Two Libraries

Back at Mr. Basil’s library, all books have returned to their shelves, including Titus and the reps. The creaky wooden floors, carpeting the entire library is now empty from small feet running all around. The music of hushed conversations from one reading corner to another, followed by noise complaints from the sleeping books, and the eerie silence that follows have started playing at the library again. Apart from the assigned lookouts standing by the window, who will assist the rescue team upon their return, it is safe to say that the library has returned to its usual state.

However, there is one book who chose to stay behind by the front desk, accompanied by one hesitant new friend standing by beside the sullen book.

“You know,” Started Jimbo. “No matter, how long you sulk in there, there’s nothing you can do about it.” He continued.

“I’m not sulking because I want to follow them, or because that I’m upset.” Ogie replied. “Okay, maybe I am.” He corrected, after he saw Jimbo raising his right eyebrow. “Why is it always me?” Ogie started. “It’s me who’s always get left behind. I’m always the one not borrowed. I’m always at the bottom list of the school donations.” He added and Jimbo stayed silent.

Jimbo is now sitting right beside Ogie. He seems to have no plans of speaking and just kept on staring at Ogie who seems to have so many things left to say. And he was right.

“Or shouldn’t I feel this way anymore because I’m supposed to get used to this?” Ogie asked looking at Jimbo. “But how can anyone expect someone to get used to something like this, when it hurts every time I’m not chosen.” Ogie added, while staring at the ceiling. The two books went silent for a few minutes.

“Carol just went along with my plan, and Bio didn’t even want to be there.” Ogie started again. “I’m just so---I think—I guess I’m just unlucky---" Ogie said with a deep sigh in the end. Jimbo is still quiet. Giving advice or comfort were never his best quality. He is contemplating between offering his pet to Ogie as a distraction or just to stay quiet throughout the night.

However, Ogie’s envy and bitterness suddenly turned into worry when it suddenly started to rain. Tiny raindrops can be heard from the ceiling until the noise became heavier, it didn’t take long when they can safely infer that it’s going to be a downpour of sky water.

“Do you think they’re ok?” Ogie asked Jimbo. Ogie is now standing staring at the nearest window.

“We can only hope so. It hasn’t been long since they’ve left. I hope they found a place to hide.” Jimbo replied, standing up next to Ogie.

The scene earlier when Titus was still deciding who gets to join in the rescue suddenly flashed back into Ogie’s mind. He remembered Titus saying he is too big and heavy. He remembered Carol’s eyes looking sorry for him, after she got picked by Titus. He remembered Bio giving him a faint smile and a small wave, before they left the library and the birds were reproduced by Randy.

“I really hope they’re ok.” Ogie said and Jimbo gave him a pat on his back. ‘Please be okay,’ Ogie said in his mind.

Tina and Daye were able to stay awake for the next several hours as they wait for their pages to dry, which proves to be difficult due to the air moisture brought by the rain. About five hours after they have landed in the waiting shed, Tina and Daye started to walk on the unsuspecting lonely road behind them. The road was empty and didn’t have many trees, but there were few shrubs, grasses, and flower beds with half-bloomed flowers. There were flickering lamps too that made the road a bit too vibrant to use for two books who didn’t want to be seen.

“That was scary.” Tina said as they started walking. “I thought we were really going to die.”

“I thought so too.” Daye said. “Where do you think we are right now?” She asked.

“I have no idea.” Tina replied. Where do you think the others have fallen into?” Tina asked in return.

“Well, I hope it’s not a puddle, a well, or something.” Daye replied. Not long since they started walking, they noticed a playground and a building behind it.

“What's that?” Daye asked.

The playground has four swings and four seesaws. There was also a monkey bar, a couple of benches, and a fountain. The building behind it was made of wood with a big entrance at the centre with about five steps from the deck. It had so many windows on all four floors. There are many trees and flowering shrubs surrounding the building.

“Should we check it out?” Tina suggested. “Oh wait!” She added, as they came closer and saw the signboard. “It’s the school!” Tina yelled and grabbed Daye’s hand in excitement.

