neutrinobunny (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} neutrinobunny) wrote,@ 2008-02-28 22:28:00 |
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Chapter 7--Pt 7
Hello there. I return. :) Two weeks.
Chapter 7—In Which Answers Lead to More Questions Pt. 7
Mr. Koreander: Your books are safe. While you're reading them, you get to become Tarzan or Robinson Crusoe.
Bastian: But that's what I like about 'em.
Mr. Koreander: Ahh, but afterwards you get to be a little boy again.
Bastian: Wh-what do you mean?
Mr. Koreander: Listen. Have you ever been Captain Nemo, trapped inside your submarine while the giant squid is attacking you?
Bastian: Yes.
Mr. Koreander: Weren't you afraid you couldn't escape?
Bastian: But it's only a story.
Mr. Koreander: That's what I'm talking about. The ones you read are safe.
Bastian: And that one isn't?
--The Neverending Story
“So where were we?”
“The Chinese place, ‘member?”
“I didn’t…I meant…never mind.” Mina shook her head and dropped down on one of the little couches in the children’s reading room. Uncle Vlad had just dropped them off again, with much buttering up of the librarians, and promises that he wouldn’t be too long.
(She’d seen him rub his eyes, and heard the mutter as he left that it had better not be too long, for his own sake.)
Poor Uncle Vlad…Somehow we Fentons seem to make a lot of trouble for him.
There was a sudden weight against her side. She turned her head to find that Johnny had clambered up next to her, leaning his chin on her shoulder.
He smiled up at her. “You were gonna read me a story.”
“Yes…yes I was.” She blinked. That’s right. She’d been looking through the picture books. Nothing had really jumped out at her, though. And he hadn’t been much help. “What kind of story do you want?” She smiled. “Stuff about space?”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
“Pirates?”
“No.”
“Cowboys?”
“Mmmm….no.”
“What then?”
“Dunno.” He giggled.
This is just like right before Uncle Vlad came looking for us. Mina flopped her head against the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Which like the rest of the children’s room was decorated. Planets and rocket ships hung from a ceiling painted a deep, deep blue, speckled with little stars.
--fireflies come down to earth—
She blinked. “Hey, Johnny. I think I know what I can read you.”
“What?”
A grin spread over her face. “Lots of different stuff. I just have to find it.”
____________________________
Easier said than done.
For one thing, there was only one computer to look things up in, and someone was using it. The librarians were both busy helping other people. And Mina just couldn’t quite remember who the author was. Or she would have just started wandering around the shelves.
Lady Somebody, I think. But is it gonna be fiction? Or under fairy tales? And actually it looks like stuff’s all broken up by grade level!
Finally the person left the computer and Mina scampered up to claim it. Whereupon she found that just typing ‘Secret Worlds’ into the library catalog brought up several entries, none of which seemed to be the right one.
Maybe ‘The Secret Worlds’? But she was pretty sure that wasn’t right. And besides, ‘the’ shouldn’t count. She tried it anyway.
“Who’s…Al...ex…Mack?” Johnny beamed as he managed to sound out the name.
“I have no idea.” Mina frowned. “It looks like a movie or something.” Movie! She glanced up at the top of the screen.
The search parameters were set to ‘Video’.
“That explains it.” She moved around the little tracking ball in the desk and changed it to ‘Books’. “And now…”
It was the first entry to come up.
Secret Worlds: Tales of Dreams from Lands Beyond
“Edited by Lady Sophia Tychos.” Mina frowned. She didn’t remember that being the name on her book. Then again, she didn’t remember what the name on her book was. Except for the ‘Lady’ part. Which was right. The catalog said it was over in the fairy tale section. And it was checked in.
Mina glanced over to the corner of the room, where a pair of large dragons—
--wyverns—
--hung from the ceiling. She blinked, looking around. She could have sworn she had just heard someone speak.
“Come on, Johnny.” She took his hand and led him over to the corner. “This is one of my favorite books.” She ran her finger along the shelves until she found the ‘Ts’, and then pulled out a thick book, somewhat worn.
It didn’t look like the copy she owned. Her copy, the one Aunt Star had given her, was covered in something like brown leather, with two intertwined dragons—
--wyverns—
--embossed in gold and silver, a gold and silver firefly above them. She blinked again. Who was—
“Who’s that?” Johnny pointed at the cover. A blonde girl in a blue shirt, holding a puppy, was walking along a path that led through a grassy field. The path branched ahead of her, leading to a forest , and to a castle, and to another building, and to places beyond the picture.
“I…don’t know.” A slightly puzzled frown crossed her face, and then she looked closer at the puppy. “No…wait. This is one of the stories. But I…don’t really remember it too well. My Daddy didn’t read it much to me…and I never…well, actually I’m pretty sure there’s stories in here I’ve only read once if ever. It’s a big book. And…well…Daddy and I had our favorite ones.” She shrugged, carrying the book over to a small sofa. “I don’t know why they used this on the cover, though.” She opened the front cover and started to flip to the table of contents. “We’ll read the poem first, that’s tradition, and then—“
She broke off the book fell open in her lap, somewhere approximately in the middle. There was an illustration on the left-hand side. The first thing she noticed was that this copy had different illustrations than hers. The ones in her book were in watercolor. These were sketchy line drawings. The second thing she noticed was that this was a picture of the girl and her puppy…and someone else. A sleeping boy, thin and worn.
She started at the drawing as Johnny poked her in the side. “Aren’t you gonna read?”
“Um…yes.” She turned back to the front of the book, disturbed. She still didn’t remember much of the story, nor a corresponding illustration or the girl and boy, nor did she remember there being a boy in that story period. But somehow…somehow she felt like she knew who the figures in the drawing were.
