The Chance to Live

"Master Walters?"

"Over here, Nicholas."

Conrad Walters was standing in an aisle distant from his attendant and personal assistant, Nicholas. The library they were visiting, grandiose and oddly comforting to Conrad, hummed with distant murmurs of other patrons attempting to keep their voices low. Conrad glanced up. The vaulted ceiling, color of the wood and overall ambience gave off a feeling of a cathedral, more so than anything else. Closing his eyes for a moment, Conrad simply allowed the invigorating, almost divine smell of the old literature to wash over him.

Nicholas turned the corner into Conrad's aisle, letting out a low huff, voice quiet but tone strict. "Master Walters. You are not ignorant to the fact that your father would flay me within an inch of damnation should something befall you. Why must you heap further stress upon me?"

Conrad's face immediately began splitting into a smile as Nicholas spoke. "Nicholas, you're a blessing on my life. Every time a sentence exceeding two or three words escapes your mouth, it feels like poetry. Thank you, old friend. What meager zeal I can manage to experience in my days stems from our conversations."

Nicholas cocked an eyebrow. "...Meager zeal?"

Conrad shrugged. "What? I figured I'd take a stab at being you today. Do I not convince?"

"Master..."

Conrad stroked his chin. "I'm lacking a beard. That's it. I wasn't blessed with your genetics. Dignified facial hair wasn't in the cards for me, and now I'll never pass for a dignified gentleman, no matter how I sound."

Nicholas looked Conrad up and down, taking in his grey hoodie and blue jeans, perfectly contrasting Nicholas and his dress shirt, black vest and tailored slacks. "Oh, of course, young master. Once puberty strikes and hair graces that chin, nobody will be able to tell us apart."

Conrad glanced at Nicholas, his expression deadpan. "I turned 18 yesterday, Nicholas. As you well know. I believe you were the one to deliver the cake.'

"Doesn't ring a bell. Mind isn't what it used to be, you know."

Both men, young and old, were silent a moment. Then the dam broke. Conrad and Nicholas chortled, hands over their mouth, making a reasonable attempt at discretion and modesty. Grinning, the two glanced back up at each other.

"Alright, all humor aside, I was just, well..."

Conrad glanced down at the novel in his hand, showing it to Nicholas.

"You'll have to excuse me, Nicolas. I was checking out some more...fun, literature."

Nicholas tutted. "Your father would be terribly irritated with you if he witnessed you perusing fictional works today."

Conrad snorted. "My father would be terribly irritated with me if he saw me perusing fictional works on any day."

"So dramatic, young master. Did he himself not gift you some of the works of Dickens when you were younger?"

"Oh yes, how could I forget? My CEO father, in his infinite kindness, allowed me to read a couple choice books NOT pertaining to software development. Which he chose himself. Without my input. He's the very symbol of consideration."

Nicholas sighed. "Young master. Your grudge against your father is doing you no favors. I find the distance and tension between the two of you regrettable, and I feel for your position. But bitterness is never a healthy state of being."

Conrad grimaced. "That's the ironic part though, isn't it? Too much distance has never been the issue between him and I. It's the opposite. He's been the model controlling helicopter parent. I understand his expectations for me, Nicholas. But I didn't exactly consent to them."

"Some things simply occur without our consent, young master. And I say that, not to discourage you, but to keep you grounded. Why, our very existence came about without our consent, did it not? Neither you nor I, nor anyone else, chose whether or not to be born. That was decided by powers outside of our control."

"A poet and a philosopher. How do you keep getting away with hoarding these blessings of yours, Nicholas?"

"Privileges of those with more years to their name, young master. It will happen to you eventually too."

"Of course. One day at a time. First I deal with what I have on my plate, then I plan a course to achieve my next goal. As you taught me."

"Quite. Which brings us back to the present." Nicholas straightened up. "Between the two of us, young master, I don't mind you looking over the fiction section. There is value in the joy to be found here. But for now, let us locate the book your father sent us here for."

Conrad grumbled, but relented. "Right. As if I needed any more material to study on software development. I'm convinced the old fool has already crammed every book on the subject into my brain. But yes, if he's so insistent upon this one in particular, let's find what we came here for. He'll give you hell if we return without that study material."

Conrad returned the book to the shelf alongside the other fiction entries. Odd. As soon as Conrad put the novel back, he felt a faint tingling feeling that he had been experiencing the past few minutes suddenly vanish. Thinking nothing of it, he walked away alongside Nicholas, in spite of the bizarre pull that he was feeling towards this particular fiction section. Immediately after walking out of the aisle, the two bumped into a woman with long teal hair tied into a ponytail, who they recognized as the librarian.

She flashed them a smile. "Finding everything okay, gentlemen?"

Nicholas nodded. "Not my first time here, madame. I know where we should be able to find what we're looking for. But your concern is appreciated. Have a lovely day."

The two men walked off, leaving the librarian behind. She walked smoothly towards the fiction section that Conrad and Nicholas had just been standing in, her eyes drawn to the novels, unblinking. Once she reached the spot the men had been occupying, she stopped, and pulled out the novel that Conrad had been drawn to. Running her fingers over the cover, a smile slowly decorated her face.

"Let's give this one last try, shall we?"

Meanwhile, Conrad and Nicholas were scanning the shelves of the computer science section. After a few dull minutes, the object of their search was discovered. Nicholas pulled the software development textbook off the shelf and nodded to Conrad. The men headed in the direction of the checkout section, where the smiling librarian awaited them.

"It would appear we've found what we need."

"Oh, yes," Nicholas responded jovially. "A productive day."

Nicholas passed the book to the librarian for checkout. The librarian checked the book out with practiced ease, her eyes not even focused on the computer. In fact, to Conrad's confusion, her eyes were actually focused on him throughout the procedure. She barely offered Nicholas' library card the most fleeting of glances. Discomfort took root in Conrad's mind.

With the checkout complete, Conrad and Nicholas began to head off towards the exit. But the librarian called out to them.

"Forgive me, sir. You, in the grey hoodie. You seem to have forgotten your book."

Conrad glanced back, perplexed. The book they came here for was clearly being held by Nicholas. "Not sure I understand, ma'am. We have the book we need with us."

The librarian shook her head. She reached under the counter...and withdrew the novel that Conrad had been attracted to earlier. Recognizing it, Conrad's eyes widened. How did she...?

The librarian tossed the novel into the air. Bright light flashed out of the pages, prompting Conrad and Nicholas to cover their eyes. Once they opened them, shock overtook them. The librarian's previous attire, smart and professional, had been replaced with flowing, shimmering yellow robes. As if that wasn't enough, the novel she had tossed into the air hovered in front of them, a billowing, smoky portal coming out of it.

"I don't believe I'm mistaken, sir. You seem to have forgotten your book."