Never would I have guessed that one overdue assignment would lead me to such a fascinating discovery. I don't even know how it happened; I've always been the stereotypical straight-A's, goody-two-shoes, by-the-book student. Never got into trouble, never late for class, and absolutely never missed an assignment. How this one got away from me I may never understand, but honestly...I'm glad it did. If it hadn’t, I never would have had to sneak into that library and I never would have met him.
A strange circumstance to be sure. I thought fables and fairytales were just stories told to children so they would behave and believe in silly things to make them stay young and imaginative. If you had told me they were real, I might’ve laughed right in your face before that night. After all, who would believe that a creature like him would be living in the library in the middle of town all this time?
I wandered through the darkness in the Biography section, looking for a book on Alexander Graham Bell for my assignment. That was when I saw the light on in the balcony above; the History section. I thought someone had forgotten to turn it out when they closed, and of course I was afraid of getting caught should someone notice and come back to rectify the error. Quietly I scaled the stairs, but before I could make it to the switch I heard a rustling. I was shocked to find myself facing a short, humanesque being with one big eye. I would’ve screamed too, had he not dropped his books and begged for me not to. He looked so frightened himself that I listened and didn’t make a sound. Then he began to tell me how he’d been living in the library basement for decades, since the building had first been erected, reading books every night.
Call me a jerk, but I had to ask him why he had only one eye. I said he reminded me of a Cyclops from Greek mythology, which in hindsight I admit might have been a bit rude. Though he took it in stride and even laughed before telling me he was only half Cyclops. On his father’s side. He said his mother was some kind of fairy, which accounted for why he was shorter than myself rather than the size of the entire library. Naturally, I chose not to think too much into the matter of his creation. It didn’t take long for us to warm up to one another and together we sat on the balcony to talk. His name was Kairos, which I recognized as Greek, and he’d recently been fascinated by human history books. “Think of it like reading a book about Cyclopes in the ‘fantasy’ section,” he said “I’m reading about humans just like they read about Cyclopes.” When I went to correct him on the plural of his own kind, we both fell into a fit of laughter. After all, who would know better? And besides, when you think of it 'Cyclopses' is a pretty ridiculous thing to say.
When he asked about the book I’d brought up with me, I explained my assignment and his eye sparkled with delight. He’d read everything this library had to offer on the inventor and was thrilled to have someone to share his knowledge with. In no time at all, my paper was complete and ready to be turned in come morning and I had nothing left to worry about. The rest of that night we spent talking about our favorite books and sharing crazy tales of our own that we created from nothing but a little inspiration and our combined imaginations. He was quite the storyteller as I’d come to learn, painting fascinating pictures with his words. I wished he could share his talent, but sadly the world simply wouldn’t have it.
After that, I came to see Kairos as often as I could. I brought him notebooks so he could write down his wondrous tales and he always had a new story for me with each visit. In return, he would help me with every reading project I was assigned. I soon learned that he’d read all the books in the library so many times he may as well have them all memorized, which made him an excellent study partner. Thanks to him, my grades had never been better! I was easily on my way to graduation, and my parents were thrilled to be sending me off to college! In fact, I’m headed off tomorrow. That’s why I had to come back to the library tonight; I had to say goodbye to my dear friend. I still plan to keep his secret, and I always will; I couldn’t bear to think of what would happen if he were discovered. But I can’t stay forever. Humans may be able to walk out in the open, but it comes at a cost. We have to work and learn in order to survive and provide for ourselves or the families we may hope to someday have. We can’t hide and read books all day and night the way he can. I’m almost jealous. But more than that, I feel guilty. I was the only friend he’s had all these years, the first human to find out about him and the only one to keep him company in his lonely dwelling. We used to talk for hours on end about the things we’ve read, like our own secret book club. I had a few other friends, human friends, but none shared my passion to learn and imagine the way he did. He told stories that sounded so fantastical they couldn’t possibly be true, yet he had me believe in every word. Then again, it’s hard to know what’s real and what isn’t when you’re talking to a being you once thought to be nothing more than a myth himself. It would be hard to tell a friend like him goodbye...
Sneaking through the back window, I can feel the stillness in the air. Tonight the walls lined with books felt empty and lifeless; the vivid stories within those pages didn’t speak to us this evening, instead they haunted us with their silence. I came upstairs in search of Kairos and found my lonely one-eyed friend sitting on the balcony of the History section, hugging a book tight to his chest.
A biography of Alexander Graham Bell.
You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.
0 comments