“Daye! Maybe there’s a copy of you in the school library!” Tina said. Tina and Daye, now fueled with some hope, sped up and started to head towards the school. They began to discuss what will be their plan on how to enter the school.

“How did you and those two became friends? Jimbo tried lightening up the atmosphere.

“Well, we have been together from one library to another for the past four decades.” Ogie replied with a smile on his face. “I’m really happy that we are grouped together each time that we will be moved. I don’t know what I would do if we will no longer be in the same library in the future.” He said while staring back at the bookshelves. “I don’t know if the three of us coming out from the same publisher is the reason why I feel comfortable with them. I mean, I have met a lot of books from the same publishing house too. But I didn’t get close to them the way I became best friends with Carol and Bio.” Ogie explained, his voice is much livelier now than before.

“Carol has always been friendly with everyone, and she always has a hunger for adventure. In one of our previous libraries, she would randomly scream ‘Help!’ to scare the children from the school. She always gets in trouble with our library leader because of it.” Ogie reminisced and laughed a bit.

“She loitered a lot in the other libraries that we used lived in before too. But even though she seems silly, I remember there was one time during the first library that we were in, a kid accidentally ripped a portion of my page. Naturally, I immediately forgotten everything about that page. But Carol, who was also borrowed at that time from an adjacent table, saw it. She picked up that ripped portion and gave it to me at nighttime. I kept that part tucked in between my pages for months before the librarian finally noticed and taped it back to me.”

“But they said your memories won’t return even if you do that.” Jimbo asked.

“Yes, that’s true. But Carol said, even though its small and doesn't seem important, it's part of me, so of course it is important.” Ogie replied with a smile.

“Bio, on the other hand, has always been serious and sort of shy. He doesn't always speak his mind and usually holds back with his interests. Carol and I thought he just wanted to look cool before, but no, that’s just really who he is. But I’m sure he secretly enjoys Carol and mine's company because he can be silly when he’s with us. I remember there were very few times that he acted out of his character. One time, at night he made the skeleton on his cover pop out and roam around the library just for the fun of it. All of us were so shocked.” Ogie said with a beam of pride and nostalgia. He went back to being serious and continued, “But I will never forget him comforting me when I wasn't read for more than 6 months at all. I didn't even hear anyone asking for my title or looking for me. I was so down that time, as if nobody knows that I exist. I’m very grateful to him for comforting me that time.”

“You know, you said earlier that you think you are very unlucky. But it seems to me, that you are the exact opposite of that, you have found yourself two great friends.” Jimbo said.

“Well, if you put it that way, then I will have to agree with you. I'm the only copy to be sent to Mr. Basil’s library you know, the other copies of me were sent to the Ilkrook school. As usual, I was left behind, but when I realized Carol and Bio are coming with me, I immediately felt at ease. I thought, I’ll be okay so long as my friends are here with me.” Ogie replied.

“I guess that's why I am feeling like this. I can't hate them for being part of the rescue team, and I wasn’t chosen, but at least I have the right to be envious right? But they are such great friends of mine, that I feel guilty even feeling envious towards them.” Ogie admitted.

“You are allowed to feel whatever you want to feel.” Jimbo started, “But I think, it is more important to know what emotions to put into words and what should be kept to yourself. If you feel envious towards them, fine, but you don’t have to say that to them. But if you feel very grateful to have them as friends, well, have you ever told them about that before?” Jimbo asked.

“Actually, I haven’t.” Ogie said.

“Well, you should tell them when they get back.” Jimbo said. He patted Ogie’s shoulder again, but that shoulder tap was more for himself. Jimbo felt proud that he thought of a decent advice this time. What they didn’t know is that one of the two books they were talking about will no longer come back.

Tina and Daye were able to enter the school about three hours later and it wasn’t because any of their plans worked either. The time now is 8 in the morning, and they were found outside the school by the caretaker every weekend, Mrs. Dorothy. She checked each of them and noticed that their pages are a bit wet.

