All the Answers Are Within

A loud crackling sounded off within my ear and I could have sworn it echoed the London Library, causing me to tense up a bit. The fragile binding of an old storybook, deeply hidden between the stacks of the science section, opening back up for the first time - in a long time - deserves to crack its back and become unhinged.

For a moment, I held my breath. Not on purpose, but in astonishment. Because my mouth was slowly hinging open along with the pulling split of paper edges seeing the light after being cloaked in the depths of darkness for so long.

The exposure of crisp, clean pages produced a waft of grey pixie dust that sparked the air with literal sparkles like tiny fireworks. I could not resist the urge to take in a deep breath, knowing I was about to take a deep dive inside an unknown world I may not want to come up for air from.

My ribs expand in a flare as my lungs reach full capacity like I’m a freediver while my nasal passages get coated in Spruce and Pine, a scent so thick I feel like I can taste the tree sap.

Although Milo is sitting on the floor, knee to knee with me, cradling the heavy half of the book’s divide in the heart of the stacks in the London Library, the only other presence I notice besides the royal red book is the lone spotlight shining down on it, illuminating the fine golden fibers embedded in the endpapers and the decorative golden corners embellishing the dark tan of its skin.

I only notice Milo is with me when he lets out a rippling sigh, as if he too had been holding a big breath in and had felt the same magnitude of the breeze just from the flip of the front cover. He only looked at me with a question in his eyes I could read as if the words were entering my mind, although no words trickled out of his mouth or mine.

I gave a slight tilt of my head in agreement, and he took a deep breath before reaching down to the edge of the first page, curling its thickness towards me, triggering another waft of grey pixie dust.

The next words to fill my mind are painted in cursive just like they were on the beige page with fine print following it. Like the elegant calligraphy atop a birthday cake, they decorated the gold-laced paper and read:

“For those who wonder and wander, you will always find the answers within.”

The words repeated as a soft whisper inside Minty’s mind even after she finished reading the rest of the page.

Milo held a hand over his right cheek, his eyes slightly squinting while scanning the golden words on the right side of the page. Minty watched him for a few seconds, waiting for him to finish reading so he could hurry up and flip the page.

“Let me yank it. It’s your last baby tooth,” Minty reached across her body towards Milo’s face as he flipped the page. Milo swatted at her hand. “It’s not needed anymore, eh? Kinda like—”

“Don’t you dare say it!” Milo pointed a finger at her speckled nose, tightly biting his lips, blocking Minty’s attempt at prying them open for the loose baby tooth.

“You’re such a silly little muppet,” Minty caught Milo’s finger and dropped it down on a black and white photograph of a poised dark woman glistening from the reflecting light overhead.

“I know her," Minty blurted. "I’m named after her. Araminta.”

“What? Her name is Harriet Tubman,” Milo cocked his head towards Minty. “Yours is Minty. Have you lost the plot? I think you’ve lost the plot.”

“We need to find space on the shelf for this,” Minty replied, completely ignoring Milo’s questions and instead, asking her own unusual question aloud. “How are we going to carry it down to the history level?” The words tampered off as she got to her feet. Her eyes wandering across plenty of different colored book bindings standing side by side in several rows.

“Let’s go hide it in the literature section,” Milo blurted, interrupting Minty’s thought of the best possible place to stash the brilliant book where it could shine brightly in all its glory.

“No. It belongs in History.”

“'History'?” Milo repeated.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s a new story.”

A faint cough from another stack nearby filled the silence between them.

“Let’s make a new section.”

“'A new section'? You definitely have lost the plot.”

“Yeah, a new section. On the same level as history. Like it’s in the same arena, eh?”

Milo’s left eyebrow twitched while his mouth puckered to the side.

Minty directed her locked gaze towards the floor. The light from the level below the grate shone a band of light across her golden-brown eyes. “And we’ll slip through the net,” she smiled a cunning grin.

“Oh, I know that look,” Milo said, closing the thick, heavy book before heaving it against his chest to follow Minty’s lead by quickly getting to his feet.

“Right,” Minty continued, yanking at the section of iron grate they were sitting on, loosening it completely to create a gaping hole for them to potentially fall into, and onto, the next level.

“This is dodgy,” Milo quivered; his chin tucked against his chest.

“We are making history, Milo, with 'HERstory.' D’you understand how important that is?”

Minty stood a foot taller than Milo, and had a darker tone to her freckled skin. Milo’s hair was a flaming red while Minty’s was dark brown with a reddish tinge and textured with deep waves, similar to the view of Harriet Tubman’s hair in the black and white portrait of her.

“What if they think we’re trying to nick it or something?” Milo voiced his concern. “What if someone catches us?”

“Leg it,” Minty plainly stated. “You’re a fast chap.” She punched at his arm, cluing him in on her numerous attempts at catching him in a game of Tiggy at school.

“This is bonkers,” Milo sighed.

“Life is bonkers. We’re doing this.”

Minty dangled her legs through the opening in the floor before dropping down onto the lower level, landing silently like a cat before reaching her hands as high up as she could.

“It’s heavy,” Milo warned her before handing the book completely over.

Minty instantly felt a shock to her spine, as if she had been ignited on the inside, sparking an instant thought. “We’re going to make room,” she blurted. “Next to history.”

“Well, wait for me,” Milo demanded, replacing the missing grate before bolting down the stairs, meeting Minty on her way towards an end section of history.

“Should we just take some of the books and hide them somewhere else?” Milo asked, looking at the same sections of books Minty was staring at.

“No, that wouldn’t be right…erasing history.” Minty breathed. “Let’s just remove them first. We’ve got to make some room.”

Minty dove into a row of books and gave them a big hug, grabbing about fifteen books in total to move gently to the floor for the time being. “It’s only the first book we’ve found,” she huffed with a sort of strange conviction. “We’re bound to find many more! I’m sure of it! If we just keep looking, we’ll find the answers to the truth.”

The London Library was a place that gave Milo and Minty all the answers they ever needed, with many stories from various authors with different perspectives. If only there was enough time in the world to find them all.

Their playdate for the day was almost over as Minty's mom was scheduled to pick them up before the library's closing time and dinner on a school night. Minty's stomach grumbled with hunger to confirm the timing, crackling a thunder like the old storybook, reminding her of her physical existence.

They left the newly developed section with the book titled "HERstory" to fend for itself overnight, knowing they would return the next day to defend her liberty of existence while in search for more hidden stories to fill in the scant section, next to history, visible for all to see. Its royal red skin brilliantly beamed in its own limelight.

As for the dislodged history books, they set those disorderly on top of other shelved books of repeated stories, mindful of leaving them visible in plain sight.