the blanket library

 Tilly found herself staring at a gate. It was a very intricate variation of controlled access, it was woven from thorny vine and, from what Tilly gathered, finely cut stems of copper. She had gone to a park, but really it was more of a garden, one that was obscure and rarely visited, in a sense it had been forgotten. It was one of her favorite pastimes, traveling to destinations unknown. There had been some kind of glitch however though she felt in the navigation system settings or perhaps the cell phone itself, it was a rather outdated iPhone, she still was carrying the 10x. This damn well does not match the photos on google she thought to herself while getting miffed at this point. She had really been looking forward to venturing onto the grounds to take in the aura it emitted. It was not certain where she was, then she noticed a very tiny almost microscopic sign to the left of the thorny gate nailed crudely to a tree. Tilly approached it and took out her elderly phone and used the camera to try and zoom in on the lettering: 

“the blanket library”

“The blanket library? What the hell?” Well, I do enjoy a good read now and then, but why is this sign so tiny and what an odd name for a library. Before she tried her hand at opening the thorny gate, she typed into her google app “the blanket library.” “Hmmm nothing comes up, maybe it’s new.” she muttered to herself as she reached her hand over the top thorns of the gate and managed to unhook the latch easily enough. “Ok here goes nothing,” she said and walked through, just as she got past the thorny threshold the gate slammed shut on its own. Or at least she thought it was on its own, until she heard a very high-noted voice, like one of a mouse might be, say “Welcome to the blanket library!”

Tilly looked down and saw a small creature about a foot or so high staring up at her with an excited glare. “Uh um excuse me but where am I?” “I just told you bozo the blanket library!” “I saw you read the sign with your gadget!” “Oh, right yes how stupid of me” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “Come along then” said the creature “Oh by the way my name is Krigg.”

Tilly began to breathe in the landscape which all in all decided to take it, there were massive ferns in a very intricate pattern woven together tightly, and a pond full of moon jellyfish and unidentifiable species of toads. “Here we are!” “The entrance to the world-famous blanket library!” “World famous? Is that so?” The library itself was nothing fancy looking, in fact it looked just like a regular cottage style house or even a shanty. Tilly went to reach for the knob and Krigg gave a shriek. EEEKKK and slapped her hand away “OW what the?” “You must do the knock so that they know you have been invited!” A perplexed Tilly responded quietly “Invited? Knock? Huh?? I know nothing about this!” she exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, that’s because I haven’t told you just yet. Knock five times each one must be exactly two seconds apart, then you must do two more at certain points on the door, they’ll light up, so you know where.” 

Tilly stared at Krigg for a moment in disbelief then raised her hand to begin the knocking, “What happens if I am off timing?” “Well, it will not open of course! Then you will have to start over, oh and you will have to wait until tomorrow to try again. Also, you’ll be mocked by the toads all night while you wait as the guest house for improper knocks is right by the pond there.” “Don’t worry though no one ever screws up, just try not to overthink it.” 

Tilly said nothing more and turned back to the door, it was a dark wood stain, with a complex system of loops and spirals. It had a sort of hypnotic effect, then suddenly the knob began to turn without touch, the hinges creaked, and the door opened ever so slightly.

 “I didn’t even knock!” Tilly yelled at Krigg “Yes you did, did you not see yourself knocking and timing it and the lights?” “Well yes but…” “Come on then, let’s go inside already, stop dawdling, the afternoon is starting to dwindle into evening and the snakes prefer to slither around as the sun starts to die out each day.” Krigg gave Tilly a push against the back of her knee, a very vulnerable area, which caused her to buckle a tad. “Hey, quit it I’m going!”

 There was not much to view once Tilly pushed the door open all the way, it was darkness, but she did not want Krigg to shove her again, so she threw caution to the wind and stepped into the unknown.

 She stood there in pitch black while Krigg shuffled in behind her. “Did someone not pay the electricity bill?” joked Tilly as she outstretched her hands to make sure she didn’t bump into anything. “We just need to light the candle goober.” Krigg retorted as he took out a lighter and flicked it a few times, finally the flame lit, it was extremely weak though and did not provide much capacity to view the surroundings.

 “I really need to refill this one. Ok over here, there should be the welcoming wick. Hopefully Gladys set it out already” He moseyed off and Tilly followed his lead to what looked like an altar with a single red candle in the center and a black cast iron holder. 

