Private Finished Will I Ever Remember?

Nia listened intently as the boy explained how exactly he would be helping her. Invasive was a good word for it but somehow it didn't frighten her. After all, it wasn't like he was even going to touch her. It would all be in her head and that was something she was already all too familiar with.

She still took a moment of silence to think over the opportunity, though her heart was pulling her so strong towards yes that it was hard to come up with much else to say or feel about the situation.

"Okay," She said, her voice soft but determined, "Let's do it."

She shifted in her seat, preparing for whatever came next.

Nia took breaths like Talion had instructed. She began to imagine herself in her favorite corner of the library...

—-

The library that Talion entered was not unlike the library they were currently in, as it was the only library Nia had ever personally experienced. However, this library seemed impossibly large. There were rows and rows of books with no walls in sight. There were stairs leading up to an open second level and the ceiling had large and beautiful chandeliers covered in cobwebs.

There were a few other peculiarities about the shelves of books. One, there seemed to be no exact order for how things were stored. On some shelves, the titles of the books determined where they went while others seemed to be sorted by size or color or year published. Two, some books had titles but no authors while some covers were completely blank. It did seem that there were no books with words actually in them. Three, normally libraries were perfectly quiet, this one wasn't. The source of the sound wasn't more than 20 yards away from the angel.

The sound was a violin being played by Aedan. Well, Nia's mind-version of Aedan. He stood on what looked to be a small stage and moved ever so slightly to the music as he played.

Just a few feet in front of him, sitting in a white chair that resembled something more akin to a hospital waiting room seat than a comfortable reading chair, was Nia. She was surrounded by stacks and stacks of books. Some lay open while the rest seemed to be sorted into two sections, one to her right and one to her left. It suddenly became apparent what the two sections were as Nia set down the book she was reading into the pile to her left, scratched a few notes in a notebook on her lap, and then reached for a book in the section to her right.

Nia continued to flip through the books; reading, writing and setting the books into the appropriate pile. One of the books she spent a few extra moments on and then set down in front of her, leaving it open and not in either pile, in limbo.

As Talion entered the space, Aedan's eyes locked onto him. Nia stayed oblivious, her eyes locked on her books but Adean was attentive but non-aggressive; for now.

Nia was in the middle of reading another book when Talion spoke up. Her eyes raised slowly to meet his. Her body looked the same but her eyes had a different appearance to them. They were calm, clear and completely present instead of clouded and distracted by anxiety.

She stared at Talion for a moment, her expression blank before a soft smile crept across her features.

"Yes, it does seem that Nia invited you in." Her eyes glanced down at the book in her lap. This book, unlike the others, was not completely blank but still close to it. On any one page, there were at most a few dozen words scattered about.

She finished skimming the page, scribbled something in her notebook, closed it swiftly and returned her eyes to Talion. "So, what can I help you with?"

She nodded, "Yes, she is very nice. Nieve, but nice."

She raised from her chair, still holding the notebook in her hands, "I don't know much about you, but you managed to calm Nia down. For that, I am grateful. It makes it easier for me to work."

She glanced at Aedan then back at Talion, "You are welcome here, for now."

A strange smile came across her face as if he had asked just the right question. "These books..." She motioned to the library around them, "...are about me."

Nia nodded, "Yes, it would appear that way." She sounded sad. It was a deep, longing sadness.

"Unfortunately, I have found..." Suddenly the music changed, it was still beautiful but the notes sounded wrong somehow. Dissonant, but not in a good way. Nia's shoulder began to twitch, "I have found little to nothing."

She picked up one of the books that lay open on the ground and held it up so he could see, "There are few books in this library that contain any information. The ones that do look like this."

It was one of the books that actually had words. She had collected all that she could find at this point. She had spent the past two years pouring over them. All the tidbits she could understand. Most of the words on the page were things like "her" "his" "the" "and" "who" "how" and "why". Pronouns. Prepositions. Conjunctions. If she was lucky she had found a noun or two.

"Music" was one of them. As Talion's eyes scanned that word the sound the sound of Aedan's playing raised and the music abandoned its melancholy tone. Instead, it sounded bright and lovely but Nia's eyes reflected the sadness he had heard in the music.

This was a strange mind indeed.