“Mr. Basil’s Library?” Mrs. Dorothy read the print on each book. “Someone must have borrowed them and left them here.” Mrs. Dorothy said to herself. “These kids really get excited with the town festival.” She said as she entered the school with the two books tucked in her armpit.

Mrs. Dorothy was wearing a long dress with a pink, yellow, and white flower patterns. The dress stretched down to her ankles and had a ¾ sleeves. She had a brown small bag on her right shoulder and her long hair was carefully tied in a bun, revealing a mole on her left ear. She has a small mouth, a pointed nose, and long eyelashes.

“You poor thing, you probably got soaked from the rain last night.” She said, as she began to walk along the hallways, the keys singing as she pushed them back to her pocket. The hallways were illuminated by the large windows that perfectly captured the sunlight from every corner.

She placed each of the books by the cabinet just below the portrait of the school founder. “You two just dry yourselves for now as I have many jobs to do. I’ll pick you up later.” She said as she started to leave, she turned around and started thinking about the direction of the sunlight and moved them a bit more to the right side of the cabinet and then left.

“I guess I will have to stop by Mr. Basil’s Library this afternoon. Or should I just give them to Sam, she can pass them to her father-in-law, right? Is he living with them or not? But I shouldn’t trouble Sam for something related to my work. Or maybe I should give them back after the town festival, I think I can finish reading those books by Friday next week.” Mrs. Dorothy kept on talking to herself as she checked the school for anything unusual, especially if anything was damaged by the sudden downpour of heavy rain last night.

She checked the canteen, the library, the administration rooms, and the laboratory on the first floor, and each classroom from the second floor up to the fourth floor. Mrs. Dorothy would later be confused for the two books that she is planning to read for a week are no longer basking in the sun, but are now in front of the library begging to be let in.

“Who are you?” A thin rectangular book with a bright red cover asked the two suspicious books outside the library standing by the cabinet with a vase right beside it.

“We need your help. Please let us in. We are from Mr. Basil’s Library.” Tina said while exaggerating her pronunciation as much as possible, hoping that the other book from the inside can read her lips, if they can’t hear her properly.

“Please help us!” Daye begged.

Meanwhile at Mr. Basil’s Library, Ogie and Jimbo have decided to call it a night and started to return to their own shelves when a loud voice echoed in the entire library.

“HELP!” The voice screamed, a bit shaking.

“PLEASE HELP US! ANYONE IN HERE?” The voice yelled again, a bit weaker but was obviously still trying to scream.

“Please help!” The voice called again, now sounding more desperate and begging.

Titus, the reps, and hundreds of books woke up by the sudden noise and began to stir up. The reps and Titus were quick to move and find the source of the commotion.

The book in question, looks disheveled. Its cover, barely kept together, and its spine looked so much larger than its content. Many books started to crowd around it. The reps arrived one after another.

“Let me pass.” A rep with a hard green cover, exclaimed. “Excuse me, I’m a rep!” She repeated and the books started to move over.

“Who are you?” Another rep who arrived at the scene earlier started to investigate the book in question. This rep had a bookmark sticking out of her pages and a sharp voice.

The book that looked like it’s barely hanging on its life started to step back, scared of the sudden crowd of books appearing in front of her.

“I will ask you one more time, who are you?” The rep with a bookmark said.

“I—Uh—Um” The book started to stutter, she kept on rubbing her hands to her cover, while looking at all these unfamiliar faces, until finally she saw a familiar one.

“Titus!” The book exclaimed, her voice cracked on the second syllable.

“Who are you?”

“It’s me, Hackle. Don’t you remember? Hackle.”

Titus stared at the book for a while. A soft bound book which looks way thinner than before. The mint grey cover has become dark and pale. It looks very weak and old. Its title is barely readable.

“Hackle? It is you. What happened to you?” Titus asked as he moved closer and motioned the other books to make way for him.

“It’s terrible Titus. There are pests in the restricted section. A lot of books are being eaten. That’s why I decided to come here. I had to tell you. And who knows, the pests could come here too.” Hackle explained and gasps were heard all around.