The Dusty Bookshelf Novels & Stories

The light here is quite dim, giving the books a yellowish glow, making them seem old and mysterious. ‎ ‎Just like the ones in the hidden alcove, I'm sure the books here transcends centuries. ‎ ‎I trail my hand along the nearest shelf, my eyes scanning it's book titles as I walk slowly. The wood is smooth but also very dusty. ‎ ‎I wonder if it has ever been cleaned. With just one inhale, I let out a loud sneeze that even startle me. ‎ ‎"Great," I mutter, looking around to see if someone might've heard the sound. "Announce to the world that you're sneaking into the archive."

Yesterday ash and smoke and worn leather floated in spirals. Books littered the walls. Broken covers lay out like an invisible witness. Skewed light of tomorrow cuts the high windows, unfettered to release the step-by-step arousal of the sleepwalker's dust which shakes the air. Samuel Blackwood sat behind a mahogany desk, reading glasses in place low on the bridge of his nose, scowling face all these years. Reading to be done in stacks in the last two minutes in front of him. He could sense his son surrounding him.

He felt like puking and his head was spinning. "Right, I forgot I'm allergic to the smell of books," he said, holding his stomach tightly. Though, it didn't stop him from noticing something sparkling on the top of the giant bookshelf. Upon eyeing a ladder standing next to it, he almost crawled on his way up. As soon as he got nearer, the sparkling went brighter and wider. It shone the compartment were it was in, only to find out that it was a brown book covered with dust and it was alone in there. He also noticed that there were chiseled marks surrounding it, as if it was forced to be taken away.

The "Dust Room" was a world of ghosts. For three days, the only sound I heard was the scratching of mice and the distant echo of training drills from the courtyard. Kael had been kind, sneaking me extra bread and fresh candles, but he was busy with the border patrols. Left alone, I did exactly what Selene didn't want me to do. I stopped cleaning. I started searching. I was sitting on the floor in the farthest corner of the room, tucked between two shelves that smelled like ancient cedar and rot. In my lap was a book unlike any other. It had no title on the spine, and the cover was made of dark, cold leather that felt like skin.

Men should have problem lifting me. "Hurry," "I'm trying!" I reached out for the heavy book, wrapping my fingers around the spine. I tried to pry it loose, but it had somehow practically glued itself to the book next to it. I couldn't get it out without pulling the other book along with it. Gritting my teeth, I pulled with everything I had. The books snapped free from the shelf, but a cloud of dust immediately erupted right into my face. I coughed, sneezing uncontrollably as the dust hit my eyes and nose. Startled by my sudden movement, Khyrix dropped me back to the floor.

This was all getting way too complicated than I thought. Shaking my head I began to dust again. The books were covered in a thick layer of dust . People here must have not touched these books in ages.I was dusting a very old section of books whose pages were torn and leather covers were peeling off when a book fell on the ground. I signed.I started to descend down the stairs when on the last step I lost my balance and fell on the ground.Damn it hurts. I am getting way too clumsy for my own liking.

A single window let in pale grey light, and a thin layer of dust covered everything. This was a hidden library. The air was thick and stale, and I coughed as dust swirled up from the floor. No one had been in this room for a long time, except maybe the person who had left the faint footprints I could see in the dust on the floor. The footprints were fresh, and they led to a shelf in the corner.

Nate nodded and her smile widened, reaching her eyes. “It’s beautiful!” She squealed. Sometimes reality is far better than expectations. Her fingers brushed over the shelves and picked up dust, “Why does this whole place look like it hasn’t been cleaned for a decade?” “Because it hasn’t,” Nate replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Eira gently pulled out a book from the shelf and patted away the dust settled over it. The cover seemed like it was made out of leather and the pages were dried barks of trees. There were several symbols written over it which she couldn’t comprehend.

She traced her fingers carefully, slowly and gently past each of this books in the row, her heart skipping a narrow beat as a sight of a red book caught her eyes. She pulled it with her fingers, sliding it out of the shelf. It was dusty. Layers of dust had already coated it's thick red cover. As though no one has really touched this book in a long time. Most other books in this library held this same dustiness. But holding it in her hands, she could not help but feel as though this might be different from any other reas she has had in her life. She blew the dust off it's cover. Finally if was within her hands.

The blue sofas were very hard to recognize as they had been coated in thick layers of dust. Even the shelves had large amounts of dust on it, while the books were interchained with thick webs. More of those webs hung down low from the ceiling, threatening to mask whoever walked in without caution. Our steps left footprints on the ground, and it was impossible to see the people in the portraits on the wall. Everything had thick layers of dust on them. It was creepy, but not creepy enough to chase me away. "You hide first. I'll wait." He said. "No cheating. You can't use your abilities to find me, okay?"