Note: This story is set in an alternate 1800s world.
It was a beautiful day at the start of autumn—the wind was breezing, the water was chilling, and the sun was finally cooling after its long blaze upon the summer. Today was a perfect day to leave the house and enjoy a walk on the windiest day in the land known as Gold Creek.
In the far east of town, a lady had lived in a forest shrouding her home from the sun, protecting her from the summer for a long time. Now that the summer was gone, it was finally time for her to depart and shimmer again in the autumn's daylight, starting from her decrepit bed.
"Uhm..." The girl left her bed tired as her clock went towards the cloud.
"Oh, it's a bright day." She looks through the window and sees how bright and warm the outside is.
"What a warm day to start your life...It's warmer than it was many months ago..."
As autumn comes by the early September, the water from the river returns from upstream with a cold change from a blazing summer.
The scent of unroasted wood and falling leaves in autumn had never felt better during a bath. Even the librarian had never been so refreshed to wash herself since summer. But in a world filled with steam and oil machines, the smell of gears is fiercer and more inspiring.
Steam blows through her shower, a wonderful product of the future for the town. If only it didn't take her an entire furnace to heat it up.
"How ludicrous." She looks again at the mirror, and nothing has changed. But now she looks refreshed and ready.
"Do I need to clip my nails? I guess not."
"Teeth? I don't have time!" She drops the toothbrush in a hurry.
But autumn is only the second thing she loves because the lady's favourite thing to do is reading. She loves reading so much that she became a librarian to learn more about the world. And a good librarian always wears eyeglasses to show their intellect.
"There...now I can see better..."
"I hope I didn't have to change the prescription again..."
"Though I wonder what else would've cause my sight to change again?"
The librarian is a wonderful woman. She was always curious, with doubts reserved for those she could seek out and answers she wanted to journey through.
The curiosity of a woman like her was astounding, always asking and always seeking. There's no limit to what she couldn't ask, for hope is merely a vague confidence in a statement, and she prefers a real answer of the world than an expectation.
"What happened with Crackcore again? Another sickness? Of course..." She read the newspaper. Not much good news inside.
"I need to find out what happened there so I could make a report out of it before tomorrow..."
"Oh, and of course...it's the day..." She looked at the calendar.
Sadly, not all answers can save her as it does for her curiosity. Today was not a good day for her either, and it wasn't because of a false answer. Rather, something else was clinging in her head that had been past due the deadline, and it was not doing well.
"You have been warned, Ms. Ainsley. And yet you haven't paid your rent. I expect this room to be empty by tomorrow."
"Shit..." She holds the envelope tightly, discarding yet another mail to a pile beside the table.
"I better start finding a new house before I had to take the other option..."
"I can't lose this home..."
The librarian walked out of her house with hope that today would be the same as it was with her and the town. Warm breeze doesn't always mean a good thing for her, and the temperature is too cold for her to walk out without her blue coat. Mighty is the colour of a blue that makes a wise man appear high like the sky.
"*Breath* It'll be fine...it'll be fine....it'll be fine...it'll be—"
"Hey, Eve! Ready to walk, friend?"
The forest of the Eastwood is thick enough to hide the sun, but too cold to give the librarian clarity out of the thicket. But that's when the second sun shone upon her in the form of a man, guiding the wanderer like a friend. His name is Cyrus Beth.
The sun was shining so bright today, or at least that's what everyone always said about the priest. Merely a man, but always a spotlight. One didn't always have to call him a priest all the time. Sometimes, you could call him a cleric.
"Thought I didn't see you there?"
"As if I ever hide from you, old man?"
"Don't call me that! We're both a new money. Barely hitting my 30s without my buddy here..."
A friend always walked with their other friend. In this long path to the other side of the town in Eastwood, there was only chatter for the librarian and the cleric. But the librarian's face was pale as the snow, doubting at something more important.
"You look pale today, Eve. Anything's on your head?" Cyrus glances slowly at her face.
"What? Oh, it's nothing. Really..." Eve replies.
"I don't like that."
Despite their different looks, the two of them still share the same level of respect for others. No one felt more superior here, and no one felt more questioned by another. It was peace, and always will be. There's nothing to discriminate with faith, nor to judge with truth.
"You know, Cyrus? I'm glad you're still here with me despite our differences..." Eve smiles. "In value and jobs."
"Oh, please. I don't judge...you don't judge. It's that easy, Eve." He replies. "Though I don't think you are aware we are dating?"
"I know. But the last man I acquintanted ditch me after one night. You've been with me for a year, and that's...warm..."
"I pity you. My last boyfriend ditched me for a plate of gazpacho two years ago. Can you believe that?" Cyrus replies. The two laugh.