Hello there. I return. :) Two weeks.
Chapter 7—In Which Answers Lead to More Questions Pt. 7
Mr. Koreander: Your books are safe. While you're reading them, you get to become Tarzan or Robinson Crusoe.
Bastian: But that's what I like about 'em.
Mr. Koreander: Ahh, but afterwards you get to be a little boy again.
Bastian: Wh-what do you mean?
Mr. Koreander: Listen. Have you ever been Captain Nemo, trapped inside your submarine while the giant squid is attacking you?
Bastian: Yes.
Mr. Koreander: Weren't you afraid you couldn't escape?
Bastian: But it's only a story.
Mr. Koreander: That's what I'm talking about. The ones you read are safe.
Bastian: And that one isn't?
--The Neverending Story
“So where were we?”
“The Chinese place, ‘member?”
“I didn’t…I meant…never mind.” Mina shook her head and dropped down on one of the little couches in the children’s reading room. Uncle Vlad had just dropped them off again, with much buttering up of the librarians, and promises that he wouldn’t be too long.
(She’d seen him rub his eyes, and heard the mutter as he left that it had better not be too long, for his own sake.)
Poor Uncle Vlad…Somehow we Fentons seem to make a lot of trouble for him.
There was a sudden weight against her side. She turned her head to find that Johnny had clambered up next to her, leaning his chin on her shoulder.
He smiled up at her. “You were gonna read me a story.”
“Yes…yes I was.” She blinked. That’s right. She’d been looking through the picture books. Nothing had really jumped out at her, though. And he hadn’t been much help. “What kind of story do you want?” She smiled. “Stuff about space?”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
“Pirates?”
“No.”
“Cowboys?”
“Mmmm….no.”
“What then?”
“Dunno.” He giggled.
This is just like right before Uncle Vlad came looking for us. Mina flopped her head against the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Which like the rest of the children’s room was decorated. Planets and rocket ships hung from a ceiling painted a deep, deep blue, speckled with little stars.
--fireflies come down to earth—
She blinked. “Hey, Johnny. I think I know what I can read you.”
“What?”
A grin spread over her face. “Lots of different stuff. I just have to find it.”
____________________________
Easier said than done.
For one thing, there was only one computer to look things up in, and someone was using it. The librarians were both busy helping other people. And Mina just couldn’t quite remember who the author was. Or she would have just started wandering around the shelves.
Lady Somebody, I think. But is it gonna be fiction? Or under fairy tales? And actually it looks like stuff’s all broken up by grade level!
Finally the person left the computer and Mina scampered up to claim it. Whereupon she found that just typing ‘Secret Worlds’ into the library catalog brought up several entries, none of which seemed to be the right one.
Maybe ‘The Secret Worlds’? But she was pretty sure that wasn’t right. And besides, ‘the’ shouldn’t count. She tried it anyway.
“Who’s…Al...ex…Mack?” Johnny beamed as he managed to sound out the name.
“I have no idea.” Mina frowned. “It looks like a movie or something.” Movie! She glanced up at the top of the screen.
The search parameters were set to ‘Video’.
“That explains it.” She moved around the little tracking ball in the desk and changed it to ‘Books’. “And now…”
It was the first entry to come up.
Secret Worlds: Tales of Dreams from Lands Beyond
“Edited by Lady Sophia Tychos.” Mina frowned. She didn’t remember that being the name on her book. Then again, she didn’t remember what the name on her book was. Except for the ‘Lady’ part. Which was right. The catalog said it was over in the fairy tale section. And it was checked in.
Mina glanced over to the corner of the room, where a pair of large dragons—
--wyverns—
--hung from the ceiling. She blinked, looking around. She could have sworn she had just heard someone speak.
“Come on, Johnny.” She took his hand and led him over to the corner. “This is one of my favorite books.” She ran her finger along the shelves until she found the ‘Ts’, and then pulled out a thick book, somewhat worn.
It didn’t look like the copy she owned. Her copy, the one Aunt Star had given her, was covered in something like brown leather, with two intertwined dragons—
--wyverns—
--embossed in gold and silver, a gold and silver firefly above them. She blinked again. Who was—
“Who’s that?” Johnny pointed at the cover. A blonde girl in a blue shirt, holding a puppy, was walking along a path that led through a grassy field. The path branched ahead of her, leading to a forest , and to a castle, and to another building, and to places beyond the picture.
“I…don’t know.” A slightly puzzled frown crossed her face, and then she looked closer at the puppy. “No…wait. This is one of the stories. But I…don’t really remember it too well. My Daddy didn’t read it much to me…and I never…well, actually I’m pretty sure there’s stories in here I’ve only read once if ever. It’s a big book. And…well…Daddy and I had our favorite ones.” She shrugged, carrying the book over to a small sofa. “I don’t know why they used this on the cover, though.” She opened the front cover and started to flip to the table of contents. “We’ll read the poem first, that’s tradition, and then—“
She broke off the book fell open in her lap, somewhere approximately in the middle. There was an illustration on the left-hand side. The first thing she noticed was that this copy had different illustrations than hers. The ones in her book were in watercolor. These were sketchy line drawings. The second thing she noticed was that this was a picture of the girl and her puppy…and someone else. A sleeping boy, thin and worn.
She started at the drawing as Johnny poked her in the side. “Aren’t you gonna read?”
“Um…yes.” She turned back to the front of the book, disturbed. She still didn’t remember much of the story, nor a corresponding illustration or the girl and boy, nor did she remember there being a boy in that story period. But somehow…somehow she felt like she knew who the figures in the drawing were.
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