 Once lit it illuminated the entire space they were standing in, as bright as a fluorescent bulb would be. Now Tilly could see where she was standing. It was like a castle, one that had kept its ancient architecture, not the modernized versions which Tilly found to be so dreadful. The ceiling stretched upwards of about 20 or 30 feet with something swaying on the beams every so often. “Don’t worry about those, just the bats that have taken refuge here for centuries,” Krigg told her as he caught her squinting up at them. What a marvel, she thought to herself in a stunned warp of belief as she recalled the exterior of the building was a simple construction that was nothing to write home about.

 She was debating asking this imp-like creature, Krigg, what exactly was going on here, she knew there had to be a logical explanation for this unfolding mystery. So many questions were swirling like a cyclone inside her mind now. “LET’S GOOOO!” Krigg had been yelling for her to follow for a minute or so as she was lost in her contemplation. Tilly let go of the confusion for now and caught up with Krigg who was now hobbling down a great hallway.

  “We have to go meet Clyde, he’ll be the one to distribute your blanket” again the inquiries sprouted inside Tilly’s head like blades of grass, but she kept quiet still. She went back to admiring the beauty of the interior of this so-called library. The great hallway they were traveling through still had the soaring roof-top yet was slightly narrow, they could not walk side by side they had to venture single file. There were also cut outs in the stone, designs that were very rune-like, they certainly must have spelled out something. “Krigg, you piece of crap! I was wondering what was taking you so long!” Krigg quickly turned towards Tilly and mouthed words, absent of audio “That’s Clyde” and rolled his eyes.

   Clyde was I guess what you’d call an interesting looking being, he had fierce fangs and slit pupils that were set in emerald green irises. “Full moon?” questioned Krigg “No it’s half full that’s why I’m partially morphed, jerk!” “Now shut up and introduce me to this striking lass behind you that I have heard so much about. I’ve gone through about 100 blankets trying to find just the right one for her.” “Yes, Miss Tilly please meet our Clyde, the head blanket thrower.” Tilly could only stand there in stunned silence as it began to dawn on her that Clyde was a werewolf. “At your service Tilly, to get you your blanket that is.” “Now where did I put the one I had felt was the most fitting to form and nature for you, oh ya right here.” He produced a fringed bohemian poncho-style, tattered and worn in.

  Clyde threw it through the air, and it floated gracefully, covering the distance in a mesmerizing glide. Once it drew near to Tilly it gave a soft ghostly sigh and began to twirl around her shoulder blades, she was beginning to feel a soft sense of panic creeping into her heart beats. “Don’t be afraid, yet anyway.” Clyde said sinisterly. “Pipe down mutt, you want her to run off and end up getting trapped in the observatory like that one fellow who….,” Krigg trailed off as he became distracted with a gasp that echoed throughout the chamber. “That was not me, it was this foul blanket. It keeps making eerie vocals.” Tilly said. Clyde gave a glance to Krigg with a sideways smirk and casually stated: “You would probably too if you were possessed.”

  Wow, a possessed blanket, now I’ve heard everything, I must be in a sleeping coma of sorts, maybe I got into some sort of accident, maybe I’m *gulp* dead.” “Really Clyde, what is with you!” cried Krigg, “Ms. Tilly, these blankets are not possessed they are more like…inhabited.” “Oh, ok that makes me feel better.” Tilly snidely remarked. The blanket itself at this point was simply hanging around her neck in a scarf like fashion. Krigg ignored her and continued to describe how the blankets they keep under lock and key and chain and guard held inside their threads stories that were lost or never found, characters that time may have missed or neglected. They would then wind up being a broken memory that could never be retained, and the bounty book hunters had to track down. After that it got overly complicated and intense Krigg said so he saved the remainder of the forgotten fable transferring to blanket process for another time.

 “Too much information all at once will cause your brain matter to boil in your skull and turn it into a very succulent soup. Haha!” Clyde had to chime. “We better get you into the café. I’m sure right now you could use some sort of sustenance. Let’s go down the staircase behind the wall. There are other ways to get there of course but that one is always the one I recommend after beginning to describe our mission and means.” Krigg stated then proceeded to the far end of the chamber where an oil painting of a scantily clad lady was hung, wearing only a sheer robe.