The eastern forest soon left their eyes as they welcomed the city of Great Stone. From trees to rocks, boulders are scattered by the hill, birthing a plain yet messy town to visit. Rocks are standing as tall as a building, yet there's no one as curious as the librarian to ask them. Their works are not meant to clash with one another, despite how opposing they could be.
"I wonder if you think my literature is a waste of time. I've seen nobody reading in my place again." Eve laments with a frowny face.
"Why should I? Truth is always good for everyone, isn't it?" He replies, trying to hide his suddenly surprised face from her.
"Obviously! So does faith to all that needed truce and...what is it again?"
"Hope?"
"Nope, the other one..."
"Perseverance?"
"No, no, the other one...the spirit of desire."
"Motivation?"
"A bit like that! But another one..."
"Ambition?"
"Yeah! That's it. Your faith is uplifting me with ambition..."
"Why didn't they ever remove those boulders before? Are they aware that those things are...dangerous?" Eve and Cyrus stop to pander on a leaning boulder. One can say it would have fallen and crushed a man anytime.
"You woudln't remove a world's wonder, aren't you?"
"Of course not. But how much worth is the pain of getting crushed by that thing for a historical value? Some people here had no curiousity as I do."
Such a small village to live on the side of this town. Yet somehow, there were no fights around for years for a place that looked desecrated and dusted by the land itself. Machines are not as advanced as many, so all things here are working with the old ways.
"Watch for the river, children!"
"Hey, can I have a share of water here?"
"Sure, anything for my neighbour..."
Windmills blow rapidly in the air, churning through the winds to power a wheel for irrigation. River is scarce, and there are only a few upstream taken off for the fortune of 'lucky and privileged' settlers. Robes are worn the same for everyone, and barely a face sticks out to her.
But there's one thing that sticks differently in her eyes—faith. Faith is the power that grows here in the town for long, shaped in a circle of flame at the monument that stood before her eyes.
"Hm..." Eve observes the monument. A bowl of fire for a symbol of faith.
"What's the matter? You don't like it."
"No, no. It's just...a beautiful wonder for this town. Too bad the autumn would've snuff it out again." She teases.
"Ha! As if!" The cleric laughs.
It's not the first time she sees it, but it's also not the first time she has ever felt satisfied by it. Great Stone is not as good as it used to be, nor has it ever been good for her. Faith dominates so many minds in here that a thinker like her couldn't exist whole and equal to others. There's barely a space for her to be seen.
"Greetings, Mr. Beth!" Monks walked by her without even a glance. She was away from their eyes.
"Greetings for you too, Mr. Zandel."
"Hey! Watch where you're going! You almost splashes my boots with your muddy shoes!"
"They must have been on a trip from Wellspring." Cyrus replies.
The librarian always felt so lonely, as if nobody had ever been so insightful as the cleric. "But what gives?" She always asks herself when she sees people ignoring her. Being a librarian in the land of believers weakens her very presence as a human. Yet she wanders still, despite all the bitterness and ignorance a woman could ever have.
"Alright, buddy. See you at dusk when you're done! As usual, I'll pay for the dinner!" Cyrus walked away.
"Thank you..." Eve waved weakly.
As soon as they reached the town already, the librarian and the cleric parted ways from this path after they reached their destination, where one headed for the church to gather his people for a sermon. And the other went to the library to serve a lesson to those in need within the Great Stone.
*Click* "Alright! Welcome—Welcome. Come get your free boring books here..."
The library is empty, never to have a guest for long. Void expands easily, and the echoing sound bouncing from wall to wall slowly fades into an uncomfortable faint. No believers want to be enlightened through the ways of truth and scrolls. Everyone wants to learn through one's equal belief.
"Darn me. Nobody's going after a book in this town. What am I to expect from this town?" She checked on her 'screensquare', checking the last list of purchasers in this library.
"Nobody has ever bought a book here! Grr! Damn me!"
———————————————————————————————————
[3 hours later]
It was the unluckiest day of her life. There's no doubt that the librarian is about to become a null among the people. No visitors, no friends, and barely a place on this hill to comfort herself. If only there were one way for something to change.
The librarian felt hopeless, unsure of what was left in her life, with the lack of fortune and answer in her favour. She was ready to take one last misfortune and accept the silence. Until...
"I'm doomed! I have nothing in here..." She complained. "Damn me, I would do anything for a chance to—"
*BOOM*
"Aah!" Eve snaps.
A thunder blast blasted through her ears like the roar of a lion, screaming through the entire town for a second. There was silence, but then there was something worse than what the librarian could've thought. The autumn suddenly didn't feel as calm as it should.
"What the..."
