A PUPPET SUBMERGED IN BOOKS

                                    

                                          
  In the forest, the sounds of the caliginous night eerily amplified. The moon shone brightly at the dilapidated library. It was located in the middle of the forest, dismal and overgrown with vines. 
  Inside the library was a melodic tune. There was a girl leaning against the bookshelf, humming a tune as her focused gaze shifted between the two pages of the book in her hands. The room was filled with bookshelves and cobwebs hung precariously from the walls. The floor was mucky and the windows were begrimed. It was tenebrous and the only illumination was from the candlesticks,  embedded with wax. 
  It was silent until the sounds of raindrops pounce on the ground. Drop by drop, it started getting heavier and soon enough, it was pouring. The rain was unpleasantly chilly but the girl inside the library only shrugged her shoulders.
  She shook her head and walked up to another bookshelf, seemingly trying to pick a book. A gust of cold wind tingled on her skin and she subconsciously closed her eyes. She sighed lightly and averted her gaze to the entrance of the library. 
  "Woah, there's so many books in this library but there is only one person here. How interesting."  An unfamiliar and gravelly voice sounded. The book in the girl's hand fell to the ground. The sound was unpleasant and loud. She turned around rapidly and saw a woman sitting on a bookshelf, glaring at her. 
  The girl's jaw dropped. She did not expect to find someone else in the library. She ran towards the woman and gazed at her resentfully. "Who are you! Get out of this library, it is only for me, myself and I!"  The girl stormed. "Oh how insolent of you. I came here to have a chat with you and this is how you treat me?"  Under the girl's intense gaze, the woman scoffed disconsolately.
  The girl gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Go away, I don't want to talk to anyone, let alone you."  She bellowed. The corners of the woman's lips lifted and she waved her hand in the air. 
  "My my, you are so impertinent. Come now, all I want is your name." 
  The girl's lips trembled with anger. "My name is none of your business, now get out of here before I resort to brute force!" 
  The woman pondered on her words and began cackling. "Brute force? Did you just say brute force? Hahahaha, how humiliating, hahahaha!
  The girl's expression became one of a complete surprise, she was at a loss for words.
  Books began to fall off the shelves and they slowly fill the spacious room. The girl let out an incredulous gasp and knitted her eyebrows. "W...what are you doing! They're my precious books!"  The girl whirled sharply.
  "Precious, you say? Alright. Speak and tell me your name. Otherwise, you'll have to quietly watch the books burn."  The woman crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. 
  "M...Megumi. Now please, put the books back on the shelves! Please!" Megumi wailed as a sense of loneliness and loss overwhelmed her. Her body was shaking as she held the book in her hands tightly against her chest. 
  With a snap, all the books were quickly put back on the shelves. "My name is Sama. Now, are you willing to have a chat with me?" Sama gave her a broad smile. Megumi trembled for a moment and responded in a shaky voice. "F...fine... What do you want?" 
  "Isn't it peculiar for a girl like you to be spending your days in a library? It has clearly been deserted. For what reason do you have to be here?"  
  "My parents could no longer afford to buy books for me and satisfy my passion for reading. A surge of anger swept through me and I ran away from home. I had no more purpose in life until I found this library, full of books that brightened my heart. This place is right for me, it is where I want to be at. I will never ever leave this place."
  "You definitely cherish this library, to the extent of not letting anyone step foot in it."
  "Of course, this place belongs to me, myself and I, nobody else. I wish for nobody but I to occupy this place forever, until the day I die."
  "Oh?"  Sama grinned.
    She averted her gaze to a door at the corner of the library. She tilted her head and pointed at it.
  "What is this sickening scent? It's coming from that room."
  Drops of perspiration began to form on Megumi's forehead. She fretted at the door. Sama eagerly made her way to the door. She opened it and curved her lips upwards.
  "Woah. What a surprise."
  The room was malodour. There were bags of garbage scattered around and flies lurked around them. Skulls and bones rested in puddles of blood, the walls were all stained with blood as well.
  "No...! It's...it's not what it looks like...!"  Megumi whimpered as she slammed the door shut hastily. She furrowed her brows in concern as she stared at Sama silently.
  Butterflies fluttered gracefully around Megumi. Her eyes glowed as she watched them flap their wings. "So...so beautiful..."  She exclaimed in a daze. Looking at the approaching butterfly, Megumi subconsciously held up her hand. The butterfly rested on her hand like an obedient puppy. 
  A few seconds later, the butterfly was gradually painted red. It reeked of blood and slowly fades away. Megumi was stunned. As she looked up at Sama, a howl of wind ruffled her hair. She stared blankly at her. 
  A bitter feeling pierced her heart. She dropped to her knees as she began coughing violently. "What...what's happening! I...I can't breathe...!"  She grimaced in agony as her eyes reddened and turned moist. Her face turned pale and she groaned in anguish. Her vision grew blurred and her head was throbbing. It was not long until she succumbed to the suffocating atmosphere and tumbled to the ground. 
  What seemed like a cough erupted from Sama's mouth, then a cacophonous and maniacal laugh. "Hahahaha, are all humans the same? Lack of intelligence and so easy to deceive! How marvellous, yet another human to pawn! Hahahaha!"
  Sama made her way out of the library and back into the forest. The leaves rustled as she breezed by them. The sky rumbled and flashes of lightning threatened to tear the night sky. 
  A Sakura tree came into view, butterflies fluttered about like leaves in autumn. Soon, another butterfly made its way to the Sakura tree. It rested on a branch as the clouds enveloped the moon.