Archive of Our Own

I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet, Mona thinks to herself. She peers over the computer and watches as the librarians and the assistants rearrange the furniture and bookshelves and fill up the empty space with rows upon rows of plastic chairs.

She looks around. No one else at the computers seem too bothered by the noise... but they also have their headphones in. If Mona knew how noisy the library was going to be this morning, she would have bought some herself before coming here.

Mona watches as a young girl approaches the librarian. She has a book in her hands and thrusts it the librarian excitedly.

“Is this where S.A Ampulla is going to be having their book talk?”

The librarian nods just as enthusiastically. Mona does a quick search of this author. The first link is an advertisement for a book, Ballad of the Flowers. It’s a young adult romance novel. Mona quickly notes that’s it’s gotten over seventy thousand reviews on the website – most of them positive. She’s never even heard of the book before.

Well... she supposes it’s not too unexpected of a library to host something like this but still... it’s not like there aren’t students studying here. Why do they have to do it right out in the open?

Mona’s gaze turns back to her screen and she switches tabs. The page of her Word document is half full, but her fingers feel heavy against the keyboard. She absentmindedly switches back to the tab about the book and looks up the author who is supposedly going to be making an appearance today.

There’s... nothing. No interviews, no pictures. Just the book...

And a few video reviews...

Mona clicks on one and mutes the volume and opens the closed captions. She certainly isn’t going to aid in interrupting the peace a library should have.

Mona skips through the sponsored ads. She only watches a few minutes of the video when the reviewer mentions the ‘mystery of the faceless author... unheard of in most publishing spheres... well... unless you’re a ghostwriter but that doesn’t count for this book anyway!’ The reviewer lists off his critiques, but ultimately said that ‘despite all of that, it’s truly a book that leaves you thinking even once you‘ve finished the last page.’

Mona shrugs. She was never really into fiction novels all that much. She preferred magazines, newspapers and journal articles. It was what she was in the library for. So, she could complete her submission for the magazine she was desperate to get her writing in. She hoped they would accept it. She was certain she was a perfect fit for this magazine and the article she wrote was perfectly tailored for their spiritual audience.

She switches back to the tab with her unfinished article. She knows what she wants to write, but its just so hard to try and get the words to come out. She’s always had this problem and it doesn’t help that a bunch of young teenagers have now come into the library also with their copies of Ballad of the Flowers in their hands. One of the boys manages to trip over one of the chairs and send it toppling into another one.

The boy apologises profusely and helps the librarian to untangle the two chairs from each other.

The librarian laughs and smiles. Mona frowns. At the library in her hometown where she grew up, if something like that happened, the librarian would not hesitate to kick out anyone making any sort of ruckus. She supposed times had changed since then... and Mondstadt was a very different country than Fontaine anyway.

There is relative silence for a little while – thankfully. Mona manages to get a few words down on the page. Then somehow an electrical cable manages to get disconnected from the computer she is working at and her computer screen goes black.

Mona swears. Her frustration with this whole day has just reached a tipping point. She looks around, and she’s certain without knowing exactly how – that it’s the fault of the boy who tripped over the chair before. He’s sitting too ramrod straight, his eyes intensely focused on the wall in front of him to be giving off any semblance of innocence.

Mona starts to angrily pack her bags, just about ready to leave. She’s going to another library. Maybe she could go and swipe Albedo’s student ID off of him. At least there she knows that the university library would be quiet.

“Oh no! I hate it when that happens!”

Mona spins around. A woman is standing behind her. Mona blinks. The first thing she notices is how pretty she is.

“What?” says Mona.

“It’s so frustrating. The amount of times I’ve almost lost my work because of something like this... here, let me help you!”

Mona blinks, surprised. The woman in front of her is dressed in all neutral colours, brown vest and slacks, and a beige turtleneck beneath that. It clashes violently with her bright green hair.

“It’s fine,” said Mona. “I was just about to leave anyway.”

“O - oh? You were? Well, don’t you want to make sure you haven't lost all your writing, just in case?”

This woman must have been a writer too for her to speak that way, so concerned and all.

Mona shrugs. “If it’s lost, it’s lost. I wasn’t too happy with it anyway.”

The woman nods. “Oh, I see. Well, here... I’ll just plug it back in for the next person to use. You should wait and see if you’re still logged in though.”

“O - oh. Right,” says Mona. She hadn’t considered that.

The girl smiles at her and crawls under the table, plugging the cord back into the power point. She crawls out and presses the button on the computer.

“There you go.”

Mona watches the computer cycle back on.

“What do you write anyway?” the woman asks.

“Magazine articles... or at least I hope to.”

“Ooh! I love magazines!” says the woman. “You should see my collection at home.”

Mona smiles. “Do you write them too?”

“Oh, no. I prefer fiction writing. Actually, I’m due to have a talk about my book today! You see where they’re all setting up over there?”

Mona blinked. “You’re the author?”

“S.A Ampulla, that’s me!” says the woman. “Truth be told, I’m a little nervous. This is my first ever book tour. I really don’t know what I’m supposed to expect, especially since I’ve never wanted to expose myself to the public in the first place but... I don’t think it’ll be too bad... plus I want to see my readers!”

Mona’s jaw goes slack. She’s never met an author before, let alone spoke to one. Especially not one who was so successful.

“Oh!” says Mona. She was even carrying the book in her hand. How did she not see it?

They are approached by a librarian. “Oh, Sucrose, there you are. It’s about time now, are you ready?”

Sucrose. What an interesting name.

“I’m ready, thanks Lisa,” she turns to Mona. “And good luck with your writing – oh. I didn’t your name.’

“It’s Mona,” says Mona. “And thank you.”

Sucrose smiles and turns to leave.

