Chapter Text
Nicole sighed and crossed out the phrase. She had been stuck on the same page for at least one hour. She raised her head and let the morning light hit her face. The sun shone through the windows of her tiny library. Dust particles danced between the shelves, landing on the colorful books, stacking against the covers. No one came this morning, as expected on a Tuesday. Nicole hovered her pen above the notebook again.
The room felt too warm. At least, summer always brought more visitors. She loved being here, working on her manuscript in the corner of her cosy library, helping people choose a novel to read during their vacation. What she didn’t like, was being unable to finish writing her second chapter. She was so close to finishing it, yet she felt like inspiration had been sucked out of her body. She put the pen down, picked it back up, and groaned in frustration.
The sound of the entrance bell brought her out of her trance. From where she was sitting, Nicole couldn't see who just entered the library. She quickly closed her notebook. Her desk was a mess as always, covered in pens, books, and loose sheets of paper full of notes and doodles. She pushed those to the side, stacking them to give her workspace a semblance of tidiness, and moved the hair out of her face. She always felt nervous meeting new customers.
Before she could make sure she was fully presentable, a little girl in a red hat peeked over the desk. Nicole straightened in her chair and smiled, just like she practiced all these years.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
The little girl grabbed the edge of the desk to push herself up. Two sparkly eyes met Nicole’s gaze.
“Hello! I want a book!”
Nicole chuckled. The little girl grinned widely, bouncing on her feet, watching Nicole expectantly, as if her request made sense.
“I can help with that, definitely. What kind of book do you wish to read?”
“Well”, the little girl brought a finger to her lips, “Mom says I am old enough for big books, but at home, we only have little books. So, Mom brought me here and said, ask the librarian for big books!”
“I see”, Nicole nodded. She walked around the desk to join the little girl. “Here, we have many, many books. Tell me, what do you like? Dragons? Fairies? Perhaps animals?”
“I like bombs!”
Nicole turned her head towards the girl in a swift motion. The girl stared back, a big smile smeared across her face. Surely she didn’t mean real bombs?
“You mean… fireworks?”
The little girl shook her head.
“Party poppers?”
Another no.
“Bath bombs then? I’m not sure I can find a book about that…”
The girl shook her head harder. “No, no, no! Klee likes bombs, the one that goes BOOM when you throw them! That spread fire everywhere!”
Nicole stared in disbelief. Children rarely came by, but they always asked for normal things, like fantasy books or adventure stories. Bombs were definitely a first. She scratched her head, wondering if she should fulfill such a request, but the little girl - Klee - was almost jumping in excitement.
“Alright, Klee. Let’s go see what we can find!”
Klee screamed in joy and clapped her hands. She followed Nicole to the science fiction shelves, her blonde twin tails bouncing behind her.
Nicole glanced at her. Such enthusiastic visitors were unusual. The library was small and lonely, on top of a hill ; she only had a few loyal customers, and occasional tourists passing by. Was she supposed to introduce herself? After all, Klee told her her name, even if it was indirectly. Nicole stopped in front of the shelf and grabbed a lock of her hair, twisting it between her fingers nervously.
“By the way, my name is Nicole.”
“Hello, Nicole!”
Klee waved at her with uncontained enthusiasm. Nicole sighed in relief. At least she didn’t find her weird.
“So…” Nicole traced her finger on the spines of the science fiction books. She hadn't read them all - she always preferred fantasy - but she made sure to memorize every summary. “This one! It’s about these huge robots. They fight a lot and they use bombs!”
“Do they use the bombs to fish?”
Again, Klee seemed very serious. She was holding tightly onto the straps of her backpack. Her smile hadn’t left her face.
“No, that’s not…” Nicole sighed. How could she help without tuning down Klee’s enthusiasm? A book about bombs and fish, suitable for children? Looking back at the book she picked, Nicole rested her forehead on the shelf. How could a child read all of this? Of course the little Klee didn’t care about mechas going on a war!
