Books and paper [Ali]

Books and paper [Ali] Jul 24, 2014 18:09:52 GMT -5

Post by ali on Jul 24, 2014 18:09:52 GMT -5

[presto]

BRIENNE O'DALE

EIGHTEEN

DISTRICT 6

894 WORDS

[/presto]

Brienne woke to the soft soothing voice of her sister. She was a little confused at first, as to why Gabrielle was cradling her but soon she realized she must have had a night terror again; the sheets were damp with sweat. They were a reoccurring factor, the nightmares. It was something that Brienne could never control, nor eve get rid of, and it happened almost every night; she was haunted by the harsh memories her stepfather had created for her. Though sometimes, Brienne remembered the night where blood splattered up the walls and that bastard lay dead at her feet.

Brienne gently shrugged her sister away and sat up. She took shallow long breaths, calming herself down slowly as her little sister watched on. Brienne felt guilty for forcing her problems onto Gabrielle, who would always be the one to calm her down after a night terror- for the first few nights after being home from the Detention center, Gabrielle had slept with Brienne like they had done when they were small. That was comforting but it still did not stop the dreams.

“Are you okay??” Gabrielle asked quietly

“Yeah” the elder girl stammered, running a hand through her curly hair. She looked at her blonde, beautiful Gabrielle and smiled some “Thanks”

“It’s not a problem…” Gabrielle said “Did you want something to eat?? A slice of toast or two??”

“I think…” Brienne paused, weighing her options. She felt like being alone today “I’ll just go have a shower…”

They had never had a shower at home. It was always a bath tub with porcelain edges that were rough and scratchy, but this flat had both a bath and shower. After using the shower once, Brienne had decided she much preferred it to soaking in a tub of water; which was always filthy after you had finished. The shower was warm and soothing, as the droplets of water ran down her back like rivers, the heat soothed her aching bones. The water here never went cold.

Once she’d finished in the shower and tamed her mass of curls into a suitable hairstyle to go out in public with, Brienne decided that she was going to go to the library; the fresh air on the walk might clear her head a little and stop her feeling so anxious. The library was quiet, quieter than here where Gabrielle would often sing most of the day. Not that Gabrielle wasn’t good, she had the voice of an angel but Brienne just needed to be alone. Stuffing her rucksack with books that needed to be returned, the young woman made a beeline for the door.

As her sister poked her head round the corner, to question where she was off too, Brienne spoke “The Library, I’ll be back in a while”

***

Rain poured from the sky in cascades as thunder sounded distantly. Brienne hurried up the old stone steps to the library, pushing past others who were in a hurry to reach a dry place while the storm passed over. The rain had drenched through the fabric hood of her jacket, but not through the leather body which she was grateful for; though she knew he hair would be in a state when it dried. The Library was warm, inviting and best of all quiet. It was near enough empty- with only a few clerks and the librarian hovering about among the few shelves that were filled half filled with books.

The light flickered overhead and slowly the smell or old damp books came to Brienne and it made her smile. She loved this smell, and the way the lights flickered. Somehow it reminded her of the little flat she, Gabrielle and their late mother had lived in when they were both small- the library was somewhat the last connection she had with childhood since the old block of flats got knocked down not too long ago because of a TB outbreak.

After she dumped the library books into the return bin, emptying the contents of her rucksack while staring round at the cold dry walls around her, she headed straight for the fiction section. To be fair, she had read these books over and over again- there must’ve only been a handful still on the shelf- but not many more had come into production recently. It was hard, to publish books which fit the criteria of the Capitol; those books who were deemed unfit for the shelves were never published and their authors vanished.

As she browsed the shelves for something to (re) read, someone whispered from behind “Hello”

The voice made Brienne jump. She had not expected anyone to actually be here, because it was a work/school day and most people were at their jobs. Turning round, she saw a young girl who was probably around 17 years old; probably the same age as Gabi. She was brown haired, fresh faced and wore glasses- in her arms, she cradled a big heavy book. The girl smiled up at Brienne with an expecting face, hoping that Brienne would respond.
Brienne was not one for small talk, she wanted to tell her off for talking in the library or something like that but she doubted that would stop the girl talking to her anyway.

“Hey………….” Brienne said quietly, glancing from the girl to the bookshelf again.