Leona opened her eyes.
Everything was quiet. No wind, no rustling, no sound.
It was as if someone had stopped time.
The only thing she could clearly perceive at that moment was a smell. It reminded her of old paper.
But mixed in with it was something unexpected.
A hint of blueberry, or was she just imagining it?
It seemed strangely familiar to her, although she couldn't remember where from.
Gradually, her surroundings became clearer. They seemed strangely distorted, as if she were in the middle of a dream.
The contours of bookshelves blurred at the edges of her field of vision. She could dimly make out the spines of countless books. Some were ancient and yellowed, others glowed in strange colors.
She rubbed her eyes, but the image remained the same.
Slowly, feeling returned to her body.
She was lying on her back, her arms stretched out slightly. Her fingers were curled, as if they had just been holding on to something that was no longer there.
The floor beneath her felt cool and glassy, almost like frozen water.
A shiver ran through her, even though she wasn't actually cold.
She just lay there for a while.
Above her, there was neither a ceiling nor a sky, only a bright, endless void that seemed to stretch into infinity.
Finally, she slowly raised her head. Her body felt strangely light. The floor beneath her made no sound as she sat up.
Only now did she notice that it was not completely smooth, as she had first believed. Fine lines ran through it, some like cracks, others so regular that they looked like carved symbols.
She couldn't make out anything in them, but something about them seemed significant.
Still half dazed, she looked around.
Everything looked the same. Shelf after shelf.
Some boards were crooked, others seemed almost as if they were breathing.
She stared at the endless pattern of shelves, unable to comprehend whether she was still dreaming or had long since lost her mind. A shiver ran down her spine as she tried to avert her gaze from the eerie, pulsating rhythm of the shelves.
The room was breathing.
Not loudly. More as if it didn't want her to notice.
Then, further away, something darted across the room and a scraping sound broke the silence.
A cold breath brushed past her ear.
Startled, she took a step back, bumping into a shelf.
The wood was unexpectedly warm, almost alive.
For a moment, she was sure it had twitched under her touch.
She stood still.
Heard nothing.
Only felt her pulse quickening.
"Hm...?" a voice suddenly said.
Leona jumped. The sound was soft, scratchy, and so close it seemed to have come from right next to her ear.
She held her breath. Carefully, she turned in the direction she thought it had come from. Her gaze searched the bookshelf.
Nothing.
Had she just imagined it?
"Is anyone there?" she called out in a shaky voice.
The only response was a strangely drawn-out echo:
...someone... someone... someone...
Or... had something answered from afar?
The wooden boards of the shelves began to creak. Softly at first, but then getting louder and louder.
Leona covered her face with her hands, her fingers cold and weak. "Stop... please... stop."
But again, only the echo came back:
...on... on... on...
It no longer seemed to be coming only from the room. Rather, it was as if it was now echoing in her innermost being.
Her knees gave way and she sank to the floor, falling onto her hands, gasping for breath.
Tears ran down her cheeks as she whispered breathlessly: "What do you want from me? Why am I here?"
She closed her eyes and rammed her forehead against the floor.
"I have to wake up! Please... just let me wake up..."
And then...
A deep, calm breeze swept through the room.
The pages of a book lying not far from her rustled softly. It had opened by itself, as if waiting for her to read it. Its cover was bound in dark leather and bore a gold-embossed symbol resembling three vertical lines.
A gentle, soothing voice suddenly filled Leona's thoughts.
"Forgive me for keeping you waiting, Leona. There were... some unforeseen matters that demanded my full attention."
Leona did not move. The echo in her head had now fallen silent. Her eyes still closed, lying on the floor, she waited to see if more words would follow.
"My name is Caelan. And I am your guardian. Do not be afraid," added the voice, gentle and infinitely patient, as if it had all the time in the world.
Unsure whether she was still imagining things, she cautiously opened her eyes again.
An open book now lay in front of her. The pages were blank.
Leona blinked. Had it been there before? Perhaps it had fallen off the shelf when she bumped into it.
Before she could think about it, the room next to her darkened for a fraction of a second.
A heavy, jet-black cloak barely caught her eye.
Right next to her, a figure bent down and reached for the book with a pale hand with long, bony fingers.
The hand barely touched the book and paused for a moment over the empty pages. Finally, he closed it gently and took it with him.
Leona still lay motionless.
"Do you know where I am?" she managed to say.
For a moment, nothing happened. It seemed as if he was waiting to see if there would be more.
"You're asking the wrong question," he said calmly.
"And what would be the right one?" she replied with a slightly desperate undertone.
"What you want here."
"I don't know that myself."
Caelan raised his gaze slightly and took a step toward her.
"You'll understand, but not now and not through my words."
With an elegance that didn't really fit his dark appearance, he bent down and offered her his hand.
Leona hesitated. She looked at his hand. The skin was pale, almost transparent.
"If I take it..." she began hesitantly, but didn't dare finish the question.
"...you will stand and walk."
His voice was soft but clear, with such a trustworthy and reassuring tone that Leona felt her last resistance crumble.
Caelan gently enclosed her hand in his.
Without another word, he pulled her to her feet.
"Thank you..." came softly, almost automatically, from Leona's lips. It didn't sound convincing, more as if she herself didn't know whether she really meant it.
Leona was still swaying slightly, her knees feeling as if they would give way again at any moment.
She looked up.
Caelan stood calmly in front of her, his hands and the book hidden in his cloak. His posture seemed relaxed, almost dignified. As if he had experienced this moment many times before.
"When you're ready, I'll show you around," he said.
She looked past him, letting her gaze wander through the endless rows.
Shelves everywhere. No end, no intersection, no room that differed from another.
"Show me around? Where to? Is there anywhere here?" she asked into the room.
Caelan did not look at her, but let his gaze drift calmly into the distance.
"It only does if you stand still."
Leona stared at him. Another mystery that added to her already overwhelming confusion.
A burgeoning anger tingled under her skin.
"And what happens if you walk?" she asked, her voice sharper than she intended. "Does a door suddenly grow out of the floor?"
For the first time, Caelan turned his head and looked directly at her. His eyes, whose color she couldn't make out in the dim light, seemed to study her for a moment.
Then he said calmly:
"Sometimes."
A word was on the tip of her tongue.
Caelan's expression gave nothing away, but she was sure he hadn't been joking.