Turning A Page Yourself

     The din of the city was almost too much to bear at times, with bikes the obvious outlier to find some silence. Arpagius often questioned moving to a suburban town in Neopia, where he could avoid the crowds, the hustle and bustle of work in a library only young Neopets seemed to visit on the weekend with their parents. He envied the quiet life he saw in the shows and the paper, photos of families and lawns to preen, Petpets to spoil and take for walks.

     Sometimes he missed the sound of only a few cars passing by, but now their screeching tires and blaring horns amid the rush of city air was what through him out of loop. On the way home from his shift at the library, he used to make a point to take a scenic detour, every single time, finding each and every puddle after the rain and each misplaced trashcan on the curb. There had been something mundane about this pattern, but it was one that kept him happy.

     There was no room in the city, but there used to be. Then his routes became overrun by trash and pedestrians, often driving him off the sidewalk and into a puddle he'd otherwise enjoy. The skies were often dark, another feature of the city he used to enjoy, but now it only weighed him down, brought forth a sadness he couldn't comprehend. Everyone hear was a drab, dreary color, fur stained by the rain...

     "What's got you down?" an eldery Eyrie whispered, placing her spotted paws on the checkout counter. Arpagius blinked, looking up from the books he was mindlessly stamping so they could be put back on their shelves. Apparently, he had been stamping the same page a few hundred times.

     "How can you tell something's wrong?" he mumbled, trying not to give it away with his eyes.

     The Eyrie chuckled, wings shuffling against her dress. The Lupe smiled in return, but it was a pained effort. Everyone was always so joyful and gentle in the library, something he knew he'd miss if he left. Students, the curious kind, always came in by the drove with their classes, asking questions about books, stories, legends, something that brightened his day.

     "Sometimes I feel like the days go by so slow, and not for me."

     "That's a rather cryptic way to say you're bored," the Eyrie replied, paws now resting on a book she had set before her. Something for children, and he immediately looked around. She gestured with a wing to a young Aisha sitting at a table, coloring furiously with a few other younger Neopets.

     "People can only take books for so long, until they want something else in their lives. My Doreen is the same. Never sitting still, but she has her favorite book."

     It must have been this one. The Very Hungry Hopso. The pages were worn and torn at the sides, some corners missing due to incessant dog-earing. Arpagius slowly drew the book closer, grabbing a check-out slip to put into the book's pocket.

     "Oh, she'll complain on the way home, just watch. 'Mommy, can we read it now? Can't you read it while we walk?' It's her favorite time of the month, coming to the library to check out her favorite book..."

     Something in Arpagius warmed at these words, casting another glance to the child again, watching her babble and draw with the others. His own paw hovered against the front page, full of small scribbles, and he couldn't help but wonder if she added to these over the times it had been checked out.

     "It's old," he said quietly, setting the slip aside. The Eyrie tilted her head, feathery brow furrowing. "It's about time we got a new version of this book, but it would be a shame to throw it away... Do you think she'd like to take it home, and keep it?"

     The mother was silent, before she smiled, eyes closing and pressing a paw to her chest. It brought a smile back to the Lupe's muzzle as he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the plastic binding off the book, peeling out the slip pocket. Soon enough, the preserved hardback of the book saw the light of day again, as protected as it could be over the years of being wrapped up.

     "Here," he said, taking a marker and writing 'to Doreen' on the front page, over all the scribbles. "I'm pretty sure she was the only one who ever loved this book as much as I did when I was a pup. It'd be nice to see it go to a good home."

     As he finished up sending the book off to a new home, the little Aisha tottered up to the counter as well, placing her tiny paws over the top and trying to pull herself up. Her mother helped, resting the child on a hip and handing her the book.

     "The nice man said we can keep it, how about that?"

     The little girl gasped, ears perking as she looked at Arpagius with a skeptical glance. The mother showed where her named had been written on the front page, and there was a tiny squeak from the girl as she closed the book and hugged it to her chest. It was more than a warmth now; after they had left, he felt the tears in his eyes. How had he doubted the city so much?

     There may be libraries in the suburbs, but wouldn't it be quieter? Wouldn't it be slower than even the few crowds he saw through the weeks? He ran a claw under his scruffy chin, watching the rest of the library a while before he went back to stamping books. This time, a tad more focused, a tad more with purpose.

     And then, the sun would set. The lights would come on and the crowds would move in tandem, working together as a flowing hive-mind. The library would be closed and the lights put out, Arpagius would find himself stepping out and awash in the glow of buildings and shopping marts turning on their neon signs. The warmth from earlier now settled as a gentle hum in his chest where his heart was, keeping a part of him alive.

     Tonight, the crowds seemed calmer, as if they parted for his arrival on the sidewalk. Fresh puddles littered the street and pavement, but tonight he didn't mind stepping in them, watching the reflecting lights ripple under his boots. All the noise of the city faded into the background, reminding him of the silence he once knew years ago.

     The smell of wet clothes and fur made him smile.

     His ears flicked whenever a stray drop of rain fell onto him.

     In the distance, a Warf yipped at a passerby, one of the few he had seen as the city became more crowded. Had things turned for him in the fleeting moment in the library, or had he managed to turn them for himself? Things weren't terrible. The city sure wasn't. If he gave it up, he would be missing out on the small, opportune joys the abundance of curious and book-seeking Neopets had to offer.

     The End.