 Krigg whispered to the woman in the painting and part of the cement blocks began to shift and create a passageway before them. Tilly was bursting to know exactly what Krigg had said, “what did you say to her to gain access!” Krigg looked at her quizzically, “you should know, I whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Come on now, just watch your step.” “Take a shot of the wolfsbane espresso for me,” bided Clyde.

  Krigg and Tilly began their descent down the staircase, it was a spiral of course, with hair-pin curves wound very tight. “I’m getting dizzy, ugh” Tilly mentioned, “maybe we should slow down.” “This staircase will do that to you, it’s what it was designed for, it actually relaxes you and the blanket as well. An intoxicating effect.” Krigg told her as he gained speed. Once they finally reached the bottom Tilly immediately dropped into a heap onto a leather ottoman. Krigg was unaffected because he had built up a resistance by going up and down them so many times. He ran over to the dew petal fountain first and brought her over a cup.     

 Here drink this quickly, she did as he suggested and immediately felt sturdier. “Now let’s get a cup of Joe, or Josephine if that’s your thing.” Tilly gave a weak chuckle, gathered herself, and clenched the blanket, though it really had not even so much as budged from around her.

 The menu of the café was extensive and overwhelming as well as impossible to read every elixir title and description completely within just a few minutes. “I suggest the eye of Horus, it’s a subtle blend and will awaken your senses just enough to know you’re not dreaming.” Tilly tried to remain calm as Krigg said this and went along and ordered it. The barista was a mechanism of vividly constructed wires and gears, you simply wrote on a notepad what you desired, and it went to work engineering it. It was a lengthy ordeal for the machine and customer but well worth it as it was certainly one of the most amazing coffees Tilly tried. Just as she went on to take a second sip the blanket began to pull around her neck. “Oh no it’s starting to strangle me!” “No, it’s not you twit, it senses a book calling out for you in one of the nearby studies, trying to lead you there.”

  Tilly gave a nod and started trotting in the direction her blanket was pulling her towards, an arched entrance with a spiderweb of vines covering the framework. Inside there were rows upon shelves upon stacks of books. It led her to the fifth corner of the room as it was a pentagonal shaped area. Without really thinking twice about it, Tilly reached out and pulled from a tired-looking cabinet a hardcover book with a decaying spine. She turned around expecting to find Krigg behind her, but he was still in the café, which was the engineering café, there were around 149 others inside the library such as the philosophy café and musical cafe and #150, the gaming cafe was in development.

 The blanket again began to guide her again it led her to a small and cozy round chair to curl up in like a cat and start to read. Once she settled and began reading Krigg appeared “So how is the book?” he asked her. Tilly looked up and gave a blank expression as she took a moment to consider this and said she did not know. “I was just reading and did not want to put it down, but I don’t remember what it was about.” 

  “Sounds about right, that is how it operates here with these books and blankets. You will not recall the story but while reading it you’ll be completely enthralled. Look away though and it evaporates. Once you start reading again it’ll all come back to you. It will not let you retell the story to someone else; they must be chosen by the book, not the other way around here, sorry!” Tilly was dumbfounded and the questions began to bubble up again, she could not resist. “Hey Krigg, you said this place was world famous, how is that so?”

 “We’ve had folks all over the world come here, and it’s more like worlds famous as I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not human nor is Clyde. You must be invited here though, and the reason for that is, well, there are numerous ones but the easiest thing to say for now is there is only a certain strike of those who can manage coming here without saying anything to anyone once back home, that is the mortal-human realm for you another dimension for others.

This only proceeded to manifest more questions, Tilly only chose one though at this time and that was if she could take the book back with her. “I’m afraid not, you can only read it here with us. So, place your bookmark on your page and see what happens.” Tilly did not have a formal bookmark, so she folded the corner of the book. She heard a clock chime and blinked once “Tilly!” It was the voice of Charlotte, her roommate. “I didn’t know you were home!” Tilly recollected herself as best she could “Oh sorry, uh I dozed off.” She was starting to believe that was truly the case as she was now perched softly on her fluffy bed in her flat above Happy’s snack and beer.

“Well Allister and I are cooking up shrimp tacos tonight if you want any. And a frozen marg or two!” “Ok, ya be right out.” Damn, it really was a dream, what a shame. She got up off her bed then and that is when she caught a glance, out of the corner of her eye first then she cautiously began to spin around for a full view. Draped in cape-like fashion over her swivel desk chair and beginning to utter out to her in a solid spectral tone was the poncho-style bohemian blanket.