Forgotten pages

Status Quo

The house returned to its normal state of things,three chairs set at the table and George let free to roam wherever he wished.With the new spare time on his hands he made great progress in the diaries finishing off the one he had been previously reading along with the next one.His father was still lonely as he always seemed to be thanks to the prior actions of that adopted devil he called a brother.At least he was doing well in his studies,set to go off to university in a year's time.His artistic skills developed greatly over the years,skilled illustrations accompanied the writing as always.It looked things may finally be getting better,that maybe the winds of good fortune would finally blow his way.

For all the good things coming up in his father's life seemed to get rockier for himself.The home felt so desolate without the visitors.He missed being able to go and spend the whole afternoon out at the river,going on their own little adventures of sorts.The days lurched on with nothing to fill the time,each day an eternity all to itself.Each hour blurred together into a gray haze of wasted time.And on this particular day George could not just do with spending the whole day bored and alone.He'd had enough of this loafing.There was a library in town and to be truthful he had never payed it a visit or really much mind at all but now he had an idea.The book his father had stolen,he may have been able to find it,not too exciting a task but it was a curiosity to be quelled.So,fast on his heels he made his way down from his room.

His eyes scanned the trees that were spaced along the path.He took in a breath of fresh air.Unbeknownst to him the leaves had begun their annual changing from green to brown and gold.The foliage was stuck somewhere between the dying embers of summer and the newly arriving fall.Soon enough,winter's harsh chill would settle upon the land.Time always seemed to stagnate when alone and simultaneously fly by when he was alone.

For him it nearly always seemed to go at a snail's pace.

'Maybe it was because the moments that one spends with their friends and loved ones remain in the memory as opposed to the time one spends alone?'

The passage of time was a tricky business.He pondered this on his way to the library,nearly forgetting his surroundings and objective.Schooling would start up again soon but even with other boys his age to interact with he doubted he'd forget about the curiously stoic girl with near black hair or how they would joke and talk by the riverbank.

'I guess we'll just speak through letters.'He sighed.

As great as the wonders of the modern postal service were,one could not always properly convey energy and tone no matter how hard they tried.His mind was pulled away from that train of thought when he realized that the dirt road underneath him had almost jarringly changed to cobblestone streets.Had he really been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed before?

It appeared so.

Distracted or not,he had made it to his destination.The massive public library towered over him.It's architecture was old,grand and elaborate.Two great columns rose up no either side of the front entrance,the mortar doorway was decorated with simple rosettes.The inside was spacious and open.The main room was occupied by large tables and the sparsely populated by patrons of the establishment.It was a place that gave off an air of eternal stillness,like the place could be left for a hundred years and would look exactly the same as he day it was abandoned.He wandered his way over to the front desk meeting face to face with an older-looking woman.

"Hello Miss.Would anyone be able to direct me to the Greek myths section...?"

The woman stared at him for a moment scrutinizing him with her cold grey eyes.All he could do was stand for a few awkward moments before she called out to somebody.

"Hey Eileen,could you show this young man to the ancient history section?"

A quick and chipper,"Of course."Could be heard before a younger woman strode over to George."You were looking for Greek myths,correct?"