Unicorns Are Hard To Come By

You normally don't ever go to the library. It's a nice building and all, but it's not really your thing. But today you had to. You got an e-mail the other day that you have a book overdue from who knows long ago and the librarian threatened to rip your head off if you didn't return it today. So you rush to the library at the edge of town.

It's rather large and ancient looking, unlike those newer libraries that you've seen. The quality of the books don't change, really, but there's something about the older library that you love. If you had been into photography, you'd take endless pictures of it all day.

Inside, you don't see anyone at the library desk. You slide the book onto the desk and decide to turn and leave when somebody pops up. She's a girl, maybe about your age with straight dark hair. You figure she had been down there with her nose in a book and didn't notice you. She looks at you and gives you a small smile.

"Hi, um, I'm here to return this book..." you start. You don't finish when you notice that the girl has already taken the book and has disappeared with it. You don't know where she went, and she returns to the desk looking at you with an expectant look on her face.

"...Are you going to check out a book?" she asks. You shrug. You tell her you weren't planning on it, but upon seeing the defeated expression on her face you decide to anyway. She grins and her entire face lights up.

"Oh, I can't believe it!" she says excitedly. She walks from behind the desk. She grabs your wrist and she leads you to one of the many bookcases. "Not many people come here nowadays to check out books. They usually come here to goof off or mess around on the computers back there, and it's always my job to clean up after them. It's sad, really."

She soon stops her talking as we arrive to the first section. There seems to be endless rows of books, ranging from old and dusty to new and unused. They line each and every wall and bookcase, and the girl seems to squeal with joy.

"Here's my favorite," she stands on her tiptoes to one of the higher shelves on the walls and pulls out a green-blue book. It seems to be falling apart at the seams and the cover is partially damaged. You figure this book has been well-read over the years.

She holds the green-blue book against her chest. "My father used to read this to me all the time. It's about these two princesses, one who raises the moon and one who raises the sun."

She goes on about this book. At first it seems like something that would be for children, but the more she talks about it, the more interesting it sounds. The gist of it is, the evil princess, who was banished to the moon, comes back to the kingdom 1000 years later to exact her revenge on her sister.

She flips to a page in the book. It's an illustration of the main characters fighting off the evil princess. She points to the one in the middle. "She's my favorite. I, uh, even got highlights to match her character description."

You look at her and notice the pink and purple highlights in her hair. They're rather faint, but noticeable. They stand out nicely against her dark hair.

"You probably think this is silly, don't you? A girl of my age obsessing over a book meant for kids." she gave a forced laugh. You shake her head and tell her no, and that sometimes you do the same. You both give awkward laughs, but soon the conversation lulls to a silence.

"I'll get this one," you say, plucking the book from her hands. Her face lights up again with a wide grin. She tells you you'll love it, and you take her word for it. You take a look at the author's name, Lauren Faust. You take note of her name and look around for any other books by her.

Even though you didn't plan on it, you spend the rest of the day at that old library, flipping through book after book.