Today's #flashfiction #TheScholarsDance

“He's dead Jim.”

Doctor House* #quote

Today I hung out with CJ, the merriment was had, (similar to fun being had but in a slightly different style). Anyway onto the flash fiction!

The Scholar’s Dance

             The scholar sat in the library reading an abused book. He nearly cried as he flipped the pages, he thought no book should be treated in such a way. Over the many years he had read books he had felt a sort of connection form between him and them. The scholar had long machine gray hair, because of all the time he spent reading he often forgot to cut it. His shirt had an obnoxious plaid pattern; the colors were so loud they disrupted the silence of the library. His skin had become a pale tint, he never spent any time in the sun, the library had no windows, so he couldn’t pry himself away from the texts long enough to go outside. His large flabby bottom was constantly sore because he refused to read anywhere besides his favorite chair in the back. It was brand new when he read his first book seventy years ago. Now it could barely supported his weight and creaked with every movement. The only reason the librarian kept the chair was for him.

          The old book he was holding flew away from him. He looked on in shock as the pages of the book flew apart and fluttered in the air like butterflies. They started to form into some sort of tornado. Around and around they went, tightening closer and closer to something in the middle. After a few seconds the pages stopped flying and fell to the ground, revealing a woman.

           She had gray hair like his, but it glowed with her eternal youth. The woman had perfect skin and a perfect figure, and stood with a perfect posture. To the scholar she seemed to be young enough to be his granddaughter, but he somehow also knew that she was many years his senior. He marveled at her dress, it was made of the finest silk, and had a white color dotted with millions of black dots swirling down its sides. When she walked towards him the dress flowed and folded, the pattern giving the illusion of monochrome waves flowing around her. When he looked closely at the dots, he realized they were actually words printed in some infinitely small font.

         She did not speak to him; she simply extended her arm towards him and smiled. Even without words he understood her gesture. She wanted to dance. He stood up and took her hand. A soon as he did that the mysterious lady pulled him toward her. She began to dance with him, his frail old body unable to keep up with her strides as she threw him about like a rag doll. She danced dances nobody had ever done before. It seemed as though she was simply making them up. But the scholar knew she wasn’t, her strides were so methodical that it seemed she had known these dances since birth.

He tried to keep up with her; he learned her dances as fast as he could. But as soon as he mastered one she began another. She pulled the scholar through every section in the library. She whisked him through the Fantasy section, tossed him through the History section, and drifted with him through the Romance section, stopping to kiss him before moving on to Horror.

          The scholar fell deeply in love with this woman, whoever she was. He wanted to know every one of her infinite dances. He felt like she had made him fall into some bottomless pit of love. He looked at her eyes as if they were a book cover. It was a great cover for such a beautiful woman, vibrant and bright. He felt like she was reading her, every step being a page of a wonderful story of love.

          She stopped in the front of the library, next to the exit and let go of his hand. When he stopped feeling her touch he grew cold. She began to walk out the door.

          “No don’t leave! I want to keep dancing,” he begged for at least few more steps at her side. She continued on her way out. He didn’t want her to leave the library it was his only home. “Please don’t go! I don’t even know you’re name!”

           “My name is Knowledge.” she replied. Now he knew the why he had fallen in love with her. She was the reason he had read all those books over the years. He was trying to find her all along.      “You may keep dancing with me if you wish. But only a few dances I know are within this library. My steps go far beyond these pages. And to learn all my dances you must go outside with me.” She continued to walk out the door.

        The scholar looked behind him at the entirety of the library. He had fallen in love with the books contained inside. He bid his books farewell and grabbed her hand once more. Together they strode out of the library and began the next dance.