All Roads Lead to Library - Part 1
Hi everyone! I've decided not to write a new story after all. Instead, I'll be bringing back and illustrating a story I originally wrote on GSS back in 2024. I hope you'll enjoy revisiting it with me!
“Damn it, not again,” Tom muttered, slamming his hand onto the alarm clock and accidentally knocking an empty wine bottle off the table.
At 33, Tom was a journalist in a small town. While his friends had gone to university or moved abroad in search of better lives, Tom had taken a different path. He enjoyed parties, cheap wine, and his only real hobby, if you could call it that, was hanging out with eccentric drunks at the local pub.
Tom grabbed his only clean pair of jeans, threw on a dark green hoodie, and pulled a baseball hat over his unkempt hair, which was overdue for a haircut.
He worked as a journalist for the local newspaper, a job his mother had secured for him. She liked to tell her friends, whose children were far more successful, that her son had chosen to stay in town to make it better. In reality, she was far from pleased with her son’s drinking habits and lack of direction. Tom sat at his desk, opened his laptop, and slipped into his usual routine: scrolling through dating apps and browsing online shops.
“Tom… Tom, into my office. Now.” Jully, the editor-in-chief and Tom’s boss, called out sharply. “When was the last time you wrote something? What happened to the article about the new park?” “Jully, you know… I wanted to do some research first, so I will…”
“Bullshit. The park opened three months ago! Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses Newsletter wrote about it. This is getting ridiculous.” Tom stood there, hungover and speechless. The only thing he wanted to ask for was a painkiller.
“You are fir… or you know what? I’m giving you one last chance. Go into the local library and make an interview with the librarian. Make an article about why people no longer visit libraries and what impact it have on young people.”
“Jully, you know I hate that place. It stinks and has no wifi…”
“Tom? Now! Don’t return without that article.”
“For fucks sake.” Tom muttered for himself when grabbing his laptop and recorder.
Before heading to the library, Tom made a quick stop at the local pub and downed three beers. When he finally arrived at the library, he stood in front of the drab building with missing “I” in the sign, now reading “LBRARY.”
The letter had fallen off two years ago, and the library had no funds to replace it. “I have to do this. I can’t go back to construction. Too much work, and I won’t be allowed to drink…” Tom thought as he entered the old library.
Inside, the library was dimly lit, with bookshelves lining the large room. A Karl Marx book sat next to a Bible on one shelf, while comic books collected dust on another. “No wonder young people don’t visit this place. They should have closed it long ago and made it into a nice pub,” Tom mused.
“Greetings, traveler! How may I assist you? Looking for some nifty books?” a voice called from behind Tom. It was Leonard, the local librarian. Leonard was a tall man around Tom’s age, wearing a white button-down shirt tucked into khaki trousers, a dark brown bow tie adjusting on little too tight collar, and thick glasses. His greasy hair was neatly combed with a side part.
“God, stupid Lenny. How much I hated this guy in high school,” Tom thought.
“Hey Lenn… Leonard. I’m Tom, working for the local newspaper. Came here to interview you, if you don’t mind. Do you have time?”
“What a nice day for a nice interview. Come with me to my tiny office. I’ll make some tea!” Leonard replied cheerfully.
Leonard gestured for Tom to follow him. They walked through the long room full of books and entered Leonard’s small, windowless office. Unlike the library, the office was dust-free, with tiny superhero dolls and framed Pokémon cards decorating the walls.
“Sit, sit here. Here’s your tea. What shell we discuss in our interview?” Leonard asked, smiling.
“I don’t know, hmm, what made you… no. How would you describe this book store?” Tom turned on the recorder.
“You certainly meant library, young man. This building was constructed in 1948 after World War II by the state company under the direction of architect William Steier. Fun fact: the windows were recycled from an old primary school destroyed by the German army…”
Tom interrupted. “Yeah, yeah, historeeey. Haha. Let’s move on to more interesting topics. Why do you think no young people visit this store anymore?”
“Again, young gentleman, it is pronounced library, not ‘store.’ And second, it is quite rude to interrupt the person you are interviewing.” Leonard adjusted his bow tie with a hint of irritation.
“What the hell, man? I am the journalist here. I’m not here to be taught how to do my job. I didn’t even want to come to this stupid lib… place.” Tom was ready to pack up and leave, considering telling Jully that the library was closed.
“Let’s pretend you are a real journalist. I will overlook the fact that you reek of beer and cheap cologne, likely to mask the odor. Masks off, I remember you from high school.”
Tom suddenly froze. “What if he tells Jully? I can’t lose this job,” he thought. “Okay, Lenny, I do remember you. What’s the deal?”
“Then you must remember how you stole my math homework and pulled my underwear over my head on March 16, 2015.”
“I… I don’t remember. Listen, I’m sorry, Lenny. The girls were probably watching, and I wanted to impress them. How stupid of me, right?” Tom laughed awkwardly and took a sip of tea, suddenly feeling little groggy.
“What’s in this tea? I mean, you, I mean, I…” Tom started laughing like he had just heard the best joke ever.
“I see, lavender, sage, and valerian and a special ingredient work well. You know, Tom, I’ve been working as a librarian for a few years now. You wouldn’t believe the kinds of books that have been sitting here for decades. Like this one,” Leonard said, grabbing a small leather-covered book from his table. “‘Wie man seinen Mann zähmt,’ or in other words, ‘How to Tame Your Husband.’ Fun fact, back in the day, when women had alcoholic husbands who beat them, they couldn’t just go to the police. So some very clever women came up with ways to make their husbands more… calm. Haha.” Leonard opened the book.
“How to… Wie man, you’re the best, Lenny!” Tom laughed hysterically.
“Yes, certainly. You’ve been an asshole since high school. You looked down on people who took their studies and lives seriously. You are a bad person. If your mother didn’t teach you how to behave, I will.” Leonard started reading.
“After your husband drinks the tea you prepared by the recipe, start to read the following mantras loudly…”
After a few minutes, Tom stopped laughing. He just sat quietly, listening to Leonard like a small child listening to a fairy tale.
“Now, Tom, the tea will remain in your system for a few more hours. I don’t think we’ll be able to conduct an interview today. Would you like to come back tomorrow?” Leonard closed the book, a little nervous if it worked.
“Thank you, friend. I guess no beer tomorrow before the interview. I… I need to take some rest. See you tomorrow, Leonard.”
Tom quickly grabbed his equipment and went straight home.
germansingergirl
areudirty
baratheonpilled
theartofmadeline
origamiaround
titsay
2087
romaincrisis
