Of Ink and Ashes - An Aru Shah AU

And Your Words Were My Achilles' Heal

'December 16, 2017'

The book started off as expected, and Aru felt her interest slip away as she shut it and put it back down on the antique store's finely carved table. Birch. She approved.

As a college student barely making ends meet, she hardly had the time or money for bits of randomized trinkets. Still, they were pretty to look at, she mused and moved on to the cutlery.

"Aru, it's closing time," the owner of the shop called, just as she started inspecting a silver engraved knife. She sighed and hoisted her bag over her shoulder and made her way to the door, looking back one last time to smile at the older woman and spare one last glance at the book.

"See you next time, Menaka auntie."

Menaka waved and made shooing gestures towards the teenager, who promptly shut the door and walked out into the cool, Atlantan air. Aru shivered and pulled her sweater tighter around her form before making off toward her dorm.

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'December 16, 2017'

That was six years ago. Insignificant if you don't think about it. Significant if you do.

Aru flipped the leather-bound book in her hands. It was in good shape for something so old, and despite being rather plain compared to some of the other wares in the shop, it piqued her interest the most. She couldn't fathom why.

She wasn't willing to spare a single coin on it either. Aru was strictly there for window shopping.

"Back again so soon?" Menaka asked, running a duster over some nearby cabinets. "Usually you only come by once a week."

Aru shrugged in response. "There's something that keeps drawing me here, I guess."

"Oh?" Menaka sidled up to her and looked at the book Aru had just put down. "....Oh." Her weathered face, beautiful despite the wrinkles, twisted into something Aru couldn't quite put her finger on. Sadness, maybe. But that made no sense.

"Is something the matter?"

Menaka took a deep breath in. "No," she said shortly, moving to the opposite corner of the shop and busying herself there. Puzzled, Aru bade her farewell and left.

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'December 16, 2017'

By now Aru simply came to stare at the strange book.

The handwriting was shaky and not very neat, like a child's. There was nothing special about it, nothing out of the ordinary, and yet she never got past reading the date, always putting it down before she could. It was the strangest thing; it felt like the book was pulling her in somehow.

She didn't like it. She always left before she could think too much about it.

"Hey, Brynne?"

"Yeah?" Said girl glanced up from her calculus homework, looking slightly dazed. Aru didn't think too much about it; Brynne always looked strange these days.

"I found a book in that antique shop. You know, the one right by campus?"

Brynne clicked her pen and nodded, gesturing for Aru to continue.

"Well, I can't stop thinking about it."

"Okay," Brynne said, looking down again. "Then buy it."

"No, I can't."

"Then don't buy it."

Aru scowled and slumped back down in her chair. "You are literally no help."

Brynne's only response was to shrug and hum noncommittally.

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'December 16, 2017'

Aru put the book down for the nth time. It had been consuming her thoughts for a while now. She was even starting to dream about it. For the first time in a while, she felt... something adjacent to hope, but not quite.

But why was it because of this drab book? It didn't look special. The date inscribed on it wasn't special. The handwriting certainly wasn't what made her feel connected to it. Aru felt her fingers curl protectively around the spine. Every day it was becoming harder to rip the book out of her own grasp, and she knew that one day, she wouldn't be able to let it go. She visited the shop every day now too, and just stared at the book for half an hour before leaving.

Aru did the same again now, hurriedly making for the exit.

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"December 16, 2017'

Instead of putting it down this time, Aru tightened her grip on the book and walked over to the counter. She carefully placed a twenty dollar bill on the tabletop, leaving as soon as she'd picked up the receipt and change.

She didn't even register that the book now belonged to her until she was standing outside of the shop, hands full for once. Aru didn't regret it, surprisingly.

But it seemed that Menaka did. Her longing was evident in the way she had caressed the cover as she was ringing it up, and even in the way she gazed at it, held tightly in Aru's arms as she left the store.

Aru didn't understand it, didn't understand why it seemed so important. It was probably nothing anyway.

She shook herself out of her reverie and stuffed the book in her bag, heading back to campus.

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'December 16, 2017'