Was it merely a dream? Or was it something stranger yet real just the same? You decide. |
A Dream in a Library By TigerFan I was sitting at a table in the library reading a book when a terrible little schnook began to make a horrible racket. I turned to him and told him to hush and he just looked at me and stuck out his tongue. I got up and I walked to the head librarian’s office door and knocked but no answer did come so again I knocked only to hear the librarian’s voice say “Go away!” I started to complain about the little schnook when suddenly the door opened and I surprised to see that the librarian looked an awful lot like me, except where my hair was auburn hers was chestnut and where I wore jeans and a t-shirt she wore a fancy suit jacket and a skirt. I told her about the little schnook and she said, “don’t tell me, tell the child’s mother! I have no time for this nonsense!” I noticed as she spoke her foot began to tap as if it had a mind of it’s own. She too, must have noticed, for before I could say a word she went back into her office. I left the library in a huff and walked around the park which seemed to go on and on for miles. Just how far, well one would have to walk to the very end of the park to find out. Soon I found myself at the librarian’s house, remembering her tapping foot I knocked to see if she was alright but no answer came, so I opened the door and walked in fearing she might be ill. I found my way to a room where she was throwing books from a shelf to the floor until she found a pair of light purple books which suddenly became a pair of shoes! She tried them on and said “Yuck!” then kicked them aside and went to another room. I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I tried on the shoes, then I heard a voice saying “Oh dear, what happened to her why is she acting this way?” Then I saw a funny little man walk in, I could swear that he was no more than two or three feet tall, and the top of his head was completely flat with long curly hair that went that stuck out from the middle of his head about a foot in either direction; not hanging down his shoulders but sticking straight out! His arms had to be quite springy, for he was putting the books back on the shelf, yet he was quite too short to reach shelf. I found my way into another room where I heard more voices. “Why is she acting this way?” “It must have had something to do with that girl who knocked on her door today.” “We must do right by her and not let her out of our sight.” Then I looked and saw her through a patio door so I opened the door and ran after her only to realize I was being chased! Then the librarian took my hand and said “Run! Run if you must!” and we ran straight to the library, with three very tall women about as skinny as sticks, behind us. We ran through library, all the walls seemed to be made solely of books and I saw another funny little man like the one before, not more than two or three feet tall, with the top of his head totally flat only unlike the other one he wore a cap covering his almost non-existent hair. He was standing on a very tall ladder arranging books on a very high shelf and aside from him we, the librarian and I, seemed to be the only ones there and the three tall skinny women were still chasing us so we kept running and soon we got to a room where the books where moving! They moved side to side, and up and down like elevators. Desperate to escape we grabbed some books moving upward. When they stopped moving the Librarian jumped to another group of books then I jumped and almost missed, but I clung to the books and up we went, then I suddenly heard a noise. I jumped and looked around me; I was back at the table in the library, my book that I had been reading still in front of me, no moving books, no purple book shoes, no funny little men, no tall skinny women. Everything was as it was, the little schnook was still making quite a noise so I looked at him and told him to quiet down because people were trying to read and he just gave me a smug little look and said “And apparently some people can’t go home and sleep in their own beds!” Then he went back to his playing. I closed my book and stood up, there was the head librarian’s office door, not more than four feet away, I was tempted to go once more and knock but I just shook my head and put the book back on the shelf and walked out the open front door. Now dear reader you decide was my adventure merely a dream? Or was it something stranger yet real just the same. You decide. For now I’m going to bed. The End? Author’s comments: Of course it’s not the end, there’s never an end to dreams; but remember anything can happen in a dream, you might see a terrible little schnook making an awful racket or even meet a funny little two foot man who’s head is flat on top, but whatever you dream, just remember that it was only a dream…or was it??? The preceding story was inspired by one of my own dreams, some things have edited due to my forgetting them or due to them being too weird to write down. Copyright. 2006 |