CUS 5.5 - Parts 3-4

Three:

Hawthorne grew from a sleepy, strange infant, to a quiet and stranger child. They could often be found 10 paces behind Librarian, and they learned quickly to read, write, and of course- shelve books. There were books Hawthorne was allowed to read, and books they were not allowed to read. Hawthorne wasn't sure why that was the case, nor why some rooms would be locked one day, and unlocked the next, but they accepted that this was simply How Things Were- in the way that children often do. But one day, there was a flutter of pages, and Hawthorne heard the Library creak, and whisper to them- "I know you. You are mine." This did not frighten Hawthorne, it simply felt true.

Read a book you, or someone else, might consider cozy or comforting.

Four:

And somehow, Hawthorne continued to grow. They grew into a wide-eyed teenager, with many questions, and not enough answers. The Library claiming them no longer felt like a comforting truth, but more like a threatening cage. The Librarian would not answer their question, and seemed to be hiding things from them. Some days the Library would unlock a door, and Librarian would come quickly, and lock it back before Hawthorne could open it. This did not settle well for the strange teenager, and they found themselves writing letters and slipping them into books, hoping that their questions would one day be answered by a book showing itself to them, replies in the margins. The Library was watching Hawthorne, and the Librarian, and the Library was hatching a plan.

Read a book you've been putting off the longest despite being curious about it.