Not even the believers were brave enough to ignore the heavy thunder. The sky is as dark as the night. Civilians are scattered outside their homes, raising their arms as if expecting a drizzle. Confusion soars among those who believed in the sun, as they lost their light in something else but darkness.
"Eve!"
"Cyrus? Did you see this? Everyone was—"
"Cowering? Yes, I see that. But I don't think this is a normal storm..." Cyrus mumbled.
"How? Storm does come unexpectedly...sometimes..."
"But not with a dark cloud and an intense wind! No drizzle, too! It's like something worse is about to come! It's—"
"Disaster! Mayhem! Chaos!"
A scream of a man echoes through the town, turning everyone's eyes to the north, where they see a man in a red robe holding a cane coming towards them with a bell that rings with each step. His face is shrouded in his veil, but it was no doubt that he is no man of this town nor this land.
His clothing, poor as a beggar, but rich with the past. There's mould, stain, and even a clothing texture that didn't come close to a believer. From the voice, he sounded like a dying old man, begging for his life. But he was begging for the other's life.
"Citizens! Heed my warning! My only and last warning!"
"Dangers to all of you! Madness even! Beware! Beware!"
In a prophetic tone, he stands as a doomsayer through the ears of the Great Stone dwellers. He warns the town of a calamity at the edge of their foot, coming to sweep their beloved homes into yet another dust to bite. A fear even strikes him as he had said to witness in another town, and only he remains to supposedly save this town.
"Your town is in danger. You might have seen that the clouds were moving against the tide this morning, and your kids crying in your home looking for the comfort of their mother."
"But these clouds are not just a passing storm. These clouds are an omen coming to take your lives! I have heard of them from afar at the other side of the town."
"These dark clouds are tearing through their homes and leaving them in shambles. Many had died, and those who survived—they couldn't warn the others."
"Like the storms that are passing you by now! I have come to bring you the truth! I am your truth! And the truth is, your town is destined to death."
"W-what?" Eve stares in confusion.
The man warned of five omens to come. Faith will cease as the clouds turned dark today, rain will undo the foundation, sands will erode the remains to a great crumb, snow will gather what sands had destroyed, and something would've come to silence the town on the last day—untold.
"Fear not, as I came here to bring you salvation. With my intellect and wisdom, I could save your town from this calamity at once! Lend me your voice and I shall bring prosperity and freedom forward!"
Yet despite so many words uttered from his mouth, not one person would ever believe him. Even the librarian and the cleric laughed at the content of his words—all blank and groundless. Everyone was laughing at the man for his ridiculous words.
"Hahahaha!"
"How ridiculous! A deadly storm? Oh, please!"
"Gold Creek might be a small town, but ain't no clouds could do such horror!"
"Leave this town, false prophet!"
"I can't believe there's such a thing coming from his mouth." Eve jokes. "Does he think we're stupid? Even the dumbest devotee would not fall for that empty of a word."
"Hah, yeah..." Cyrus stares at Eve.
But just as the world was laughing around him, that for the darkest day for Great Stone to become even darker. It was night than even a night, and the fire was not burning bright at all. The people are left confused by the daylight they've lost.
*BOOM*
"Aah! What the?!" Eve yelled.
"Ouch! My ears! My ears!" Cyrus closes his ears.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"Ahh!!!"
Thunder roars across the town, and no light or home is bright enough to save the civilians. The melody is too terrifying for a passing weather. And with only darkness across miles, the town could do nothing but stand in the centre along with the prophet in his red robe while watching the thunder fall.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"Cyrus, did you see this? I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"I...I don't know...I really don't know..." he mumbled in fear.
"Eve, what's happening?? I can't...I can't think..."
"Cyrus, it's only a storm. Quit it!"
"I can't...it's too loud! Too loud!!"
Yet in that walking chaos, the librarian could only see the beautiful gaze of a world beyond just a mere faith. There was anarchy, and everyone was as weak as a sheep, while she was as brave as she was curious to watch the storm striking down.
For once, there is something more to her eyes than a fire. There's lightning, but not just ordinary lightning. It's thunder with a sense of authority without control. Yet its power still shook even the most faithful of all.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"It's loud. But it's beautiful..."
"The sky is falling!!!"
"Aaah!!!"
"Woah." She could only say.
When the storm calms, but the world still darkens, the librarian stands out of the crowd and walks forward to the prophet with a gleam in her eyes. As the prophet stood unfazed by the anarchy, the librarian's face had never been so enthralled to walk forward. Curiousity got the best of her.
"Eve, what are you doing?" Cyrus asked from the crowds.
"Tell us..." She said. "Tell us how we could save ourselves now, prophet..."
"I need to know. I am dying to know..."