Destiny Island

Chapter 18

Up, up and away

As Jade approached the library she was in awe of its mere size and old-fashioned beauty. The whole library was made of dark brown wood and its style reminded her of Victorian houses that were once popular in her world. Having always been slightly obsessed with that building style, the library became even more appealing to her. She hurried towards it without thinking about anything else but the beautiful building and the hidden gems inside it. Since its size was much bigger than anything Jade had seen before, she was sure there would be a countless number of books to browse through. As she approached the open door, she could already feel that wonderful smell of books. It was a mixture of the old book's smell and the new ones, and she loved both of them in equal measure. That smell to her felt like home. It made her feel comfortable and content. For as long as she could remember the books and libraries had been her home. They had been places where she could escape from the troubles of the world. It was like they were always there for her, with open arms, and no judgment. The feeling was simply wonderful, complete and utter, acceptance.

Once she entered the library she couldn't help but stare in all the different directions in amazement. It was even more breathtaking on the inside. The size was simply staggering, and she couldn't grasp it properly. It seemed to be a two-level library but somehow she thought of it as much bigger than that. She went down the aisle towards the information desk hoping to speak with a librarian. As she continued walking down the aisle she couldn't help but look around and admire the beauty of it all. On both sides of her were huge wooden shelves filled with different types of books that looked so neat and tidy. Jade couldn't help but admire the precision and style of the person who organized the books. Same sized books seemed to be on the same shelves and there was undoubted harmony between the books, new and old. When she looked up at the ceiling, there was a huge drawing on covering the whole ceiling. The drawings represented different situations in the lives of witches. There were some witches flying on the broom, others brewing something in the cauldron and still others casting spells. It was a sight to be seen. Even from the ground level, she could see how detailed and truly magical the drawings were. Every part of the large ceiling seemed to represent a different point in the history of witches and Jade was curious to learn more about it. The aisle she was walking down was divided into two parts by the chairs and tables that stood in a straight line in the middle of the huge line effectively creating two aisles.

When she reached the information desk, she was surprised to see that the person behind the desk looked like a regular librarian, not a witch one. It was impossible for her not to stare at the woman's simplicity. She had short, dark brown hair that was cut very formally. Her big blue eyes looked even bigger behind the huge glasses she was wearing and even her clothes were regular. The woman could feel that Jade was staring, so she decided to have some fun as she lifted up the glamour to show off her witch's robe and a hat. Even her hair was free and wild, eyes unobstructed by the ugly glasses. "Wow!" Jade couldn't help commenting. "Yes. I thought you might better appreciate this look." The woman said confidently. Jade soon found out that the woman was very pleasant and helpful. She gave Jade a hand in finding all the different books about history, biology and many other things Jade considered she should know about the witches. Suddenly, they heard a terrible noise coming from the outside. "What is that?" Jade asked the librarian, her heart beating faster than ever. "Oh, don't worry about that, it is just one of the storms that we get here from time to time. You will be safe here. " The librarian stated confidently.

As soon as the librarian said that, Jade started hurrying off towards the front door. Amber was alone and Jade wanted to find her as soon as it was possible because she thought Amber wouldn't be able to survive the storm without her. "Wait! You can't go out there! It is too dangerous!" The librarian yelled after her. "My friend is out there! I have to go!" She answered loudly as she reached the door. As soon as she stepped outside a huge gust of wind caught her up in its embrace and started carrying her off. It was such a sudden occurrence that Jade had no idea what to do. The wind kept carrying her higher and higher, and she felt breathless and completely and utterly useless. Her brain kept thinking of strange and deadly scenarios. She could clearly see in her mind's eye herself impaled on a short fence, breaking her neck on the tree branch and so on. Some scenarios were so vivid that she couldn't shake them off and think of something to do to protect herself. However, before she could even start trying to find a solution she found herself on a tall tower's balcony with no idea how she got there. It seemed like the wind dropped her off as suddenly as it had picked her up. Luckily for her, she only had a few bruises from the fall which seemed incredible to her. Only then did she realize, that she was high above the village on a fenceless balcony of a very tall tower. That was the exact moment when her fear of heights kicked in.