“Is everything okay here?”
The voice who just spoke didn’t belong to Klee. Nicole straightened up immediately, maybe a bit too fast for her own good, and turned towards the new figure.
In front of her was a tall woman. She wore a red beret, like Klee, had long blonde locks, like Klee, and a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, like Klee. To sum up ; Nicole locked eyes with a bigger version of Klee.
“You met my daughter, the incredible, amazing, adorable Klee!”
The resemblance made perfect sense now. Nicole composed herself and retrieved her polite stance.
“Hello, mother of Klee!” Oh no, did that sound wrong? “I was assisting your daughter in finding big books. About… bombs.”
“Wonderful!” The cheerful woman clapped her hands. “Did you find anything?”
Nicole quickly put the book she was still holding back on the shelf. It was humiliating admitting to herself she had no idea what to recommend.
“Actually… I don’t think I have any big books about bombs.”
The Big Klee burst into a laugh, which made Nicole tense up. How awful of a first impression that was! A librarian, incapable of fulfilling a child’s request!
“Follow me.” Klee’s mother turned on her heels and walked towards the children section. Her daughter ran happily behind her, holding onto her mother’s dress, and Nicole followed. She felt a bit silly, being guided in her own library.
“Here!” The woman pointed at the fairytale section. Klee ran towards it and started looking through them, admiring the covers.
“Oh!” Nicole giggled. “I thought she meant big books as in, full novels…”
“Klee is wonderful indeed, but she’s only seven! She wanted big books, as in, not picture books.”
“How did you know the fairytales were here?”
“I came in at the same time as Klee. She wanted to ask by herself, so I let her go and wandered in the library while the both of you were discussing. I was surprised to see you lead her into the adult section!”
Nicole felt herself blush in embarrassment. She avoided the woman’s gaze, instead watching as Klee piled books on the floor, sorting through them meticulously.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even see you enter… my name is Nicole and I’m the owner of the library, and the only librarian working here, actually”, she laughed nervously.
“I’m Alice! Nice to meet you, Nicole.”
Nicole pondered if she should apologize again, but Klee didn’t give her time to overthink. She jumped towards her mother, carrying a huge fairytale - indeed a big book in her tiny hands. The cover featured a castle underneath a purple sky full of stars.
“I like that one! Can we borrow it, mom?”
“Of course!” Alice cheered. “You can pick other books if you’d like. As many as you want!”
Nicole opened her mouth, but upon seeing Klee immediately dart back to the shelf, she closed it. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that the library policy had a limit for how many books one could borrow at once. Instead, she turned towards Alice. She had to show her new customers that she was a professional, despite her disappointing first impression.
“While Klee is searching for new books, may I help you register to our library? That way, Klee can directly check out when she finishes her treasure hunt.”
“What a great idea!”
Nicole led Alice to her desk and sat down. She opened her thick registry and flipped to a new page.
“I’ll need your full name, phone number and city of residence, please.”
Alice replied and Nicole added her information next to the huge list of registered customers. Many people she heard of once, others that came back regularly. Most of them came from the town downhill, so Nicole wasn’t surprised when Alice mentioned being a resident from said town.
“Actually, Klee and I are only here for six months”, she clarified, like she read Nicole’s thoughts. “Two months left now!”
“Is the place not to your liking?”
“Oh, it is!” Alice took a seat on the chair in front of Nicole’s desk. No one ever sat there, Nicole almost forgot it existed. “I work in tourism, as a journalist. Klee and I are used to moving away twice a year. I take her with me everywhere! Except when she’s with her dad, of course.”
Curiosity crept in Nicole’s mind. She couldn’t help but wonder frequently about her customers' lives. Trying to guess, by their appearance and what book they borrowed, what their daily routine looked like. Usually, she kept these thoughts to herself, but…
“Are you divorced?” the question slipped past Nicole’s lips before she could stop it. First, she made herself look incompetent, and now rude and intrusive! She clenched her fingers around her pen, but Alice replied before she could mutter her apology.
