Kate pressed down on the accelerator so hard that her foot hurt. Her race car zoomed down the final stretch of track, overtaking cars with all the leftover nitro she'd scored earlier. She felt a tense rush pass through her body as she seemed to inch closer and closer to the race leader. Her eyes narrowed, as if her added focus would somehow make her car go faster. Each second seemed an eternity to the 15-year-old girl, as she hoped and prayed faster than the speed of light that her car would somehow, some way make it over the finish line a little ahead of her competitors.
Suddenly the music stopped. Kate glanced at the car beside her. She was among the top two cars, but she seemed to have finished in a dead heat with the other car. Kate gulped. Was she going to come second? For a frightening moment, Kate felt that she hadn't made it, and would just have to accept the silver trophy. Then...
"WINNER!" flashed brightly on the screen in golden letters.
"YES!" Kate cheered loudly, standing up from the arcade machine. With pride, she entered "KTE" into the archaic box using her archaic joystick. Nobody really knew why the colossal old arcade machine was still operational at the southern end of the mall - Katie had all the high scores on all the machines, mostly because she was the only one who still inserted coins into them. If she had saved up instead, perhaps she'd have been able to purchase a new console or even a gaming PC. But Katie was happy to be the best at something. After all, she didn't have much else going for her.
Reaching into her pocket, Katie noticed she was out of coins. With a frown and a sigh, she walked away from the otherwise-deserted southern end, towards the carpark to the mall's east. There was an on-duty security guard, dressed in his uniform and standing around bored. Most of the shops had either closed already or were in the process of shutting down. Outside it was dark - just as well, Katie thought, that she ran out of coins. She didn't want to be too tired for school tomorrow.
The carpark and mall were built adjoining the town library, which was often open until a little later. Katie was tired, but seeing the library was still open, she wondered if she couldn't find something to read before she went back home. After all, books were one of the few things she could do at home without her dad taking much notice of her. Her dad was a violent man, and Katie had learnt it was best to avoid him. Her mum, a drug addict, was usually too busy in her own world to take any notice of her. It was her older brother who once read to her as a child, but now he had moved in with his girlfriend on the other side of town, and Katie rarely saw him. Mostly, she was on her own.
The library had large windows at the front, covered with motivational posters and encouragements for people to read more books. Katie agreed wholeheartedly with the posters. She wasn't the best reader, but reading books was a pastime she enjoyed anyway. As she went inside, she quickly checked her reflection in the window. Yip, same old plain-Jane with no sexy features to speak of. Same dirty old school uniform because she kept wasting her laundromat money on arcade machines. She'd lost her shoes some weeks earlier, so she walked around bare-footed, but at least she still had her nerdy-looking glasses.
Inside, Katie heard the loud hum of an air-conditioner. The temperature was mild, and the lighting was soft yellow. Rows of books stood on end, waiting to be read. Katie went directly to the restricted section, her personal favorite. There were no children's books in this section, other than a few collections of nursery rhymes dating to the 1700s. Most books were leather-bound, many with gold-foil lettering. Katie loved the moldy smell and thick paper of these books, and sometimes sought to sneak a few out of the library.
As her eyes continued along the bookshelf with wonderment, they suddenly stopped as Katie gasped. There in front of her was a particularly large and important-looking book, bound with leather and shiny gems along the spine. There were two rows of heavy metallic bands which held down clamps to keep the book securely shut, as though the publisher had gone to great lengths to avoid the book opening accidentally. However, Katie could immediately see a small latch that allowed the book to be opened with ease. It was sitting on a high shelf, but Katie saw that she could reach it. And on the spine, in proud and very fine lettering, Katie could see the title spelled out with beautiful crystals:
The
Burgeoning
Book
With her mouth still agape, Katie found herself unable to look away from the book. A strange breeze, running counter to the direction of the air-conditioner, suddenly filled the room. Katie's hand began to tremble, and she found herself slowly reaching out for the book. In her mind, Katie was in a trance, with the sounds of beautiful female voices echoing in her mind, all saying "read me ... read me ... read me ..." - before long, Katie saw that her hand was no more than an inch away from the book, before her trance was suddenly and violently broken.
