~It has been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.~
-Arthur Conan Doyle-

Sun rays filtered through the net curtains hanging over the window by my head. I could feel the warmth of the sunlight on my body as it illusioned a bright red light behind my closed eyelids. I had been awake for fifteen minutes now but opening my eyes felt a burden to me. Moreover, the light warmth of the morning sun felt good after the cold night by the sea. I wondered if she was awake by now or not but then I dismissed the thought when I recalled what she had said about not compromising anything over sleep. I turned to my side, hugging my pillow and opening one eye to peek at the world behind my closed eyelids.

The alley in front of me was lit by golden sun rays which reflected off the shiny wood of the book racks. It was a great feeling to wake up to hundreds of books enveloping you safely. I shifted on my back and stretched comfortably before sitting up and looking out of the window. My eyes took in the sight of fresh green trees guarding their umpteen fellows on the edge of the forest for a millionth time and I smiled slowly. I was lucky to live by the sea and the forest at the same time. The sea was located at the back of the library where we had our private beech while the forest continued to the right side. The building was oddly built at a turn in the road and had a lot of privacy here for which I had developed a fondness over time.

"Why so early?" I turned around to Rob's voice who stood at the end of the alley, his chocolate brown eyes melting in the sunlight. I smiled at him and looked down at my wrist watch that I had forgotten to take off last night before I drifted off to a sound sleep.

7:35.

"It's alright. We have an hour and a half to breakfast. We can settle the books I brought last night." I set my face in my palm and squinted at him due to the bright light pouring inside. He walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress by my feet.

"I'm already done with it, dude. Sorry, I slept last night. You know, you can use some sleep until breakfast. I know how hectic that journey is." He placed a hand on my calf and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah. It is. I know. But I'm done with all the sleep and it won't get to me again, trust me. Don't say sorry for God's sake! Why did you even bother to manage that mess by yourself? I could have lent a hand, Rob." I shook my head and frowned at him before averting my gaze outside the window. "It's not fair." I grunted.

"It's fair. You traveled all the way to bring them so I did my share of setting them in the racks according to the genres. No conflicts. Friends?" He raised a bro-fist to me and ruffled my hair with the other hand. I let out a chuckle immediately and returned the fist. "Friends." It was hard to stay mad at him. He was three years older than me and definitely more mature in every sense. He was a brother to me and I always listened to him because he was more experienced and wise. All those years that I had spent creating the mess in my life, he had been the one to clear it off behind me. I could never pay him back.

"I've brought someone home." I looked at him sheepishly before resting my back against the book case behind me as I joined my fingers together in my lap.

"Finally." He sighed and let out a deep laugh before imitating my position for comfortableness. I scowled at him. I had thought that he'd be surprised at this new information but he looked quite at ease.

"It's not like what you're thinking. I met her on the train last night. She's kinda.....uh..homeless, you know. But yes! It's not for free. She's going to work for us." I raised a hand as I explained it to him. I wasn't sure why I was justifying everything but I didn't want him to feel left out.

"Do not justify, Aaron. You know it's best for us. We could use some help at the moment when the weather's pleasant and we have a lot of readers per day. She's definitely a blessing right now. Now drop this sheepish look and tell me where did you drop her for the night?" He looked at me with an amused smile on his face. Both of us knew that we were deprived of good places to dose off at night. It was one of the drawbacks of living in a library.

"Uh..in my study. She's going to stay there now." I rubbed the back of my neck with my palm. He chuckled lightly.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Dude, you're the one who is homeless now." He winked at me and let a very comfortable laugh that had a warm feeling about it. He had been handsome from the start. I never treated him as a servant. Being an orphan, he had stayed with us all those years. I had seen him around since my childhood and I couldn't imagine a life without Robert Halden for a single minute.

"It's alright. I can use homeless nowadays since grandma's been strict about my laziness a lot!" I joined his laughter and noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed. He had a full mouth and brown hair like me. People often confused us as brothers since we were the same height. The only contrast was our eyes. He had chocolate brown eyes while mine were a light blue. My grandma said they were like the ocean but I didn't believe it 'cause she was always resembling one thing with another. It was routine now.

"Well, she loves you a lot, Aaron. Don't bad mouth her." He feigned a frown and I nodded. "I love her too." I replied before getting up and stretching my arms wide into the air.

"Maybe you should go and get her up for the breakfast. She surely wouldn't want to miss it." He chuckled and looked out of the window. He was right. We had no kitchen over here and both of us ate every meal at Barley's. It was a small cafe a block away run by Mrs. Barley, a middle aged widow who treated us like sons because she had no children. I nodded at him and trotted off towards the study to wake her up.

