"Look at all the cool books, Luz," Lily said, hoisting the toddler on her hip. Luz giggled and pointed to the array of books lining the shelves. The librarian made a shushing sound at the two. "We have to be quiet, okay? Look at these. Oh, this used to be one of my favorites."
Lilith picked out a dusty book with a brown cover. Large black words read "THE TELL-TALE HEART". Luz puckered her bottom lip out and turned to a different book, reaching. "Not that one? Okay, um – oh! I loved this one, too." Another book was pulled out, this time the cover had a woman on the front, her sinister eyes staring back at the reader. "MOMMY'S HOME" is what the cover read.
"Bleh." Luz stuck her tongue out, pushing the book away. She babbled and reached still, confusing the elder woman.
"That was a very good read back then, you know. Okay, um, what about-"
"Excuse me." The librarian said, tapping Lilith on the shoulder. Lilith turned to face the old woman, giving a curt smile.
"Hello. Yes? Can I help you?"
"Why are you here? With the toddler?"
"I'm, um – her mom needed some time to herself, so I thought I'd take her off her hands. Why?"
"Well, I'll tell ya. This is not the area you want to browse in with a child. We have a designated children's area."
"What? These were my entire childhood, these stories were."
"Well, it's looked down upon now. Now shoo, to the children's area."
Lilith rolled her eyes, turning her back to the librarian.
"Come on, Luz. We'll take our business elsewhere." Lilith marched towards the 'kids area' with Luz in grasp. She sighed when she saw the tiny bookshelves. Sitting Luz down, she watched the toddler waddle to the shelf and pull a book off of it. A colorful book titled "The good witch Azura" fell to the ground. Luz smiled widely, picking the book up and holding it close. The bright and colorful pages caught her eye. Lilith gently took the book from Luz and ran her thumb over the cover.
"The good witch Azura? Huh. Never heard of that one," Lilith opened the book and scanned the pages. Luz waited patiently at her feet, holding onto Lilith's ankle length skirt. After a few moments of scanning, Lilith stuck out her tongue and sat the book back on the shelf "Luz, that is way too flowery for your small mind. Let's pick something else, okay?"
Luz made what sounded like a small 'huh?' before she was picked up by Lilith. Lily started to talk about other books, but Luz stopped paying attention. She had her mind focused on that book, and that book only. She needed a plan. She was going to get that book.
.
.
.
Luz stuck her sippy cup in Lilith's mouth, sharing her juice with the woman once more. Lilith sipped it and sighed. "That's a lot of juice. I've gotta use the restroom now, Luz. Wait here and play nicely with the other children, okay?" Lilith sat the toddler down, rushing to the nearby bathroom. Luz giggled and stood up, grabbing hold of the play pen and hoisting herself out of it, falling to the ground with a thud. She clapped as she landed, standing up and readying to leave, when a small voice caught her attention.
"Wait," A little boy said, climbing out of the pen. "Where are you going?" the boy had bright blonde hair and bright maroon colored eyes. He smiled a toothy grin.
Luz glanced in the direction of her book, pointing and trying to pronounce 'book'.
"Oh, I can help." The boy said nonchalantly, catching up to Luz. Luz smiled and glanced to the bathroom, taking a deep breath and heading her own way.
YOU ARE READING
Night Light
FanfictionNIGHT LIGHT | Definition: A light to help you see in the dark. Babies can either be a blessing or a curse: but for Eda, Luz was both. Luz was left by the trashcan of a house when she was a mere few weeks old. Hadn't it been for Owlbert, Eda's magica...
