The Empty Library Novels & Stories

Arielle. The library was unusually quiet that day, the high windows spilling pale light across the long tables where dust floated lazily in the beams. My hands trembled faintly as I traced the spines of the old books but I forced them steady pretending I was only searching for a title I hadn’t read yet. My stomach ached with a hollowness I knew too well now not hunger exactly but the strange emptiness that came when you had eaten only scraps for days. I pressed my lips together and kept my head bowed, hoping Diane wouldn’t notice.

said Jane as she slowly tip-toed on the side of the blood and went towards the rack which was again empty of any books at all. “This really looks very weird, you know? I mean, you are the one who usually knows the cuts and the dissections and everything…the what for are you calling in the specialist?” asked Bill as he looked at the empty rack and then suppressed a shudder. Even though he was a one who loved his digs and adventures he definitely was a book worm and a library which remained empty of books made him feel absolutely sick to the core. Jane found out the place in which that particular lever was kept.

I asked calmly. He nodded. “Of course.” I followed his lead, and we walked over to the library three streets from where we were. We had said nothing through our walk, and I noted that the street was slightly deserted here. It was definitely the library. The people here weren’t a fan of reading. “I don’t think people love to read around here,” I pointed out. Mike chuckled. “That’s the best joke,” he said in response. I gave him a look, as I dug my fingers deeper into my pockets. “Ok, explain the feeling of emptiness that this place has,” I said calmly.

"You are the 'Rot' in the library. You must be 'Excised' so that the Great Record can remain pure." Audrey stood on the bridge of her half-faded ship, her eyes burning with a silver-and-gold fire. "The library is 'Dead', Librarian. A book that is never read is just a stack of paper. A world that never changes is just a tomb. We didn't come to excise you. We came to 'Open-the-Windows'."

By the time I had gotten to the center of the library, to my surprise, it was almost literally empty. Unlike the remaining parts of the library filled with shelves of books and tall ladders, this one had only a large globe and some other things like pictures and artifacts that almost made me think I had transitioned from a library to a museum. I recounted the remaining letters and just as Marco said—CL-R1-S3R. I was at the center of the library, but what was the L? I wondered, looking around. Finding nothing, I decided to skip L for R, since it meant Row.

His lashes damp at the edges from the rain. I stepped back. Looked at him for exactly one more second. Then I turned and left before the footsteps in the corridor reached the door. The library was empty at this hour. That was why I liked it. No maids. No court members tracking my movements with their careful eyes. No one performing politeness at me while they calculated what I was. Just the high shelves and the grey morning light coming through the tall windows and the particular smell of old paper that was the same in every world, every life, every version of everywhere I had ever been.

Chapter 70: The Finished Ledger The storm had passed and the upstate valley was under an endless sky of pale blue. A soft spring breeze came through the windows of the main library carrying the clean smell of wet earth blooming wild sage and fresh wood. The stressful energy that had once filled Elena's life was gone. She no longer had to worry about tracking word counts, managing uploads and fighting platform algorithms.

the message read. “This is my chance to find out what Alma is up to, I can't miss it” I ignored Haze's message, slipping my phone in the pocket of my trousers. I gently pushed the door open, the library was illuminated by the soft glow of a crystal chandelier, Heavy drapes covered the windows. The air was filled with the smell of polished wood and old paper. I've always liked the library, its towering shelves that were filled with books that had secrets to share, although I hardly ever come to the Hernandez library, I wonder what kind of books they stacked in here.

I was walking behind him, making sure to keep a good quality of space between us and I was sure that anyone who saw us would not even know that we were walking together. I finally got to the library and saw that we were the only ones in it, no librarian, no student, just my lecturer and me. The library was just like a normal academic library, but it was small, very small that there were only twenty chairs in it and five tables. The library was abandoned and that was because the books in it were outdated, also there were other bigger libraries in school, with much more cleanliness, coziness and beauty which the students preferred more. Though the library was always clean, nobody loved coming

It was morning and Ethan was standing inside the library in his house, which had been left unused and untouched for so long even if it was usually clean. The air was heavy with the scent of aged papers, and leather-bound books that had imprinted words of inks that could barely be erased on them.