“I am! Are you single too?”
Her cheerful tone reassured Nicole. She didn’t look offended in the slightest. But the relief only lasted for a second, when Nicole realized what Alice had just asked her.
“Ah, yes, my life is just me and my tiny library!” she forced a smile to hide her uneasiness. The question was straightforward, but she was the one to blame here. She didn’t mean to make the conversation personal, yet Alice continued.
“So you own this library?”
“Kind of. Officially, it belongs to the town, but I do everything here myself.”
“How amazing! No wonder this library is so beautiful, if a woman as charming as you takes such good care of it!”
Nicole blushed again, but before she could say anything, Alice got up and pointed at a corner of the library.
“Is that the tourism section?”
She walked towards it without waiting for an answer. Nicole got up and followed. The sound of Alice’s heels clicking on the floor echoed in the almost empty library - even if Nicole could still hear Klee rustling through the books.
Alice opened her arms in front of the tourism section.
“How beautiful! You have an astonishing collection!”
“A lot of tourists come by, so I have to make sure I can guide them.”
Alice picked up a book from a top shelf. She turned around and showed it to Nicole proudly, like a child showcasing a new drawing to their parent.
“You even have MY articles!”
Nicole raised her eyebrows in surprise. She grabbed the book from Alice’s hands, looked at the cover, the title, the back, then back at her.
“You’re that Alice! The one who wrote this guide! I always recommend it to people travelling across the country, I can’t believe it’s you, I’m sorry I didn’t notice when you told me your name, I…”
Alice laughed and retrieved the book, flipping through the pages, admiring her own work.
“My Magnum Opus! It took me years to write all of that. Can you imagine how many restaurants I had to visit to find the best one in the whole wide world?”
“I thought that guide was just about the country…”
“It is, for now! One day, I’ll finish writing the ultimate guide of the universe!”
Nicole chuckled. Alice slid the book back between the shelves, this time at eye’s view.
“I believe Klee is done searching.”
Nicole turned back, and Klee was indeed waiting at her desk, six big books piled up on the wooden table. The two women joined her, and Nicole sat down as Klee pushed the pile towards her.
“Miss Nicole, can I borrow all of this?”
Nicole looked at Klee and smiled fondly. Six books was above the limit for one person, but counting Alice, it was actually two people, right? Besides, it was her library ; she could make an exception. Rules were fine to break if it meant making an adorable little girl - and her pretty mother - smile.
“Of course, Klee. Let me write those titles down, and they’re all yours to enjoy!”
Klee cheered and jumped on the empty chair. Nicole meticulously took the books, writing each title next to Alice’s name. She could hear Klee’s laugh responding to her mother’s cheerful voice. It was different from the usual silence of the library.
Nicole closed the registry and pushed the pile towards Klee.
“Here it is!”
The little girl stood up and opened her bag, carefully placing each book inside. Miraculously, everything fitted. She closed her backpack and adjusted the white plushie hanging from it. Nicole always felt a bit nervous when children borrowed books, and the sight of Klee being so mindful towards it relieved her. Alice took the heavy bag from her daughter’s hands.
“I’ll take care of it.” She turned to Nicole. “Thank you again, Miss Nicole!”
“Thank you, Miss Nicole!”
Nicole smiled and waved. “You’re welcome! I hope you both enjoy the tales!”
Klee started to run towards the exit. Alice winked at the librarian, and followed her daughter, disappearing between the shelves, leaving a flustered Nicole sitting at her desk.
This was different. A child that loves bombs is a surprise in itself, but her mother fully supporting it adds up to the unusual encounter. Nicole read Alice’s name on the registry again. A name straight from a fairytale. In fact, Alice herself felt like she came out of one. How captivating.
Nicole retrieved her manuscript and opened it to her current chapter. She took a deep breath, letting the inspiration take over her, and started writing.