CHAPTER FIVE_ The Library
1205 Words
Elowen didn’t go to the library because she was in the mood for it. She went because she needed a place where nothing would pull her in too many directions at once.
After her last class, she left the lecture hall and walked straight there. No stops. No detours. No conversations.
The library worked for her because it followed rules she understood. Quiet. Order. Structure.
She stepped inside, scanned the space briefly, and kept moving.
People were scattered across tables. Some were reading, others writing, a few just sitting and thinking. The low movement and soft sounds didn’t interrupt her.
She chose a table near the back, away from the main activity.
Elowen placed her bag on the chair beside her, sat down, and opened her notebook.
Then she started working.
For a while, everything stayed the same.
Her pen moved steadily across the page as she rewrote her lecture notes. She adjusted sentences, added clarity, corrected small mistakes. When something didn’t make sense, she paused, checked her notes again, then continued.
Her focus was steady.
Controlled.
Familiar.
She didn’t notice the chair across from her move at first.
The sound was soft, just enough to signal someone had taken a seat.
Elowen kept writing.
She didn’t look up immediately.
She finished the line she was on, then paused.
Only then did she lift her head.
Sebastian was sitting across from her.
He had already settled in, his posture relaxed but alert, his attention clearly on her.
Elowen studied him for a moment, then spoke first.
“Are you using this seat?” Elowen asked.
Sebastian shook his head slightly and replied, “No. I just sat.”
Elowen nodded once. “That’s usually how people start using a seat.”
Sebastian gave a small shrug. “Then I guess I’ll start using it.”
Elowen didn’t respond to that. She simply held his gaze for a moment longer, then returned her attention to her notebook.
She picked up her pen and continued writing.
After a few seconds, Sebastian spoke again.
“Do you always sit this far back when you come here?” Sebastian asked.
Elowen didn’t look up as she answered, “Yes.”
Sebastian leaned slightly forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Why?”
Elowen paused her writing and replied, “Because it keeps me focused.”
Sebastian glanced around the room, then said, “The whole place is quiet.”
Elowen shook her head slightly. “Not the same kind.”
Sebastian looked back at her. “What’s different about this part of the library?” he asked.
Elowen didn’t answer immediately. She followed his gaze briefly, then returned to him.
“People here are actually working,” she said. “The other sections have more movement—people coming and going, talking, shifting around.”
Sebastian nodded slightly. “So you picked this spot because it’s calmer.”
Elowen gave a small nod. “Yes. Less interruption.”
Sebastian watched her closely as she spoke.
“You’ve thought about this a lot,” he said.
Elowen replied simply, “I have.”
Sebastian nodded once, then said, “You’re very intentional.”
Elowen looked up at him. “I have to be.”
Sebastian tilted his head slightly. “Or you choose to be?”
Elowen held his gaze. “Both.”
That answer made him pause for a moment.
Sebastian leaned back in his chair, studying her. “Most people don’t talk like that.”
Elowen returned to her notebook. “I’m not most people.”
Sebastian gave a small smile. “That’s clear.”
There was a short silence.
Elowen continued writing, but her focus shifted slightly. Not because she was distracted, but because she was aware of him.
Aware that he was still sitting there.
Still watching.
Sebastian broke the silence again.
“You’re not easy to read,” Sebastian said.
Elowen replied without looking up, “That’s not a problem for me.”
“It is for most people,” Sebastian said.
“Then I’m not most people.”
Sebastian nodded slowly at that.
After a moment, he spoke again.
“You take your work seriously.”
Elowen said, “Yes.”
“Why?” Sebastian asked.
Elowen paused her writing and looked at him.
“Because if I don’t, no one else will do it for me,” she said.
Sebastian studied her expression. “That sounds like something you’ve learned, not just something you believe.”
Elowen didn’t deny it. “It is.”
Sebastian leaned forward again, resting his arms on the table.
“So you don’t rely on anyone,” he said.
“I rely on myself,” Elowen corrected.
“Is that the same thing?”
“It is for me.”
Sebastian watched her for a moment, then said, “That must get lonely.”
Elowen didn’t answer immediately.
She kept her pen still, her hand resting lightly on the page.
Then she said, “It doesn’t have to be.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow slightly. “Then why does it sound like it is?”
Elowen looked at him directly. “Because most people don’t stay long enough to matter.”
That answer lingered in the space between them.
Sebastian didn’t look away.
“You think people don’t stay,” he said.
“I don’t think,” Elowen replied. “I observe.”
“And what have you observed?”
Elowen paused.
Then said, “People leave when things get difficult.”
Sebastian nodded slightly. “And you don’t.”
“I don’t have a reason to.”
Sebastian leaned back in his chair again, but his attention stayed on her.
“You’re different,” he said.
Elowen didn’t react to the statement. “You already said that.”
“Because it’s true,” Sebastian replied.
There was a short pause before he spoke again.
“You seem like someone who knows exactly where she’s going.”
“I do.”
“No doubt?”
“None that matters.”
Sebastian studied her carefully.
“That kind of certainty isn’t common,” he said.
Elowen replied, “I don’t need to be common.”
Sebastian smiled slightly at that.
After a moment, he asked, “What happens when you reach where you’re going?”
Elowen didn’t answer right away.
This time, she took a longer pause.
Then she said, “I decide the next step.”
Sebastian nodded slowly.
“That’s a long road.”
“I don’t need it to be short.”
He looked at her for a moment, then said, “You’re not afraid of being alone on it.”
Elowen held his gaze.
“I’m not alone,” she said.
Sebastian tilted his head slightly. “Then what is this?”
Elowen didn’t look away.
“This,” she said, “is me working.”
Sebastian smiled faintly at that.
The silence returned, but it felt different now.
Less like absence.
More like presence.
Elowen picked up her pen again and continued writing.
Sebastian didn’t move.
He stayed seated, watching her as she worked.
And this time, neither of them tried to end the moment quickly.
They both stayed exactly where they were.
- Writer
