Gifted Pelt

Chapter 52

The room is lit with yellow light, not quite the same as the light from a fire. There are tall objects made of wood interspersed throughout the room, holding many smaller objects within them.

Tarkik steps through the door and whispers in her ear, "They're called bookshelves because they are shelves that contain books."

Astrila whispers back, "What are books?"

"A collection of papers. Some tell a story, and some are for research."

She twists to look at him. "Can we search for anything about the island?"

He frowns. "I don't understand. Why? Besides, there won't be anything about the island, only we know about it."

"I was told to research, so that's what I'm going to do. I think we should see anything about the treaty because that feels important."

Astrila hadn't even realized their voices had raised from a whisper until a girl sitting at a low wooden platform pipes up. "If you look in the history section, there should be a section about the Canadian Government's treatment of the native tribes and the treaties they've made."

At the girl's words, Astrila spins forward again in surprise. "Thank you." She hesitates for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Elisapie, and it wasn't a problem at all. Are you researching for a project?"

Astrila easily utters a half-truth. "Of a sort. My village sent me to research anything that might help us understand our treaty and what it means."

Elisapie smiles. "Would you like me to show you which books are going to help?"

"Please."

Elisapie stands from the round wooden platform and steps around it, leading Astrila and Tarkik down a path between two shelves. As they step beneath it, Astrila glances up to see the word History hanging from a chunk of wood tethered to the ceiling. Elisapie pulls books out of the shelves as she passes them, stopping when she has three or four. She turns to Astrila.

"Here you are."

She holds them out, presumably expecting Astrila to take them from her. Astrila shifts the carving in her hand to the crook of her elbow before she reaches out to grasp the books. Elisapie doesn't relinquish her hold on them, her attention snagged by the carving.

Her voice is quiet and tinged with surprise. "What is that?"

Astrila lets go of the books to pull out the carving and hold it flat in her hands. "It's a carving?"

Elisapie laughs. "I can see that, but my mother made this. Did you buy it?"

Astrila shifts on her feet. "She gave it to me as a welcome gift?"

"Welcome gift?"

"This is my first time being away from my village."

Elisapie smiles. "Atelihai then. What village are you from?"

"Nunataq."

"No wonder she gave it to you, she has a soft spot for everyone from there. I think she misses her old friend."

Astrila swallows nervously. "Amka."

"Yes! How did you know?"

Astrila swallows again, fighting the lump in her throat. "I'm her daughter."

Elisapie's eyes widen in shock. "Wow! Okay. Small world. This place must be really new to you then."

Astrila nods. "Yes, this is the biggest city I've ever seen."

Tarkik laughs. "It's the only city you've ever seen. It's not a city either, not really."

Elisapie tugs on Astrila's free arm, shoving the stack of books into Tarkik's arms. He takes them, a little confused.

Elisapie tugs again. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Astrila frowns in confusion but follows her anyways as she weaves around the shelves. She pulls a thin book off a shelf and leads them back to the round platform. She places the book onto the platform and glances up just before she opens it. She notices Astrila staring at the platform and smiles widely.

"It's called a table."

Astrila gives her a grateful smile as Elisapie opens the book. It is filled with colorful maps and strange shapes, so unlike the colorless maps Astrila is used to. She fingers one of them before Elisapie can turn the page.

"Are these maps?"

"Yes. Here, look." She points to a large island at the top of the map, her finger landing about two-thirds of the way up its length. "This is where we are." She flips a couple of pages further into the book and the image zooms in on the landmass beside the island. "This is all of Canada, with Greenland off to the side. And right here," She flips the page to a zoomed-in image of the massive island and points to a tiny dot. "That is Clyde River."

Astrila's attention snags on a tiny speck of an island, floating just off the coast of the island. Nattiq island. She glances at Tarkik and he shakes his head at her.
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What do you think of Astrila finally seeing a library? And her experience with an Atlas? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.