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The library caters to all lost souls; may it be destroyed, may it be confused, they are allowed to wander the library for as long as they see fit. There are books to entertain yourself, puzzles and toys to play with, papers and a variety of writing stationary to your liking. Everything is tidy and kept for the comfort of the soul that may come in.
Souls that come in the library also have different appearances as they enter. It shapes their personality, their way of thinking, or how they lived their life before finding their way here. Sometimes they are some sort of an animal, cute or intimidating. Other times they are other things that represent them, perhaps an inanimate object. And in rare times, they are human-like. Taller or shorter than the owner himself, younger or older, disfigured or not.
But the owner, Ike Eveland, loved them all the same. And hopes for them the best for the rest of their journey.
As stated, the library caters to all lost souls.
—
The first visitor arrived in a fury.
“Oh, dearie me. Where did I put my pen again?” Ike frowned as he searched all over his desk, trying to find a specific pen that's almost like a loyal helper to him.
“Mu!”
Ike jumped at the sudden sound. He looked down and saw sis of his quilldren are carrying the said pen on top of their heads. He softened at the sight, “You found it for me? Thank you!”
The six floofballs jumped in delight, “Mumu!” And with that, they run off to somewhere to find anything else they could help with in the library. Ike prays that they won't make a cabinet fall down again to try and clean it. That one was really a headache to clean everything up.
He thought he could be relieved by hearing them play in the distance, and he was about to write the first word on his paper when there was a loud sound somewhere in the shelves. Ike jumped in surprise, as well as a few quilldren near him, and his pen had rolled off on the floor again. It didn't help that there was a growl that followed.
“Why be so aggressive?” Ike sighed, already having thought about what had happened. As he stood up, another group of quilldren are already holding on his coat. He gave them a soft 'thank you' and patted them on the head. They are quite everywhere in the library.
He found the soul in between shelves, seething in anger in the form of an adult sized lion cub. No, he was not a lion. Just a very big adorable cub. And he's destroying everything. Ike doesn't even want to think about it. His precious books!
“Uhm, excuse me…?” Ike feels his breath caught in his throat as the lion cub turns to him. He's so adorable… if only he isn't keen on taking down everything. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I need to go back.” The lion said, impatient and demanding. “Tell me where the exit is. I need to return to them.”
Of course, Ike doesn't know what he's talking about or who they are . But his job includes at least trying to understand them, to lead them to the right path. To give them space or tranquillity, whatever they need to let their soul rest and let them see the path towards what their real destination is.
And since Ike, too, is feeling a little lost on how to handle a huge lion cub. He just decided to be honest. “There is no exit. The library has no doors where you can walk in or out whenever you please.”
It must have worsened the cub's anger and swung one of his paws to a nearby shelf, and Ike had no time to react to it as he stepped backward in surprise. “There's no time! How would my men be saved if I wasn't there?! I need to return to them! I need to get out!”
“And I told you, sir! There's no way to get out!” Ike sighed, patting the quilldren that are shaking and hiding behind a porcelain vase near him. Hopefully, the vase would be saved from the lion cub's anger. “How about we calm down for a second?”
But the cub was nowhere near calming down, throwing tantrums and books alike. “You don't understand! My men… they could die any second! I have to protect them! I can… I need to protect them.”
Oh how lost this soul could be? Ike's gaze softened as he listened to the lion cub's words growing softer as he continued to speak. A soul's appearance reflects its owner's own mind. And to think he is a lion cub but in the shape of an adult… Ike could only imagine how rough his childhood could be. Did he even have the time to play? Or was he restricted by the rules set by the world?
“It's okay. Your men will be okay. I can assure you.” Ike reached a hand out to try and pet the cub's fur, but he was met by the soft texture of fabric and cotton. A… plushie? A lion cub plushie? “The time spent in the library will not affect the time in the real world. Stay here for as long as you like, and soon, you'll go back when you need to.”
The cub was silent for a while. And then he looked up and stared at Ike, “Really? They'll be alright?”
Ike smiled at him, “I promise.”
He seemed to calm down then, lowering himself on the floor and resting his head on his paws. His tail sways gently behind him, “If you are lying, I'll find you and get revenge.”
Trying to find the library after getting out is impossible, but Ike can't help but to chuckle nervously. A lion is still a lion, even when it's just a cub. What if this guy managed to do the impossible? He seemed like the type to make miracles happen!
“I'm not lying.” Ike only answered helplessly.
“Hmp.” The cub closed his eyes, “Then I will rest here for a bit. I need… my strength to protect them.”
Ike patted him gently, “Rest nice and easy.”
The lion cub stayed for seven sunrises.