Mona is suddenly his with the urge to stay and listen to her book talk, but since she already told Sucrose that she was leaving she felt like she was obligated just because she said so.

She gathers her books and goes to re-borrow them. Her eye catches upon the stack of books of Ballad of Flowers, positioned right next to the self-checkout.

Her hand strays to the book and she picks it up. It’s really not the type of thing she would normally read, but meeting the author has her curious.

She scans the book and takes it home with her.

Mona reads the book the day after. She finishes it that same day as well. It’s not at all what she had expected it to be. Sucrose’s writing pulls you in, just the same way as when she approached her at the library.

She wishes this was her own copy of the book she could underline the passages. There is something about her writing that touches her. The ending makes her heart soar and she feel like, fiction or not, she won’t be able to read another book for a while. She isn’t even sure if anything else could compare.

When she finishes it, she turns on her phone and types in S.A Ampulla into the search bar. She remembers Sucrose talking about going on a book tour and is curious to learn more about the book, her writing process. All the things she might have missed when she read it that would be clearer to the author rather than the reader. 

She finds out that she’s scheduled for another book talk at a different branch of the same library tomorrow afternoon. Mona hasn’t been to that library before so she checks and finds out that it’s easily accessible by public transport.

She tries not to feel bad for calling up Albedo and cancelling her plans with him. It’s fine, she didn’t really want to third wheel him and Kaeya anyway.

She’s neglected her writing and her grocery shop for the day since reading the book. She forces herself to leave the house and catch the bus and run her errands. She even stops at the department store and buys some cheap accessories for when she goes to the book signing tomorrow. She can’t really explain it, but she wants to look nice for when she sees Sucrose tomorrow.

The library is a lot larger than the one she usually goes to. She realises this must be the main branch and she asks the librarian where S.A Ampulla is going to be doing her talk and finds a seat. She’s glad to see that she’s not the only adult in the crowd. Sucrose’s novel was for all ages, she thought that even as she read it.

After a moment, Sucrose walks towards the seats and sit down, she waves to all her readers and her eyes catch on Mona’s and her smile grows brighter and her wave a little more enthusiastic. She’s wearing light blue jeans and a coat and t-shirt this time.

The librarian has a microphone in hand and she introduces Sucrose to the crowd. A lot of people comment on how pretty she is in hushed whispers and Mona is inclined to agree.

The librarian asks questions to Sucrose - ‘what does the ‘A’ in your name stand for?’ Nothing. Just needed to something to fill in the space.  ‘Tell us about what inspired you to write this book?’ I’ve always loved fairytales and fantasy novels. I’ve also been a person who found friends in the books I read. I wanted to write something that would speak to that side of me, but would also show the importance of having real, physical connections with people.’

The talk goes on like that. With each answer Sucrose gives, Mona finds herself wanting to read more of her work.

Finally, the time comes around for the crowd to ask some questions. A teenager asks the first one.

“When are you going to write another book?”

“I’m writing one now. I can’t tell you much about it yet though, other than it’s going to be a romance novel.”

There’s a few ooohs from the crowd. Mona raises her hand next.

“Mona!’ says Sucrose. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Mona flushes even though she’s not sure why. Maybe it’s the fact that Sucrose remembered her name.

“I finished your book in one night since that day,” Mona admits. “I had never read anything like it. It was truly amazing.”

Sucrose grins. “Thank you so much! Did you have a question too?”

Mona nods. She had thought of one on the bus. She just wanted the opportunity to speak to her. “What is it about writing that you love?”

“Hm... I love all the different ways I can express myself. I can say things I wish I said, or I can understand different people better by understanding my different characters. I like how dedicated I can be to my writing and how much I strive to improve with each work I write.”

Mona nods. She’s glad she asked the question. The librarian is about to move onto the next question, but Sucrose interrupts her.

“What do you like about writing, Mona?”

Mona blinks. “Me?”

Sucrose nods. “Yeah!”

“I... I like... the dedication too. I love doing the research and being proactive and putting myself out there so I can write the stories and the articles that need to be heard.”

Sucrose grins.

“Well, I’m not surprised there's a few writers here,” says the librarian. “Just so everyone knows, we do have a writer’s club hosted here every Thursday afternoon. Feel free to come along.”

“You might even see me there too!” said Sucrose.

Mona didn’t even know there was a writer’s club. She made a mental note to check the library’s webpage later. But also... if Sucrose was going to be there, does that mean she lives locally? Mona didn’t know why that made her heart race faster. She wanted to know more about the author that had captivated her.

Mona doesn’t have her own physical book to get Sucrose to sign so she leaves the library.

It’s Sunday, so the busses come every hour. It’s also cold outside, so she tugs her jacket tighter around her and waits for the bus.

She’s alone, until she sees Sucrose.

“Oh? You take the bus too?” she asks upon seeing Mona.

Her smile is so contagious that Mona can’t help but return it.

“Which bus route are you on?” Mona asks.

“438,” says Sucrose. “What about you?”

“401,” says Mona, she feels disappointed.

“Hm... I’m a bit hungry. Maybe I’ll order some takeout from Wanmin’s.”

“That’s along the 401 route, isn’t it?” asks Mona.

“Sure is! I don’t really mind though,” says Sucrose. “I think it would be nice to spend more time with a fellow writer. I wanna hear more about your magazine articles.”

“You do?” asks Mona. “I mean... I haven’t really had them published anywhere yet.”

Sucrose shrugs. “I want to hear about it anyway. I don’t really know a lot of other authors around my age. It would be nice to have a friend.”

“A - Are you sure?” asked Mona. “I mean, we’re practically strangers...”

“All of my friends were strangers before we were friends,” says Sucrose.

Mona laughs. “Well, I suppose so. And I guess I wouldn’t mind having you as a friend either.”