Ever with Hades

If only I could find a way to the Underworld, Ever thought. Life would be probably better there. Or at least life would be fair, since they had someone as honorable as Hades to rule the kingdom.

It took ten more minutes before she reached the town’s library, a magnificent three-story structure that had the looks of a Gothic castle and had been in existence for over two hundred years.

For a moment, she stood in front of it to simply gaze leisurely at its majestic façade, thinking that this would probably fit very well into the Underworld, too. How wonderful it would be, she thought with another sigh, to live in a place such as this.

Most of the townsfolk believed the library was haunted, more so when only Mr. Robbins and his daughter Marcia were the only ones to roam its high-ceilinged halls.

She was about to ascend the steps leading to the library’s huge double doors when they opened themselves—-

The white-haired Mr. Robbins stepped out, and he looked just as startled when he saw Ever on his steps.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Robbins,” she said, smiling uncertainly.

“Afternoon, Ever. I wasn’t expecting you. You usually come earlier.”

“I was a little late finishing my chores today.” Her gaze slid to the keys he was holding. “Are you going to close early?”

“I was planning to,” Mr. Robbins admitted. “I need to meet an old friend of mine, and Marcia’s down with a cold.”

“Oh.” She tried her best not to sound disappointed, but she had obviously failed when the older man shook his head with a grin.

“Don’t look so down, child. You can still go inside.”

“But—-”

Mr. Robbins placed the keys in her hand. “Just make sure to lock up when you’re done. No need to encode the books you borrowed. Marcia or I will get the keys from you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure, Mr. Robbins? I can always come back—-”

The old man ruffled her hair. “I wish I could do more for you, to be honest, but this unfortunately is the only thing I can do.”

The look in Mr. Robbins’ eyes made her swallow, and her fingers closed around the library keys. “This is more than enough,” she said huskily.

“Not really child, but thank you for saying so.” As Mr. Robbins descended the steps, he said over his shoulders, “Let’s just hope someone else will come to your rescue one day.”

“In this town?” she asked laughingly. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Nowhere is still somewhere, child, and no place is unreachable for one like Hades, don’t you think?”

Ever’s merry laugh made Mr. Robbins smile. What a wonderful creature this girl was, he thought, to be able to smile so easily even after what life has dealt her. In all the years he had known her, she had never once complained or expressed envy of others.

“You know too much of my dreams, Mr. Robbins,” she said with a shake of her head.

Taking off his cap, he gave her a little salute. “Enjoy your day, child.”

“You, too, sir.” She waited until Mr. Robbins had driven off before turning back to face the library.

A sense of wonder filled her.

This magical place would be hers, even for just a few minutes.

How wonderful!

She entered the library with her heart beating fast, thinking that the librarian surely wouldn’t mind if she just explored a little. There were still a few rooms in the third floor that she hadn’t ever ventured into, and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of what she would discover there.

Her glance slid to the mantel clock behind the librarian’s counter.

Three-fifteen.

I can at least have fifteen minutes to explore, she thought. That would leave her five minutes to search for the new title Arisa wanted, and then if she ran all the way to the market and back home—-

She should be back before five, Ever mentally computed.

Satisfied with the plan, she laid her bag on the counter and hurried up the stairs. The library was cool and dark, with more shadows than light, but it didn’t bother her at all. For Ever, all these only reminded her even more of the Underworld, and that was never a bad thing.

She also found the silence soothing, which was the opposite of Arisa’s constant bellows and complaints, the incessant buzzing, and when it was time to sleep, even her worries of the future sometimes seemed like mosquitoes buzzing about inside her brain.

But here in the library, she found peace.

It would be nice if I could live here with my own Hades. We would talk forever, like Hades and Persephone did. We would dance, kiss, make love—-

Her cheeks flushed at the unexpected direction of her thoughts.

Whoa, whoa, Ever, where did that come from?

Although she had always dreamt about having her own Hades, she had never dreamt of doing that with him...until now.

She mentally shook her head. Must be the place, she thought, that’s making me so whimsical.