Once Upon A Night | ✓

Chapter 2

Kashish's gaze travelled around and fell on the library building which stood in silence behind the tree. She smiled, that building was her go to place. A place where she would find a world away from her reality. She looked around, the gate seemed to be open. Maybe it was open and she could have a walk down the nostalgic lane or at least have a closer look at her favorite place. With quiet steps she slipped into the shadows of the tree and made her way to the building. 

Cautiously, Kashish climbed up the short flight of steps. The building seemed to be empty. She made her way up the flight of stairs. The door at the foot of the staircase was closed. Her gaze dropped to the lock. A smile crept up on her face.

The same old lock!

Mr. Iyer, the head librarian when she had passed out, probably was still in charge. She distinctively remembered his little secret. The lock was damaged. It didn't open with a key, but just by a little force, it would click open.

One morning, when she had come early to issue a book, she had noticed how the man had opened the lock — by just tugging at it. It was rather interesting.

She always fancied venturing into the library unauthorized. However, she was too scared of consequences, back then. But today, for a change, she felt thrilled. She wasn't in school now. The building was almost empty. And her fantasy, a step away. It wasn't like she was Alice and slip down a hole that would open into Wonderland.

She quickly looked around and her fingers pulled at the lock. At the second tug, the lock opened. She grinned and quickly slipped it out of the lock hole and gently pushed open the wooden door. Stepping inside, she cautiously shut the door and placed the lock on the side table where the entry register sat.

She looked into the darkness letting her eyes settle to the dark scene. Slowly the tables, chairs and shelves became visible. She turned to the right where she remembered was the light switch. She cautiously took a guess and pressed one switch. A tubelight blinked thrive before switching on, at the wall across the hall. She pulled her hand back and looked around with a thrill rushing in her blood vessels. She walked towards the shelves, her gaze twinkling looking around the dimly lit hall. The library was just as it used to be.

She started walking down the narrow passageway, crossing the rows of shelves. The scent of dust and paper-back books in the air around her. She smiled pausing at her favourite row — Fiction-Novels. 

She walked between the shelves, her eyes searching for the label slips that read the genre. She frowned, there was no labelling. Her hand picked up a book, placed it back and then another, so on and so forth. She stopped when Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was in her hand. She smiled opening the book. She quickly turned it over, remembering the small black flower she drew with a pencil at the last page's corner on the books she had read. She couldn't find any on this copy. She picked up the next book and eventually she found it.

It was as though she was back to being that teenager wanting to escape into another world altogether.

"Guilty Pleasures, huh!"

She gasped hearing the sound and the book dropped from her hand.

"Ishaan!" She gasped instantly.

"Oh, you remember!"

She chuckled. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, only you were invited?"

"I mean here — library!" She clarified.

He smiled slowly covering the distance between them. "Why should you be the only one accessing the library?"

Kashish smiled widely remembering the first time she had ran into him in the library.