From just behind her, a cane whacked Katie's outstretched hand. Katie whirred around to see an elderly man there, wearing a bow tie suit and a name tag indicating that he was the head librarian.
"What was that for?" asked Katie indignantly.
The man replied first by whacking her hand again for good measure. "Back in my day, you'd have had it a lot worse for putting your grubby paws on my restricted books!"
Katie looked outraged. "I was just trying to read it!"
This seemed to surprise the old gentleman. He peered at Katie, and his grey eyes seemed to stare into her soul. For a moment, Katie felt as though the man were somehow reading her mind. But that was impossible ... wasn't it? The only way Katie could describe it was like his eyes were fountains of water, going through her eyes and right through the circuits her brain. It was dizzying, in a way.
"You ... read books?" asked the old man.
"Yes" said Katie matter-of-factly.
The old man broke his gaze and looked at the ground. "You have something of a gift" he said in a low voice "Very soon, nobody will read books anymore. Libraries are dying. It's all these fancy new e-readers and technology, I say!"
"I can't afford an e-book reader"
"Well - it's better that way, kid. These books - " he pointed his cane dramatically " - are each little shards of power. Whether they take you to other worlds or teach you ancient secrets, they have an experience your so-called e-book readers can never replicate. Yes, my girl ... all books are magic books ... and some are particularly dangerous ones, because the magic in them is particularly real."
"So ... can I borrow this one then?"
The old man hit the girl with his cane a third time. "You want to read these books? First read the sign - " he pointed his cane to the restricted sign above the shelf " - as you can see, these books cannot be issued. They are all very rare and old. What book did you want anyway, perhaps I can get you something else?"
Tentatively, Katie pointed behind her at the leather-bound, gem-studded masterwork sitting on the shelf. A long silent moment passed as the old man looked up at the book through the dustiness and soft yellow light of the room. His face looked at though he were suddenly recalling a distant memory. It was hard to tell whether it was a happy or a sad memory. Katie immediately saw that the librarian knew something of important about the book, such as a secret. Along with the book, she wondered what was giving the old man such pause.
"Just ... that one?" said Katie, breaking the silence.
The old man still did not speak. He leaned on his cane, and turned away from Katie, deep in thought and reflection. Katie wondered if he was simply having a senior moment. But she felt an unnatural presence in the air, something akin to being watched by a thousand eyes. The whispers she heard before were starting to call to her again, and the old man's ears pricked as though he could hear them too. Katie had never had an experience like this before. She no longer felt like a little pawn to be neglected by her family and bullied at school. Now she was something still more insignificant, a pawn among the great and powerful forces of the universe.
"Tell me" said the old man, almost in a low whisper "If I could grant you one wish ... any wish at all ... what would you wish for?"
This time it was Katie's turn to be quiet in thought. Being wealthy came to mind ... or being popular. Then she thought about being smarter, but although she wasn't the best at school, Katie was already called a nerd often enough. She thought about being stronger or more athletic, but wondered if being a jock was just more ammunition for the bullies. Besides, she already had some hobbies that she really enjoyed. If she had two wishes, then her answer would be simple - she'd wish for both a new family, and for friends at school. Perhaps with money she could buy her way to independence? But then, she realized, she'd still be self-conscious because in some ways, her bullies were right. She wasn't pretty, she wasn't sexy, she was just a scrawny little nerd. And then, she thought, perhaps if she was pretty, people would like her, she would like herself, she could land jobs as a cute young actress and make lots of money ... and then she could manage her family problems a bit. It wasn't a flawless plan, but it was a plan anyway.
"Maybe I'd wish to be beautiful" Katie said wistfully "Like ... long legs, bubble butt, hourglass figure, toned in all the right places, large boobs, long hair, a face so pretty that nobody would ignore me ever again..."
The old librarian cut her off in a low, thoughtful voice: "That book is not one you would choose to read. The book has chosen you. I will let you borrow it."  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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