My Heart Gone Missing (Howl's Moving Castle)

Chapter 12

“You what?” the librarian asked after an uncomfortable ten seconds of silence.

“I,” you faltered, “I’m looking for something that grants me the ability to turn into a bird on whim.”

“Where did you get an idea like that?” the librarian asked in genuine confusion. She was almost looking at you as if there was a fascinating bird of paradise perched on your shoulder.

“Uh, in my head?” your answer sounded more like a question and the librarian looked like she wasn’t buying it.

“I don’t distinctly recall ever seeing anything like that.” She muttered to herself, “I’m not even sure if a spell like that exists.”

“It has to!” you pleaded, “I saw it. Someone had transformed into a bird.”

“Ask them for your spell then.” The librarian waved you off.

“I don’t know who they are, please,” you begged, “I need you to help me.”

The librarian looked down at you. You couldn’t tell what she was thinking based on her facial expressions, but you guessed pity might’ve been in there. “A spell like that is probably illegal.”

“I don’t care.” You responded eagerly.

“And I could get in trouble if I helped someone perform an illegal spell.” The librarian looked dubious.

“You don’t need to help me perform it,” you answered in a rush, “if I can just get the spell, I can do it myself.”

“Doing a spell like that will most likely be extremely dangerous.” The librarian shook her head, “I can’t help you find a spell like that. The chances of you getting hurt are too great, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of the spell that I searched for with you.”

You stared at her gaping like a fish. She seemed like she was going to help you but then she decided against it. It was like all of your hopes and dreams flew out of the large glass window. “Please don’t kick me out.” You choked, “this is incredibly important to me.”

The librarian sighed, “how have you children mastered the art of puppy dog eyes?” she questioned more to herself than you. She stood up and started to walk away from you, “follow me.” She gestured. Your face brightened and you bounded after her in excitement. “The most advanced books are here.” She led you to the far corner of the library that was blocked off with a fence. It was slightly darker than the rest of the library and the books were larger and a bit scarier looking. “I’ll let you look through here for your spell.”

“Thank you.” You told her gratefully.

She gave you a smile, “good luck.”

You stared down at the many bookshelves filled to the brim with books. “I wish there was a ‘control-find’ feature.” You sighed. You started at the top of one of the shelves and worked your way down and skimmed the titles to see if they could help. It became increasingly clear why the books were more advanced. Many titles were written in sanskrit, latin, or even traditional chinese.

You picked out a couple books from the first shelf, a book about bird spells, transfigurations, human transfigurations, etc. You looked down at the section again and sighed again when you counted at least eight more shelves that you had to look through.