Crystal Visions

Paper Flowers

The library was somewhat of an anomaly in the small town community it lived in. Nestled snugly between the humble town square of Palmetto and a practically ancient residential area managing to fit in perfectly and inconspicuously but stand out for those individuals, like Andrew, that needed it.

Betsy Dobson took immense care of the building, the outside looking an odd mix of industrial and rural, the inside being anything but modest and sickeningly domestic. Rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with books, always in alphabetical order and not one too close to the edge than the others thanks to Bee and her meticulous and obsessive attention to detail.
No matter where you stood, the sunlight that flowed through the bay windows found its way to the few patrons that drifted aimlessly between the rows of old books leaving them shrouded in that safe and comforting aura that left Andrew at ease. It was an environment that he found himself sinking into and even after all these years it astounded him how he could feel his soul  easily settling into the old creaking wood of the floorboards.

Andrew sat on the counter behind the front desk, back against the wall and legs crossed in front of him, his own grimoire open in his lap as he took in the small amateur drawings slowly coming to life and finding their way off the page, miniature creatures of varying looks and species blinking up at him. It took six years of continuous practice and frustration before he was able to bring these simple doodles to life, companions for when the solitude turned self destructive and the silence deafening. They reminded him of the progress he worked so hard to make and that he was no longer that scared sixteen year old kid clinging onto the late night visits to the place he was now able to call his home.

Now, twenty two years old and watching the small arrangement of multicolored pen drawn monsters fight to their metaphorical death in some battle that Andrew assumed was intense for the miniature beings, he smiles. A small lift at the corners of his lips, something so few have seen stunningly grace his face. The rings on his hands clanked against each other as he gently pushed and poked the monsters around, their tiny arms tapping him back in return. 
The library was covered in his creations, mostly drawings mirroring the realism of the witch-hazel he found his eyes hovering on a few seconds longer than most on his daily walk or some other random flora he saw that reminded him of Bee, he watched her face light up in that genuine smile every time her eyes landed on the new addition to the library.

The sound of the bell hanging from the front door knob alerted Andrew standing up quickly, ushering his monsters back into their rightful places in his book where they melded back perfectly into place on the page, he closed the book with a huff and turned towards the figure approaching him.

Aaron Minyard was, at the time of Andrew's discovery of him, an unwanted surprise. Still strung up tight from the years in the foster system and hellish years with the Spears, a long lost twin brother was not something he expected nor necessarily wanted, but Andrew was on a protective streak and found himself walking towards Bee the next day with the letter from said twin gripped tightly in his hand. That was part of the reason Aaron was here now, standing in front of Andrew bundled in god knows how many layers and coats and a hat placed carefully onto his head so as not to disturb the hair he no doubt spent way too much time on.

"Relax little brother. It's just me."

Andrew scowled at his twin and opened his book back up, letting his monsters roam free once again.

"I should have eaten you in the womb when I had the chance, little brother."

Aaron shrugged, eyes flitting to the creatures running around on the front desk.

The road to how they were around each other now was no easy task, it took months of butting heads before they could even sit through a dinner together without one of them lunging for the others throat. Bee took it upon herself to happily welcome the other twin with open arms, getting him out of his own shitty family predicament and to the safe space of the library. It was semi peaceful for a while, the twins ignoring each other in the upstairs living portion of the building that was closed off to the general public as they went about their daily rituals and schedules and biting their tongues at the dinner table so as not to upset Bee (even though her ability to read their minds meant they didn't necessarily have to hold it all in. Really it was just out of respect for the woman that gave them a true home.), but then Nicky Hemmick came along.