Cora and Librarian

Father

Librarian frowned. The applicants were much quieter today. Normally, such obedience would please him. Today, it did not. It was because he knew this was a silence laced with pain, fear, mourning, and rebellion. He could feel it in the air that the girls still missed their fallen compatriot, June Freeman. He understood it, but it was the rebellion that worried him. They'd be dead if God caught wind of it. But there was nothing he could do except let time heal the scars the girls got from watching their friend get thrown to Hell. So he took a deep breath and returned to his lecture on proper punctilios while the girls watched him with hollow and teary eyes, jotting down notes they wouldn't even remember later.

Time passed and finally, the applicants began to heal. Just as Librarian predicted, time healed their mental scars. They were returning to their old selves. They laughed more often and seemed more engaged in their training. Well, most did. One girl was still completely miserable and her name was Cora Stein. The anger had long since faded, but now a constant sense of remorse, guilt, desperation, and longing hung around the young brunette. Librarian hated seeing her like this, partly because it could attract unwanted attention from God and partly because Cora had always been one of his favorite applicants. She had so much potential that it hurt him to see her looking so miserable all the time. All of the others had started to cheer up, so why did she still look the same way she had on the night June was exiled.

At last, Librarian could stand it no longer.

"Cora Stein. My office," he instructed one day after a lecture. The girl in question looked startled, but only for a moment. Then the familiar, hollow look returned to her face and she followed him obediently. He'd fix her somehow.

More time passed and he succeeded. Cora still didn't smile nearly as much as she used to, but there was fire in her eyes again. He'd made her second in charge of the library and allowed her access to every book the library had to offer, except the banned books of course, but she wouldn't even look at them anymore. But thanks to his boosting her position in everything else the library had to offer, there was pride and purpose within her being again. She actually looked happy to be alive and she moved with purpose once more. In addition, Librarian himself had grown fonder of the girl every day and the feeling was mutual. She was happier and she really did consider Librarian as a close friend. She'd never compare him to June, but she was still glad she had his friendship.

Every day, Cora would help him sort papers or shelve books or withdraw old manuscripts. Whatever the man needed help with, Cora was always there to lend a hand. She guided new angels around the stacks and displayed her vast knowledge of the library and all its intricacies to the elders. She did it all with a real passion in her eyes as well, proving that she genuinely had begun to heal from her ordeal. It was good progress.

Then, every night, after the library was closed and everything had been cleaned and put away, Cora would join Librarian in his office. They would work or read together for a couple hours. Usually they worked in silence, but they were the kind of friends who didn't need words to communicate affection and peace. They were the kind of friends who could sit together in silence for hours and not feel pressed for conversation. Librarian treasured those hours more and more every day and what was once a mere act of friendship had become a genuine pleasure that he looked forward to. He couldn't place it, but Cora reminded him of an old friend he had while still alive. It was a friend whose memory had since faded after all of his years in Heaven, but seeing Cora again did trigger a ghost of that memory and somehow, he knew the bond that he'd shared with his old friend was just like the bond he was sharing with Cora now. It was a paternal bond.

On life went and Cora never failed to attend his nightly reading sessions and he never failed to cheer her up. Should anything bother her, she might choose to bring it up and if she did, he'd put all resources to the task of fixing her. But only if she brought it up. He never pushed her to talk and for that, she was grateful. Every now and then, she almost even considered him her father. Or, her surrogate father. Her real father had disowned her when he learned of her... interest in other girls. Cora knew Librarian would probably be the same, but with June out of Heaven, Cora didn't have to worry about it anymore. She could feel it within her that she would never be able to fall in love with anyone else, regardless of their sex. Instead, she pushed all thoughts of romance and of June from her mind and returned to reading with Librarian.

Finally, Cora and her class became full angels of Heaven. They all became sevens except Cora who won the high honor of being a four, but not just any four. She was second in command! Librarian had, naturally, attended the ceremony and behind his stern expression was a genuine warmth and pride. That night, Cora visited him for their last night session because now, as a real angel, Cora would no longer be available to visit him nightly. The idea saddened both of them, but they understood that this had to be done, so they accepted their new lives silently, choosing to spend their last night together just as always. Neither believed in a large, dramatic goodbye. Their last hours were spent pressed side by side as they read some of the new books in Heaven. At last, however, the clock chimed and called Cora to bed. This time, she was headed to the fourth floor.

"Goodbye," said Cora, as she stood to go and set her book down.

"Good luck," replied Librarian, looking up from his own script. Neither of them made a move to hug or to cry, but neither of them felt the need to. As sad as this farewell was, neither of them felt compelled to show excessive mourning. Instead, they said goodbye and goodnight and that was it.

But then, just as Cora left the library for the last time, Librarian remembered who Cora reminded him of. Years ago, back when he was alive, Librarian had been a slave. He had a wife, but she died in childbirth. That child survived, became his only daughter, but only barely. She had been born weak. It was a miracle she managed to survive. But part of the baby's miraculous survival came from Librarian's own actions.

The moment he realized that his daughter had been born too small, he had a feeling that his master would probably try to "mercy" kill her. Not wanting to lose the baby in such a cruel way, Librarian managed to sneak away from the plantation he had spent so long slaving in. It still took him a lot of time and effort to reach true freedom but with his daughter's life on the line, he did it. He ran all the way to New York. Following that, he became an intellect who helped educate other runaway slaves and he raised his daughter to carry on this legacy. He died peacefully of old age, having helped numerous people become literate, and his daughter followed soon after.

He ended up arriving at Heaven and even managed to reunite with his daughter. They trained together, but eventually she surpassed him in rank and their interaction decreased severely. Now, he rarely saw her anymore despite them still living very close together. Without even meaning to, Librarian had since taken to seeing Cora as his daughter now."You're gonna do well here," he told her all those months ago. And now, thinking back on all she'd done, he couldn't help but agree with himself. "Yes she will," he said and then he too left the library and went to bed.

AN: I'm writing a three stories about Librarian and Cora and each views their relationship differently. This obviously puts Librarian in a parental role which is displayed by the last line of this story and, given my headcanon about Cora's earthly father, you can see why Librarian might've appealed to her. The story about him being a runaway slave was just something I made up so I hope it doesn't seem too typical or boring or even racist. Tell me if it does come across that way, I just couldn't think of a better plot that would explain why he's so smart, driven, disciplined, and into reading.