My Wish at the End of the World

Inside The Library

I nod, resolving to ignore the problem until later, when my mind isn't muddled by pain, and take a deep swig.  Ether walks back in, carrying a set of pillows.  They're not very thick, or fluffy, just like mine, but John seems to know what to do with them.

"Set them beside the bed, we'll use them later," John says.  Ether sets them down.  "Start boiling water.  The kitchen is by my room."  Ether walks away and John stands up.  "Vic, I think it's pretty clear that you're not leaving the library for a while.  I'll bring the bandages."

He stands up and starts walking out.

"Wait," I say and cough.  "Can I have one of my books?"  I smile sheepishly, and he nods and hands me the one I was reading.  "Thanks."  He nods and smiles politely, then walks out.

A few minutes later he returns with a few bandages and honey.  He places them on the bedside table, then takes a strip of bandages and the jar of honey.

"So, we'll be using whatever we can get, and right now the best thing we have is honey," he says and pours some honey onto the bandage, then rubs it around the bandage.  "At some point, I'm going to have you do this.  Where's the worst of it?"

I point to my legs and he starts bandaging them, preparing more bandages until most of my legs are covered in the gauze.  We don't talk much, and I try to read, but the bandaging and pain distracts me.  He moves onto my arm, and even puts one around my neck and head, since I had a few burns on my face.  The honey feels strange, a cool and wet sensation on skin that feels rough and painful, but I just hope it works.

He draws back after he's done fixing a few spots, then looks into the jar and sighs.

"I don't have enough honey to apply another round of bandages, and I'm not sure when more will come in," he says and sighs.  "I'll put in a special request with the merchants."  I smile in thanks, and he stands up.  "I'll go get more supplies.  Don't remove the bandages."  I nod, and wince as my neck protests.

I start reading, trying to concentrate on the book. It works, mostly. The pain never quite goes away, but I manage to not concentrate on it, letting the book take my focus. When I need to turn the page I move and immediately the pain spikes as my skin moves against itself and stretches. It only takes a few lines to get refocused on the book, but quickly I realize that I won't likely be able to get any new information from anything in these books. They were chosen to get more information on the hut. It's possible there is some information that could help me, more stories on the Wooden King or the castle, but it seems incredibly inefficient, now that we know about whatever happened last night and where the shard is.

I don't honestly know what happened last night.  I had expected burning the hut to cause something to happen, maybe put itself out or cause something to happen to the outside world.  Instead the inside of the hut turned into a castle? That seems incomplete, but I suppose it's accurate enough, or at least I can understand it.

I'm certain if somebody had figured this out before, they either would have never told anybody or the information would have spread far and long. Of course, it's possible they died as well.  If my current state is any indication, people who go inside of the hut don't get healed.

I put down the book and close my eyes.  I lay there for a few hours, doing nothing, my mind wandering.  I idly consider possible plans, but I can't think of anything plausible.

I hear the door open, and footsteps pad inside.

"Is your reading any good?" Ether says, and sits down on the end of the bed.

"No," I say, opening my eyes, looking at her.  "I'm not sure I want to continue," I say, the words slipping out of my mouth quickly.  It's something I'd avoided thinking about for the past hours, always focusing on ways to continue, but never the possibility of giving up.  It felt so simple to say it.