—
“Boss! You're awake! Thank God! We were all so worried. I'm gonna call Madame— wait! No, Boss! Don't move yet! You lost a lot of blood in the gunfight— the others? They're alright! Thanks to your kindness, everyone only suffered minor injuries and shallow wounds. It's you we are all worried about… Yes. Thank you for protecting us, Boss. We owe our life to you.”
—
The second visitor, contrary to the first one, was a quiet one that he easily blends in.
It was one of those days where Ike was just immersed in the novel that he was writing when he heard a soft clink of ceramic hitting his desk. Usually, it will be just quilldren giving him a cup of tea whenever he's working too hard. So Ike raised his head, “Thank you—” And his words got caught in his throat as he noticed it was not a quilldren serving him a drink.
“Oh, hi! You're working on your novel, right? One of those guys told me tea helps you in times like this so… here you go!” The paper that was cut to look like a human— Ike read something like it before, a shikigami?— said as it floated. Ike almost panicked since he was too close to the liquid and he might get wet and broken.
“Oh, uh,” Ike was too flabbergasted to form words, but he had to do his duty. “Nevermind me! Is there anything I could help you with? I'm sorry I couldn't tend to you earlier.”
“Me? I'm fine!” The shikigami exclaimed, fluttering happily as he floated in the air. “Everything here is so cool! Can I look around?”
Ike blinked, “Yeah. You can. Feel free to roam around and read the books.”
With a very low but excited "yaaaay", the shikigami floats off somewhere in the shelves with a group of quilldren following him, probably to protect the shikigami. Ike gave the remaining quilldren a questioning look but they also shook their heads cluelessly.
The shikigami was definitely a lost soul, but Ike had never thought they could be this… calm and accepting. He never hurts anyone, instead he plays with quilldren and helps them with some of their chores. He doesn't try to destroy anything either, he asks for permission before touching things or taking books from the shelves.
It does make Ike completely helpless.
How does he help a soul that seemed so complete? How does he fix a soul that looks like he doesn't need any help?
But the library does not make any mistakes. A lost soul needs a temporary home and that's what the library is for. And a lost soul is a troubled soul, no matter how great they try to hide it.
Ike found him then, reading a book about sorcery in a far corner of the library. The quilldren knows enough to not disturb a soul in their most emotional state and left him alone, and that was when Ike's job starts.
“Do you like sorcery?” Ike asked him, sitting on the chair in front with a gentle smile on his face. “You seemed to only read these kind of books.”
“Well. Yeah. I guess you could say that.” The shikigami mumbles, “I mean. I'm a sorcerer. I should like sorcery, right?”
It was the first time that the shikigami had told anyone about himself, so Ike went into an even gentler approach. “It doesn't really matter if you're a sorcerer or not to like it, you know? The most important thing is what you truly feel inside your heart. Your soul.” Ike explained, carefully weaving out the words to help him out of his confusion. “Do you like sorcery?”
The shikigami fell silent for a while, deeply thinking on what he should answer to the repeated question. Ike is glad that he at least heed his advice to find out what he truly wants, so he waits. Patiently. He waited and waited and waited.
“Sorcery made me different from others.”
There it is. Ike listened intently.
“People are scared of me. Children my age are scared of me. They said I would curse them if they did something bad or offended me. But I don't even care about it.” The shikigami inflates, folding a little as one of his paper hands caresses the book. “I'm happy with my Mother, Father and Grandmother. We live in a house secluded from everyone but we are happy every single day. But… I can't help but to feel alone.”
A surge of sympathy rushed over Ike's veins and tried to stop himself from patting the shikigami's head to comfort him. “So what do you think?”
“I like sorcery.” The shikigami sobbed. “I could see different colored fires, make things float off the ground, and have more strength than a normal human. It's really cool. I want to be like my mother someday. I want to help people, not hurt them.”
Ike smiled, “I'm sure you'd find people who would be able to look at you in awe rather than fear.” He slowly raised from his seat, “Of course, it would still be a long way to go. But you are welcome to stay in the library for as long as you wanted.”
The shikigami stayed for sixteen sunrises.
—
“Oh, hello dear. How was your spells study? …I see. I'm glad to hear it. It's still early for dinner, would you like to have some tea? …Oh, dear. What has gotten into you? Why is my favorite grandson suddenly hugging me? Here, here, drink up some tea.This grandma of yours brewed it to your liking. Now go get back your energy. You need it after hours of studying.”
—
The third visitor arrived with chaos.
Quilldren squealed as they tried to get Ike from the counter, and he followed them in a hurry through the maze of tall and wide shelves. From a distance, he could see smoke emerging from somewhere and Ike couldn't help but feel panic, for it would be a terrible thing if the library was burnt to shreds.
But the panic was immediately replaced by worry, seeing a lone small fire on the floor trying to get itself to burn brighter to save its life but only grew weaker in the process. Ike immediately went closer and tried to fan the flames.