Reaching the door, I knocked twice before entering. What my eyes witnessed was not at all something I was expecting. Before entering, I thought that I would find her curled up into a little ball on the mattress, hugging the pillow like a little child. I wanted to see her silver messy hair spread around her soft face as she dreamed about things unknown to me. Once again, she had knocked down my expectations because she was nowhere to be seen in the entire room.

"Good morning!" I stood at the doorstep with my jaw dropped open in panic when her cheerful voice hit my ears from the window seat. I walked in further to find her perched inside by the window, all dressed up and ready. I sigh escaped my lips as I realized how empty I had felt a moment ago at her absence.

"Good morning." I replied back, a slow smile spreading on my face as I took in her attire. She was wearing a loose white top over dark blue jeans and sneakers. I noticed she had The Alchemist in her hands as she looked up to register my presence. All things aside, I was awestruck by the silver mess around her face which was reflecting back sunlight so brightly that my eyes dazzled. Were her hair made of silk? How could they shine so much? My eyes lowered to hold her gaze only to feel nostalgic for places I'd never been to. They were a deep shade of blue and felt so alive as if a melting liquid existed inside them. Oddly, they reminded me of the ocean. I smiled as I thought what my grandma had to say about her eyes.

"I see that you're finally done with your observation." She closed the book and winked as she saw me smile.

"It's not everyday that you wake up to see a girl with silver hair and melting blue eyes reading The Alchemist by a window in your library, Cara Evelyn." I tilted my head to the side and replied back honestly. Her features molded softly to a gentle expression.

"You'll get used to it someday." She turned her face to look out of the window at the sparkling waves crashing against the soft sand.

"Nobody can get used to it ever." I sighed and sat on the other end of the window seat. I noticed three little silver bells dangling from the window with the dream catcher. They rung sweetly as the sea breeze hit them from outside.

"You never know." She sighed in response and tinkled one of the bells in her fingers by extending her arm upwards. "You don't mind me hanging these over here, do you?" Her eyes darted towards my face in anticipation. I shook my head quietly.

"I love the jingle of these little bells." She hit the bells lightly and let out a cute chuckle as they tinkled magically. Lost in their really sweet sound, I thought if she had always been this way? I had never, in my life, met someone so wonderful as her.

Suddenly, she skipped down and settled her hands on her hips. "I used the bathroom back in that big store filled with trash. I'll be using it from now on, do you mind?" She looked at me inquisitively. She was talking about the supposed-to-be-garage at the back of the library, built on the private beach, which had been converted to a store room for all the used up furniture etc.

"No. That's okay. I use the one in Rob's cabin so you can have it all to yourself." I smiled.

"So..when are we meeting this Rob?" She bit her lower lip. I sucked in a sharp breath and averted my gaze from her lips. She was right. He was waiting for us. I stood up.

"Give me ten minutes. I need to freshen up and change. I'll be back to escort you to him. Then the three of us are going out for breakfast." I explained the upcoming events slowly to her.

"What? You don't cook?" Her eyes widened in response.

"Umm..we have no kitchen. This is a library after all." I rubbed the back of my neck with my palm. It was a habit I had developed over time. Every time I felt confused or shy, I did this. Habits, never mind.

"Oh...," Her lips formed a small O as she absorbed my words. "You know what, from tomorrow, I'll cook for us." She replied back cheerfully after a minute.

"But...," I was about to interrupt her when she raised a hand to stop me mid sentence.

"No. I saw a stove back there in the big store. I think I'm gonna set the furniture there and we can use it as a big lounge for ourselves. It will take a lot of cleaning, I know, but it's worth it." She concluded with an authoritative look in her eyes.

"Fine." I sighed. "We'll do this in the evening. The library opens at 10 in the morning and closes at 10 in the night. You can spend your day in this big store of yours. Do whatever you want. I have no issue. Right now, we need to leave for breakfast so wait here till I come back to take you. Okay?" I hurried through the words and looked at her expectantly.

"Okay." She smiled. I nodded and walked over to the door.

"I think this okay will be our always." Her voice reached me and I turned around.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, stupid." She started laughing. "You live in a library. I thought you'd know this!" She waved her hand dismissively and continued to laugh in that melodious way as before. I shook my head to clear it of the trance she had created and hurried outside. Within ten minutes, I was ready so I went back and both of us walked over to the reading nook where I had left Rob. He was reading some non-fiction when we reached there.

