A Trip to the Library

When Hailey woke up that morning, she found that Fiora was already awake. The younger girl was intensely looking at her phone for some reason. The smile that was normally on her face was currently missing.

“Yo Fiora, what’s up?” Yeah, Hailey cringed the moment the words left her mouth. But Fiora perked up once she heard her roommate’s voice.

“Oh, good morning Hailey. I’m just looking at the map of the grounds. I talked to the staff after shopping yesterday, and I found out that there is a library around here. Maybe it will have some information we can use to save me, or maybe a clue of some kind.” Hailey smiled warmly upon hearing her say that. In fact, she pulled Fiora into a hug.

“I’m glad that you’re not giving up.” Fiora giggled and wiggled her way out of Hailey embrace.

“What you said to me got me thinking. I, I’m sorry for lying yesterday. I said that I accepted my death a while ago, but that’s not true. I tried to tell myself that I have, but I haven’t. I love being alive, and now I have a real chance at finding love and making real friends. So I’m going to do everything in my power to live, no matter what. And if I can’t, I’ll at least make the most out of it!” Hailey smiled and gently took Fiora’s hand.

“And I’ll help you. You don’t have to do this alone.” A couple of tears welled up in Fiora’s eyes, but she wiped them away.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Well, let’s get going already!”

…

Hailey was expecting the library to be small. And from the outside, it looked small.

But on the inside, it was massive.

The walls were lined with books that stretched all the way up to the roof, which was around 50 feet in the sky. When looking down the halls, she couldn’t even see the far wall.

“Wow, this place is incredible!” exclaimed Fiora, although she kept her voice down.

“I wonder who the librarian is?” asked Hailey. As if to answer her question, Nyx appeared behind the counter. The moment Hailey saw the other woman, her hands balled up into fists.

“Easy there, I’m not here to bother you. Me and the others take turns running the library. Let me give you a brief explanation of how this place works. This library has every book in the history of your Earth within its halls. If you’re looking for one in particular, you can find it pretty easily. Also, Earthly books are free. Your Master is an author after all.” Fiora perked up.

“Oh, that sounds great! But what about books about Harem Hotel, and things like that?”

“Ah, well, that’s a little harder. They're here, but they’re hidden throughout. Even we don’t know exactly where they are, just a general idea.” Fiora deflated slightly, but still looked hopeful.

“Ok then. Can you give us an idea on where to find a book about how to do something that is beyond the host's power?” This question caught Nyx off guard.

“Oh, and why is that?” Fiora looked away, so Hailey spoke up.

“Sorry, but that’s none of your concern. Can you help us or not?” Nyx put her hands up and rolled her eyes.

“Geeze, I didn’t realize it was so touchy. Like I said, I can only give you a general idea. You might be able to find something like that in the fantasy section between the years 1900 and 2000.” Fiora and Hailey's eyes basically jumped out of their heads. “Like I told you, a general idea. You can ride a scooter over to the section. Good luck.” Fiora and Hailey sighed, knowing that this was going to be a long day.

…

“Ugh. We’ve been searching for hours!” Fiora plopped down in one of the comfy chairs after who knows how many hours of looking.

“Maybe we should bring some more people in on this. The two of us can only do so much.” Fiora sighed and nodded.

“You’re right. Just, I want to tell Daddy before anyone else. I was kinda hoping to do that on my date night, after the party.” Hailey raised an eyebrow at the mention of a party.

“What party?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you, oops. I was hoping to invite everyone to Comfort Cabin for a party on my date night. I ah, I’ve never really had a chance to make friends before, so I wanted to be able to do so.” Hailey pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I swear, the more you talk, the more I want to protect you at all costs.”

“Eh, I don’t need you to do that!”

“Too bad. Anyways, that sounds like a fun idea. I’m sure everyone would love to do that with you.” Fiora blushed upon hearing that.

“Thanks. Just as long as I get some alone time with Daddy.” A smirk pulled onto Hailey’s lips.

“Oh, does someone want some daddy-daughter time?” Fiora glared at her, which caused her to laugh. The next thing Hailey knew, she had water dumped on her. Fiora broke out into a fit of giggles upon seeing Haiely’s face.

“COME HERE YOU!” Fiora yelped before laughing even harder as Hailey started to tickle her. They went at it for a while until Nyx appeared in front of them. She shook her head before snapping her fingers, teleporting the two of them outside.

“I guess we were too loud.”

“Yeah, we were in a library.” They tried to re-enter, but the door slammed shut in their face. Knowing that they deserved that, they moved on to grab lunch at a cafe.

“So, Hailey, I know this might be a bit insensitive, but I wanted to ask. What happened to your sister?” Hailey looked away with a frown on her face. “Only if you want to tell me. If it's too ha-”

“No, it’s ok. I don’t talk about it much, but maybe it would help. I did have a younger sister. She was 5 years younger than me, just like you. When she was in elementary school, she was this little ball of sunshine. Everywhere she went, she made people smile.” As if her sister still had that effect, a smile pulled onto Hailey’s lips. Fiora reached across the table and took her hand.

“But things started to change once she got into Middle School. Bullies, online stuff, body image issues. Maybe if I was paying closer attention, I would have seen the signs. But I was so caught up in my own drama that I didn’t make any time for her. Our parents were never attentive, so I should have stepped up. I should have been the big sister that she needed.” Tears fell from Hailey’s eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but she couldn’t get them all.

“By the time I got my head out of my ass enough to truly look at her, it was too late. I found her hanging from the ceiling in her room. She was so young, and had her whole life ahead of her. I could have been there for her. I should have been there for her. I killed her.” Hailey sobbed, something that no one would have expected to see from her. Fiora walked around the table and hugged her. The two didn’t say anything for a while, they couldn’t. No words could really help. After a while, Hailey leaned her back into Fiora.

“Thanks.” Fiora smiled and pulled her up.

“I can’t tell you that you’re wrong about your sister, because in some ways you’re right. Situations like that, there is no one person to blame. But Hailey, it doesn’t all fall on you. Your parents and her bullies, they are the real villains here. You didn’t kill your sister.” Fiora looked nervous for a moment. “Honestly, you’ve been a great big sister to me.” Hailey pulled Fiora into a tight bear hug, squeezing the poor girl. When Hailey let her go, Fiora gave her a trademark Fiora smile.

And within that smile, Hailey saw her sister.

“Come on, let’s go to the gym. You could use some meat on your bones.” Fiora glared, and Hailey jumped back just in time to avoid the water bucket.

“Jokes aside, this will be good for you, sister.” Hailey held out her hand, and her sister took it with a smile.