“Get me a ceramic plate and some wood immediately!” He ordered, and the quilldren are quick to get to work.
When he got the things he needed, Ike hesitated to scoop up the fire but when he figured that the flames were cold rather than hot, he didn't think twice. The spirit fire looked so small compared to the large ceramic place, but as Ike expected, the wood did help a bit to keep the fire from being extinguished.
“You're alright now. Goodness, you got me so worried.” Ike sighed in relief but also not forgetting to thank the quilldren who just beamed at him happily.
“...why,”
“Hm?” Ike perked up as the spirit fire started to talk.
“...Why must you save someone like me?”
“Why?” Ike tilted his head to the side and smiled, standing up gently to not disturb a little fire visitor. “Of course I would save anyone who is in need.”
But the spirit fire burned in fiery, its flame suddenly going active and it burned the rest of the woods on the plate. Yet Ike remained unfazed, knowing too well that the fire was harmless. “You don't know me! I did some atrocious things! I have killed, robbed, and manipulated people at my own will. I do not deserve to be treated kindly. I do not deserve…”
Ike huffed a laugh, placing the plate down on his office table after a bit of walking, “You saying that means you deserve it more than anyone else right now. How could someone so evil admit to his own faults so fast?”
The spirit fire was silent for a minute before speaking up again, “...I have killed the people I call my family. I cannot do anything to save them even when I promised that I would do so.” The spirit fire cried his heart out, its flame unstable even with the lack of wind in the library. “Maybe it would've been better if they hadn't met me. They could've started a better life without me in the picture. I was just stubborn. They must also wish the same.”
“I don't think so.” Ike said. The spirit fire stilled. “It seemed to me that your family had loved you as you loved them.”
But the spirit fire cackled sarcastically, “Love? That's a strong word.”
“Maybe. But it's true.” Ike smiled at him, “They could've left you alone to save themselves rather than staying with you. Why didn't they?”
“Because I tricked them!”
“How so? By showing them the kindness of your heart?”
“You don't know what you're saying.”
“Yes. I don't.” Ike admitted since he was indeed as clueless as the spirit fire accused him to be. But he knows how to pick up small pieces of a puzzle and put it back together to create the picture. Ike might have missing pieces still, but he got the majority of it in his head. “Why do you refuse to accept that you have received love genuinely?”
The spirit fire didn't answer, and Ike stopped pressing the matter as well. There was no use to put more stress on a soul that seemed to be in the middle of healing.
“I think you still need time to get back your strength. Please, stay here for as long as you like. I would not demand you for anything in return.” And Ike went back to work. While the spirit fire sat silently on its olate beside him.
The spirit fire stayed for fifty two sunrises.
—
“My Lord! How was your rest? Do you feel alright to travel now? …Hm? My Lord is curious why I saved him? Why, because you saved my daughter of course! Wouldn't it make sense that I pay back the kindness My Lord had given me? …True. It might have been just a coincidence that you saved her, but you needn't do it at that time. It would've been easier to just leave her alone to be killed but My Lord didn't. For that, I'm indebted to you. I would always take your side.”
—
The fourth visitor was as surprising and mysterious as he gets.
Ike never would have known that he was in the library as how quiet and alone he was in the middle of the shelves. And even then, Ike was surprised to see such a beautiful creature appear. A fox child. His long silver hair shone underneath the fluorescent light, his fox ears down in a woeful way, and he kneeled on the ground with his tail resting on his lap. The fox child was silent as he stared into the distance.
When he started crying, that's when Ike snapped back to reality and dropped everything to rush to him.
“Oh no, why are you crying? Are you hurt anywhere? Did something happen?” Ike asked even though he knows he had been watching him for the last thirty minutes to know that nothing happened.
“I…” The fox child started, raising his little hands to wipe the tears of his cheeks that would have been adorable if only Ike wasn't filled with worry. “I don't know what to do.”
“Then, can you tell me what is it? Maybe I can help you.” Ike suggested.
But the fox child shakes his head, “I don't know what to do… where to go... I'm trapped in a place that I don't even know if I was meant to be there.”
Ike was at a loss for words. For the first time ever, a soul had left him speechless. The fox child's words are as vague as it could be, guarded as the library itself. This place was designed to make the visitors lower their guard down for it to be easier to find the right path for them to take when they leave the library, yet the fox child refuses to show even a single of its weaknesses.
Strong, but in a completely different way.
“I would be honest to say that I am not in a position to tell you what you should do next.” Ike started saying, “But I don't think other people do either. If there is someone who could tell you what is the best move, then it is you yourself.”
The fox child turned to look at him, big eyes in the color of pink and blue stared at him in curiosity. “And if I don't know the answer?”
