To the Library

The Captain got back late at night, and he immediately came to my quarters. He told me, he can’t sleep, so I will stay up also. I wearily sighed and said okay, that was fine with me. He smiled and brought a chair over to my bedside, sitting and propping his feet up on the bed. He tilted the chair back and I hoped he didn’t fall.


I told him, I went to the library today. This caught his attention and he looked at me for a bit before speaking. He asked me why, and I said that I went because, and I hoped he wouldn’t be offended, I wanted to know more about his race. He shrugged and said it was fine, but why didn’t I simply ask him? I replied by telling him I thought he would get mad, he was an awfully secretive person. He laughed at this and said, he would tell me anything I wanted. I assume my mouth made an O because he laughed and pointed. He said, did I find anything at the library? I said yes, yes I did. He looked annoyed and told me to tell him more. I began telling him all of my walk to the library which I at first could not find and then started onto the kind man. I decided I would tell him that the man wanted to meet him at the end of my story. When I told him of Silyphis, and that he and the kind man were friends his eyes sparkled and he smiled. He declared that he wanted to meet him, and so I wasn’t worried that I would have to persuade him to go. I continued and said that I learned generally nothing from the book for I only saw the first page, an illustration of Silyphis. His smile turned serene and he said that he wondered if it did him justice. I told him that it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and he leaned back again in his chair, looking pleased.

He asked me when daybreak was and I told him I didn’t know, but possibly in a few hours judging by the dark blue skies. He complained that he couldn’t wait that long to see the man, but I told him that we would go immediately after sunrise. This seemed to put him in better spirits and, as he was in a good mood, I asked him if he knew Silyphis. He rolled his eyes and said of course he did, he had lived there with him anyway. I was amazed by his nonchalance and asked him if he could tell me more. He nodded and told me that Silyphis was a wonderful person, although he had a short temper. He told me that more often than not Silyphis would blow up at a foreign diplomat. He hadn’t told me why, but I didn’t very much care. He said that Silyphis was married to a man named Arok, and that they were very happy together. He smiled when he said that they had a baby on the way and that that was the reason he wanted to go back.

I smiled and said jokingly, so he does have a heart? He snorted and took my hand and held it to his chest. It’s beat was faster than any humans and I asked him if that was normal. He said that yes, it was, and to not be alarmed if it slowed down suddenly or stopped completely. It was a bit worrying to hear him say that but it did happen and he didn’t drop dead so I assumed it was a normal thing to do.

He reminded me that I told him a few days ago that I had drawings of my home to show him, and I excitedly jumped up and rummaged around to find them. When I turned back to him with the small box in which they were kept, I noticed the sky was much bluer and that it must have been just a few hours after sunrise. I decided that no, I wouldn’t tell him and instead show him the illustrations. I sat back down in my spot on the bed and he joined me to get a better look. I showed him the first drawing, which depicted the beaches of my home. He took it and studied it for a little bit, then told me it was beautiful and the next stop after his home would be mine. I brought out the next one which had our town, the streets were marble and the shops and the homes were grand and in a Greek style, pillars and all. He told me that, just maybe, my home was the second best place in the world. I continued bringing out the pictures which were of our wildlife, our forests and most prominently places near my house. He said he loved every single one of them, and then looked out the window and told me we’d better be going to the library. I told him to wait for me to get dressed, and then for him to get out of his clothes and changed into something that smelled less like alcohol. He wrinkled his nose and said that he wondered what that smell was. He left shortly after and we both got dressed in our respectable rooms.


The Captain said, once we got onto the top deck of the ship, that it was perfect weather for Sirens. I asked him, what is a Siren? He told me they were beautiful things, but I shouldn’t get close to one. I lifted an eyebrow to that but said I wouldn’t. He smiled and clapped me on the back, exclaiming good and then saying we ought get to the library. I agreed and we went off to the docks. I narrowly navigated the streets, trying to remember where the library was. I stopped briefly, and then asked the Captain if he knew. I hadn’t noticed his chuckling, and he told me we had passed it about a hundred times. I sighed, and it was only then I noticed the horrible slick feeling in my throat. I informed the Captain that I was going to be sick and then promptly emptied the contents of my stomach, which honestly wasn’t very much, into a barrel conveniently next to a house. I thought I heard him laughing, or maybe guffawing, but I couldn’t be sure of the fact considering my head was in a barrel and my retching echoed off the walls of it. He came over and patted me on the head and said he’d go and leave a note at the library that we were going to come tomorrow.



I love that guy sometimes.