The Boy That Hates Books

When Fantasy Combines

There's a turning point in every story.

Yours, mine, Kirsten's.

It's either going to take a turn for the worst, or a look in the right direction. It's going to put a smile on your face or make you cry yourself to sleep.

Now I can tell you, before we even begin, that Kirsten and Trent's story is neither happy nor sad. It might make you smile, and it might make you cry, but their story is nothing other than pure bliss and tragedy, with every blessing of fantasy and every curse of reality.

It's when two people collide, and uncover the truth. Tear away the layers of uncertainty and mistold stories, rumours and deep water lies.

These two people that are brought together by fate, have told a story of their two world collision and their treacherous love. These two people are fantasy combined.

Now let's meet them and witness the first time that they ever met. As Trent would say it was the definition of everything he'd ever hoped for.

Trent and Kirsten. We begin their story...

I stood beneath a twilight sky.

Countless arrays of colours decorated each other, like an artist had mixed up paint in a pot. Tangerine orange washed over the violet horizon, a sunflower yellow sparkling somewhere in between. My eyes glimmered as I looked up at the sky, lips parted and hands by my sides. Fresh air rushed into my lungs, and my chest rose and fell in steady motions.

Myself and everything around me felt calm and settled, as if not even a horrifying scream could shake the blissful silence. And by silence I mean birdsong, and the chirp of crickets somewhere deep in the blades of grass I stood upon. I hated crickets. In fact, I hated any kind of insect that happened to meet my eyes. But that wasn't the point, because tonight the silence would deepen and the loneliness would make itself a friend, as I said a final goodbye to my two best friends, not knowing if I was ever going to set eyes upon them again. Blinking back tears, I sighed and turned around, heading back to my truck.

It had all been so sudden, so unexpected. Them announcing out of the blue that they were going to move away for awhile, that they had issues to deal with back home. What kind of issues? I couldn't help but worry.

The engine of my truck startled me as it came to life, shuddering the whole vehicle. I pulled out of the field and made my way onto the road, the half-light sky stretching out for miles in front of me. As I drove, I kept flicking my gaze to the passenger side windows, watching as the trees went by in a blur and the odd car that overtook me. There weren't many cars on the road tonight, and as I passed the highway café, the lights of the place were dim, parking lot empty.

I shivered. It was getting cold.

As time went on I neared closer to the library, and my hands itched for a book. I was going to read for awhile before I went to see the twins, and return some overdue books. I needed to be as calm as possible so that I didn't break down in front of them, and the library was the best place to do it.

The problem was, I had never said a goodbye before. Or at least, I'd never had the chance to. When my dad left, he left without reason, without warning. One minute he was my dad and the next minute he was a stranger, gone with the wind. The same thing happened with Nala, except she had her reasons. I never had the chance to say a final goodbye to her, and I hadn't seen her since everything had happened.

You see, the real problem isn't the goodbye's. It's the hello's.

When you love someone they tend to leave you. That's just the reality of it. Because unfortunately those knights in shining armour don't exist, and the prince charmings break your heart. Kings and queens don't live happily ever after, and a true love's kiss won't wake you up. Not even the baddies win, no one does. Because the only thing that can fix a broken heart is a fresh start. And that's the path most people choose to take, even if it means leaving everyone you've ever loved behind.

The headlights of my truck illuminated the street I was climbing up, and it was only a matter of seconds before I parked up outside the library, and jumped into evenings arms. Trudging up the sidewalk leading to the entrance, I took shallow breaths as I looked around me. Something wasn't right tonight, I could feel it like I could feel the growing tension inside me, as I realised that my car was the only one sat in the parking lot besides the Librarians.

I frowned.

My eyes squinted as I looked upon houses, windows usually flooded with bright lights, but tonight each light was either dimmed or off. Doors were shut, gates were locked and no-one was making a sound. I shook off the unease swirling like ribbons inside me, and tried to focus my mind elsewhere. I was usually so good at getting my head out of real life, so why was it proving so difficult for me tonight?

The cold glass against the palm of my hand sent goose bumps running as I pushed open the door leading into the library. It screeched under my touch, making a sound you would only usually hear in horror movies.

I laughed to myself.

One downside about reading so much is the overactive imagination that comes along with it and the tendency to exaggerate the smallest things. But I wasn't exaggerating the fact that I was literally the only awake person that stood inside the library on that strange night. The Librarian was sat where she always was, behind the same desk, with the same god-awful pencil rammed inside her mouth. Drool trickled down her chin as she slept with her head on a keyboard, eyeliner smudged and hair an impressive mess.

The sight of her reminded me of the amount of irritation I had towards her, the day she told me 'the book wasn't on the system.' And that just reminded me of how badly I wanted to finish that book, and how it wasn't there and I probably never would finish it because the owner had taken it back.

"Um, excuse me?" A voice sounded behind me.

I jumped, a gentle squeal falling from my parted lips. I had been so deep in thought that I hadn't heard the footsteps of another person, or feel the warmth of their breath on my neck like I did now. I closed my eyes, debating whether or not to turn around.

"Yes?" I replied, voice a bucket of nerves.

I stayed facing the other way, back to the deep voice that had summoned me. It was obviously a boy, but he had caught me so off guard that I wasn't prepared for eye contact quite yet.

"I think I have your book."