Ike smiled, “Of course you do. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, not even weeks after today. But you would know.” Slowly, Ike raised his hand to wipe the leftover tears on the fox child's cheeks. There was an unexplainable warmth spreading through him as the fox child did not dare to get away from his touch. “And when that time comes, it will be the most amazing thing ever.”
“And what if… What if that day would never come?” The fox child played with his fingers worrily.
“Then come back here.” Ike patted his head. His hair was soft and his ears twitched happily as a response. “We'll figure it out together. Or we could just hang out until you're ready to find it again.”
The fox child stared at him longer than Ike almost felt uncomfortable. Oddly enough, he felt some sort of familiarity with this child but Ike couldn't put his finger on it. It was just a sense of overprotectiveness and the need to help him, yet Ike feels strongly for some reasons.
Soon enough, the fox child yawned, “I'm tired.”
Ike smiled at him, “Feel free to rest wherever in the library. It's yours as it is mine.”
To his surprise, the fox child went poof and transformed into an actual orange fox and walked toward the nearest chair with a cushion. The fox twirled twice before lying down and closing his beautiful eyes. Ike smiled and went back to his desk to continue his novel.
The fox child stayed for one sunrise.
—
“Oh! S-Sir! What brings you here today? …Excuse me? …No, no, no! I can do it, sir! Leave it to me! Though, may I ask why you wanted to leave the town so abruptly? …I mean, I could easily arrange a new office, sir! I was just curious… Very well. I will prepare your train ticket and luggage. Please be rest assured! I'll follow you wherever you go, sir!”
—
There was never a door in the library. It's a place where there is no way in and no way out. The only way you could come inside was through being picked by the universe itself for it is destined for the library to help you.
That's why imagine Ike's surprise as he stared at the door in front of him with widened eyes. It wasn't that special of a door, it was old with little chips on the side and the knob looks worn out. There was no intricate design aside from the fact that it was dark in color. Someone in his mind told him that it was a door that he had seen countless times before, but the library had no such things for as far as he could remember.
Ah. Now that he thought about it, what was his life before becoming the "owner" of the library?
Ike had no recollections of his life. It's like he was just created to take care of it and its residents. He remembered waking up, slouching over his desk with a bunch of floofballs staring at him in curiosity. But that's as far as he could go. Along the way, he just accepted the fact that he was meant to be here and to work with them and take care of the place. Sure, he was freaked out at first but it all worked out in the end.
Then a terrifying thought came to him… Was he a lost soul?
Ike shivered at the thought. He doesn't want to leave the library. It was like a home to him. Who would he be if he can no longer call himself the owner of the library?
“Mumumu!” A quilldren pulled on the hem of his coat, beckoning him to go closer to the door. But Ike was hesitant to take even one more step.
“Do I really have to leave?” Ike asked, his voice shaking.
The quilldren gathered around him and gave him a bright smile, somehow making him feel better than it should be. It seems like he doesn't have any other choice, it's either he opens the door or be trapped in the library forever. But how could he do it?
Ike sighed, “But what if I won't like what it was on the other side?”
A quilldren jumped as they say, “Mumumu!”
“Then you'll come fetch me? How thoughtful.” Ike chuckled. “Well, if you want me to open the door so much then alright. It's not like I could say no to you guys.”
Ike started to walk towards the door, the quilldren following him and jumping at his every step. Some of them said goodbye, others told him to be safe. For some reason, when he was finally facing the door, the hesitance he had felt before had been long gone.
Is it… really the time to say goodbye?
He looked at the quilldren who had gathered before him, smiling at him as they waved goodbye.
“I guess this is it.” Ike tilted his head to the side and showed a smile, “Thank you very much for everything.”
The novelist stayed for three hundred and sixty five sunrises.
—
—
—
—
—
When Ike woke up, he was slouching on his desk with his laptop open in front of him. It was already on sleep mode and he's sure that if he turns it on, the draft he was working on the night before would welcome him. With a groan, he stretched his arms that went stiff from him falling asleep on his desk. A very bad habit but he was trying to fix it these past week which… is not being very successful to be honest.
“What time is it?” Ike glanced at the clock on his wall. It was already late in the morning, no surprise, but enough time to get himself some proper lunch at least.
Wait. Lunch?
Ike stood up quickly on his desk, “Right! I was supposed to get lunch with the boys today! How could it slip off my mind?! Oh no, I'll be late!” Quick to his feet, Ike rushed towards the bathroom to get himself freshened up. Already planning on what he should have as a little snack before lunchtime.
On his desk, he left an opened notebook with his written draft about a library who takes care of souls that seemed to have lost their way towards the real world, focused on five men who were able to take the right path back home.
And on the corner of his desk, a framed picture of luxiem happily smiling in the camera shined brightly under the sun's light that poured in the room.
They are home.