@gravityruled cont. from here (x)
she hadn’t meant to speak aloud. she had meant to stay quiet and go unobserved, to melt into the shadows of this near-empty library so far from her family’s base in this foreign city. she hadn’t been able to bring her entire book collection with her to Japan, but luckily, this library has an excellent collection of medical books... even if it isn’t in safe territory.
unfortunately for her, she has gotten sidetracked in the poetry aisles, and now it’s almost dark outside. are all libraries open this late in this city? the facility is now empty, it seems, except for the two of them.
the words in the book had resounded within her, a bit too close for comfort, and so she closes the book gently, sliding it back on the shelf. it reminds her too much of what happened all those years ago. the pride. the screams. the horror of knowing she is a murderer. she closes her eyes for a moment to push those ugly thoughts aside, focusing on the chilly night air, which seeps in through poorly insulated corners and cracks to graze her skin even though the place is heated.
the quiet is disturbed yet again when the man who had been sitting alone at a desk in the corner speaks, turning around in his chair. he has been there this whole time - and she wonders what else she has given away, that she isn’t aware of. perhaps she has been unlucky enough to run into the wrong person in the wrong place, and this is where she will die for her unwanted affiliations. the thought comforts her - it will be better for her father and mother to hear that she has died by some outside hand than the news that their daughter has taken her own life - the life they forced her to kill to preserve.
“ ... sorry for disturbing you. ” she chooses her words carefully from a limited vocabulary, pausing to sift through her memory of grammar rules and regional syntax. obviously, she can’t explain that she is dying, or that she hates the circumstances of her birth as much as she loves her work, or that she’s killed twenty people but is unwanted for her crimes.
“ i’m new to this area. that’s probably why. ”
