let out a deep laugh before imitating my position for comfortableness. I scowled at him. I had thought that he'd be surprised at this new information but he looked quite at ease.

"It's not like what you're thinking. I met her on the train last night. She's kinda.....uh..homeless, you know. But yes! It's not for free. She's going to work for us." I raised a hand as I explained it to him. I wasn't sure why I was justifying everything but I didn't want him to feel left out.

"Do not justify, Aaron. You know it's best for us. We could use some help at the moment when the weather's pleasant and we have a lot of readers per day. She's definitely a blessing right now. Now drop this sheepish look and tell me where did you drop her for the night?" He looked at me with an amused smile on his face. Both of us knew that we were deprived of good places to dose off at night. It was one of the drawbacks of living in a library.