Vibrant Eyes

Chapter 3

I spent more time in that attic than deemed healthy. I was occasionally joined by my adopter, who claimed his name was Matthew. I had always admired that name, it always seemed so studious.

If binge reading was considered illegal, then I would have served a life sentence with Matthew. We read any free time we had. We didn't have to talk, just reading books in the silent room was enough company for a week. We shared our favorite stories and had detailed debates about our favorite characters. I never wanted it to end. But all great things must.

On a quiet Thursday, Matthew had to go into the center of the city for new furniture and some paint for our plans to renovate the library. We had the designs down to a tee and had everything planned out perfectly. It was almost done. We just needed the finishing touches of furniture and paint for the bookcases. It wouldn't take more than an hour so I stayed behind and did some rearranging.

It had been such a beautiful day. Not a cloud to be seen and only a faint breeze in the air. I finished what I had been doing and sat down to wait until Matthew got home, which should have been soon.

Waiting became tiring and turned into a nap under the skylight, with the warm sun rays beaming on me like a spotlight. The floor was cold but my sun kissed skin felt like a blanket of serenity. I loved moments like these. Moments where it felt like time slowed and the smile embedded on my face would last an eternity. It lasted more like an hour.

I woke up to sucking smoke into my lungs and the room engulfed in flames. Half the contents in the library were transformed into ashes and parts of my skin looked like I was thrown onto a grill. I scrambled down the staircase only to be blocked by fire. I turned around and headed back to the remaining side of the library. There are no windows up here. How am I supposed to escape? I looked up to the ceiling as if by instinct. Of course, the skylight! I found a chair that hadn't been burnt to ashes and stood on it, barely reaching the skylight. There is no way to open the glass. I climbed down and looked for something hard. The best I came up with was a small globe. It will have to do. I threw as hard as my noodle arms would have allowed. Only a crack. I threw the globe again, hopefully with a little more force. More cracks. Third time's a charm. I threw it a third time. It didn't break but was close to it. I threw it a final time knowing my body was being overexerted with the lack of oxygen. The skylight shattered. Thank god. With the little strength that remained in my arms, I readjusted the chair and grasped the edges of the frame, cutting myself on small fragments of glass. I struggled to pull myself onto the slanted roof, but adrenaline made it possible. With wobbly legs I scaled the roof and made it to a spot where I could jump onto the balcony, which was mostly ashes by then. As I went to jump, my knee buckled and I fell off the roof, hitting my head on the balcony railing and falling into the brush. The neighborhood seemed to spin around me as it faded into darkness. My body ached and all I wanted to do was sleep.