"She's here, Rob. Say hi." I teased him. He picked up his head from the book and closed it as he took in the wild girl standing by my side. His mouth was left slightly open as his eyes explored Cara. I was laughing inside me as I recalled that's what I must have looked like when I had seen her for the first time.

"Hi." A low squeaky hi left his mouth as he shook his head slightly and stood up to repeat it a bit louder and clear this time. "Hi. I'm Rob. Nice to meet you." He nodded awkwardly. I had never seen him feel so stupid. I wanted to jump and run around laughing madly at this sight but I controlled myself in her presence.

A cute grin spread on her face as she nodded back and replied, "Hi. I am Cara Evelyn. Drop off the formalities please. By the way, nice to meet you too." Saying this, she turned around and started trotting towards the entrance. I noticed she had a light spring to her walk. I gestured Rob to follow as I hurried behind her.

Once we were out on the street, a light breeze played along bringing in the mixed scent of the forest and sea with it. Now and then, she stopped and inhaled deeply with her eyes closed, a huge grin spreading on her face in the process. We continued walking towards Barley's and some of our casual readers at the library nodded at us in acknowledgement. It was the part of daily routine. We exchanged a few words with some of the friends who looked dumbfoundingly at the messy spirit walking by our sides.

Finally, we entered the cafe and took our seats by the large window that looked out to the street. Introducing her to a very surprised Mrs. Barley, we ordered our breakfast and waited for it silently.

"Are you people always this quiet or is it me?" She started the conversation.

"No. It's not like that. Mornings are brighter, usually." I replied back with a sly smile on my face.

"What's so peculiar today, then? She raised an eyebrow. I noticed she did that a lot.

"He's teasing you." Rob smiled at her.

"Oh..," She let out a chuckle and slapped my arm lightly. Rob winked at me. I gulped and thought he'd be judging us a lot now. I had a strong urge to roll my eyes at him. Idiot.

By the time we finished our food and stepped out of the cafe, it was already 9:34. Rob was getting along well with her by now.

We were walking back, talking casually about weather and stuff when I stopped and looked at our house. Well, actually our ex-house. She stopped as well. Rob lingered behind us, carrying a distant look in his eyes. It was a large white bungalow with a huge black grilled gate. A long driveway followed behind it. All the memories of my childhood came rushing back to my mind as I tried to hold myself together. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"One day, when you'll be dead and no one would be around to look at this house like this, would this house matter then?" She spoke softly.

"It's not the house. It's the memories, the feelings attached with the place, Cara." I whispered.

"That's my point. You still have them with you..so what's the sorrow? This house is nothing but a building without you people. Treasure those memories. That's what means the most." She squeezed my shoulder lightly and started walking down the road. My gaze followed her small frame and I looked towards Rob.

"Dude, she's right." He nodded and held my hand, pulling me along with him. I turned around to see the house getting smaller behind us.

As we reached the library, Cara stopped at the entrance and looked upwards at the main board saying Connaissance Library. She had a light frown on her face.

"It means knowledge. It's French." I explained it to her.

"Are you French?" She looked at me. The sun rays reflected off her hair and sparkled brightly.

"No. I wonder about the origin of this name too sometimes." I shrugged and inserted my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"That's strange." She mused awkwardly while shaking her head, her soft hair ruffling in the process, and entering the building after Rob.

"I know." I smiled.

After a few moments, I bumped into her as she stopped mid steps.

"Who's the librarian?" She turned around. I could see confusion dissolving in the ocean of her eyes.

"Rob." I rolled my eyes towards him as he smiled bemusedly at us.

"Who are you, then?" She squinted her eyes at me and crossed her arms.

"Me?" I pointed towards myself.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes.

"You don't want to know." I smiled.

"I do!" She scowled.

I walked over to sit on the main desk as Rob relaxed against a book shelf with his arms crossed in front of him. I could see that he was enjoying this conversation. She turned towards me and raised an eyebrow. I chuckled slightly before replying.

"I am a painter, Cara Evelyn."

A look of wonder crossed in her bright eyes as she gasped inaudibly. A slow smile spread on her lips as she brought both of her hands to her mouth and covered her lips for a moment before bringing them down and whispering excitedly.

"That's the reason you get so enchanted by the silver, Aaron Troy."

Author's Note:

This is a very casual update. Sorrie. It sucks I know. I hope it goes well in the future. :(

Please leave your honest reviews. I need guidance. :x

Much Love xX
Hazel *-*