Room for Dreamiing |
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Chapter 1 |
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| Inspiration: bookshop From a distance the woman could have been mistaken for a statue. She didn't move for some time, and her hair was perfectly in place; there was no wind to stir it, nothing to ruffle her as she surveyed the room she stood in. There were no walls visible in this room. Rather there were only bookshelves, stretching to the ceiling, with bare, empty shelves. A man walked into the empty library behind the woman, treading softly. Whilst it may never truly be used as a library, the room certainly instilled the rules of one. Silence reigned. "They've finished installing INES," he whispered when he stood beside her. Her response was to tuck her chin in a bit. He continued, needing no further encouragement. "I'll test the program tomorrow, ensure the security systems are functional. I'll need you up here while I'm locked inside, in case something goes wrong. Will you be here?" She turned to face him, a small smile gracing her lips. "I have a library to fill, don't I?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "I suppose you do. Have you selected the titles you want in here? The carpenters estimated you could fit about-" "I know how many they said could fit in here. I've been working on the list for months, selecting the titles and then tracking them down. It's been unbelievably difficult tracking down most of the books." "Because you had to locate paper copies?" "Exactly. As technology advanced most paper books were thrown out. People simply didn't see their value, especially after the research conducted indicated they were a common means of spreading diseases." “You sound like you disagree with that.†He was genuinely curious. He was like that, always asking questions, trying to find out the how and the why of something. “That’s because I do. My grandmother had a large collection of paper books. Everytime I visited she’d sit me down in her lap and read me a fairytale. I used to touch the illustrations, as I wondered if their being physically on paper made them real. I thought that if I could touch the princesses’ worlds I might be able to get into one of them, live in a fairytale. Obviously I didn’t manage to find my own fairytale, meet Prince Charming.†She’s truly smiling now at the memories and the man smiles with her. He likes her smile and thinks she doesn’t do it often enough. Her smile slips though as the memories take her somewhere less pleasant. “My parents weren’t so happy about the fairytales, and they forbade my grandmother from reading to me again. I didn’t see a paper book for many years after that as my parents forced my grandmother to visit us if she wanted to see me. I think she tried to bring one of the fairytales with her, but I’m certain if she did they found it and confiscated it until she left.†“So when did you next see a paper book?†“When my grandmother died she left me her home and her treasure, her books. It was days before I had the courage to take down one of her books and read it. I still remember the slightly musty smell of the pages, the rough texture of the paper and the comfortable weight of it in my hand.†“It inspired you to become a collector of antique books?†“I guess it did. Many of the books I’m going to be putting on these shelves were my grandmother’s. I hope they survive whatever is coming. I cannot imagine a world where no little girl has heard the story of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina. It would be like a world without dreams, don’t you think?†She watched his eyes closely, wanting to see the truth in them. She could guess the answer. “Dreams… they’re nice things for some. For others though, they only lead to heartbreak. But I guess that’s what defines us a human beings: our heart. The ability to imagine, to dream, be inspired and be broken.†He didn’t really answer the question but she let it go. He wasn’t a fan of fairytales; he was a scientist at his core and magic had no place in the realm of science. She looked at her watch and shook her head slowly. “It’s already late. I can hardly believe we’ve been working on this place for three years and have finally finished up.†“Almost finished,†he corrected, smiling. “We still have a few final checks and the library’s installation to complete tomorrow. But that’s tomorrow. Right now I feel like sleeping for a hundred years.†He winked at her and left the room. She surveyed the room once more, let out a content sigh as she imagined it the same time tomorrow and followed him out of the room. |
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