Stories

"Once upon a time," the story started. "There was a young woman named Rose. She was as beautiful as the flower she was named after."

The library was quiet. Ethel scooted closer to Geneva, enjoying her friend's narration. It was a Saturday morning. Both had gotten up early to finish a school project at their local library. The last project before graduation. They were researching when they found the tome of fairy tales. 

"She was locked in an enchanted castle," Geneva continued. Her and Ethel sat on the floor at the end of an empty aisle. Most people slept in on weekends, so it felt as if they had the library to themselves. Lost in a maze of novels. An oasis from the outside that seemed to keep getting loud and confusing.

I wish it were real, Ethel daydreamed. If only these fairy tales were real. 

Geneva would be going off to college while Ethel would start working full time at the food market. Their lives were going in different directions, far from childhood. It always used to be the three of them: Ethel, Geneva, and Sherry. 

But the amount of time Sherry spent with them began to dwindle after she got a boyfriend. Very soon his friends became her friends. And that was how that story ended.

"When the furniture spoke, Rose thought she was going insane." Geneva kept reading, Ethel kept listening. The turning of pages reminded them of a bird's wings flapping, ready to take off. The vintage spine and cover was nostalgic. Like an old cartoon. A time lost and remembered. 

"Rose refused to join the beast for dinner." Geneva's voice became lighter as she read Rose's dialog, and deeper as she growled the beast's lines. 

Ethel couldn’t decide where the magic came from. Was it from the story or the storyteller? 

"Rose didn't leave her chambers for days. While in her new prison, she befriended the sweet tea pot and the tea cup. And the flirty candle. Along with the uptight clock." 

Geneva gave each character their own voice. She added notes of drama as she described Rose's first attempt of leaving her room, only to be chased out by the beast's temper. Then her singsong voice became tender as she got the part of the main characters' budding romance.

"This is my favorite part," Ethel gushed. She had to hold in her cheer, almost forgetting she was in a library.

"The ballroom was as golden as Rose's dress." Both Geneva and Ethel adored the dance, where the characters saw each other as equals.

"I bet Sherry's boyfriend would step on her toes," Ethel jested.

Geneva shushed her, a smile spreading across her face, refusing to comment. At the end, Sherry was still a friend.

Ethel piped down and let Geneva keep reading. She pumped her chest when she read the parts of the villain, pompous and arrogant. Which made his fall and the hero's triumph, all the more, satisfying. 

It would have been a tragic love story, if not for the transformation. "The beast's heart had been changed, his inside matching his outside. It hadn't been done by Rose, but by the love she had for him. The End."

"I love love," Ethel sighed.

"I love happy endings," Geneva concluded.

They went back to their table that was in the center of the library. Geneva held onto the book of fairy tales and set it next to their project materials. “That’s a beautiful edition.”

Geneva peered around to find the librarian adjusting her glasses, she was trying to get a better look at the books they had picked. Ethel was confused. “Who are you?”

“Where’s Ms. Welch?” Geneva joined in.

“Ms. Welch retired. I’m the new librarian. My name is Monica Webber. Nice to meet you.” She was in her late thirties, early forties. 

Ethel didn’t realize Ms. Welch was gone. “Ms. Webber–” 

“Monica,” she corrected. “Just Monica is fine.” Her smile was infectious.

“Right, Monica.” Geneva started. “How long has Ms. Welch been gone.” 

Great minds think alike, Ethel supposed.

“A couple of months.” 

“Wow, how long has it been since we’ve gone to the library!?” Ethel exclaimed. She quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she apologized, quietly.

“Oh, don’t apologize,” she waved away with a laugh. It rang across the library, jubilant and free.

Geneva raised an eyebrow to Ethel. “You’re okay with us being loud?”

“I don’t mind,” she shrugged. “In a place filled with so much information and imagination, how could one remain silent?”

Both Ethel and Geneva exchanged bewildered glances.

“But, if you prefer it to be quiet, we have a silent area through that doorway,” she pointed. 

“No, it’s not that.” Ethel stumbled on her words.

“We didn’t know there was someone new.” Geneva was best at keeping a moment awkward. 

“Would you like to check that out?” Monica gestured to the book of enchanted tales.

“But it’s a special edition?” Ethel asked, perplexed.

“I trust you’ll bring it back.” Unlike Mrs. Welch, she had no condescending tone.

Before the woman could change her mind, Ethel scooped the book into her arms. “Yes, please.”

“First,” Geneva interjected. “We need to finish our project.” A few more people came in as it turned into late morning. There was chatting, but the conversation was light so there was no need to use the quiet area. 

“How is everything going? Do you ladies need help searching for anything?” Monica asked them.

"No, we're about done." Geneva replied.

"Finally," Ethel groaned. "Project complete."

"The last one we'll ever do together," Geneva sighed wistfully. 

"Ah, seniors." Monica surmised.

"Yep," Ethel confirmed. "One more month to go and we'll be part of the rest of society. Boring adults stuck living in reality."

"You make high school sound like a magical place," Geneva snorted.

"It wasn't. But the memories made were." Ethel would be watching her best friends and the rest of her friends leave her.

"You'll make new memories. Bigger and better," Monica promised.

"Sure," Ethel said.

"You think I grew up wanting to be a librarian?" She planted her hands on her hips. "I thought I wanted to be a real estate agent."

"What changed?" Ethel asked.

"My dreams did. I did."

"When?" Geneva asked.

"When life found it necessary to. You don't choose when life hits you. But you do choose how you respond to it."

Ethel wanted to know what she had gone through to end up here. When did she decide to work in a library? But that story would be for a different day, it was time to go home. 

"There's actually a summer program if one of you is interested. An internship that could turn into a paid position. We're having an event for it." Monica handed them a pamphlet. Ethel reached for it as if it were a lifeline. "Come back soon," she said as she checked her book out.

"I will," Ethel said and meant. Sherry had outgrown Geneva and Ethel's friendship. Geneva would be busy with packing, campus tours, and meeting roommates. She would leave Ethel behind as she made new friends.

But Ethel could return here. To her stories and characters. A piece of home she didn’t have to let go of.