[Altered Scene[NPC Shifts Narrative[Stop, Happy]

  Paula walked into the library about an hour before closing time, hoping to chat with Eldara but Eldara was in the middle of story time and stood in the center of about twenty children, quite a few moms and one dad.

  Once upon a time in a town much like ours a great wind blew and blew and blew. Everyone stayed inside while the wind blew because it could knock the fattest man in the village, flat onto his back. So the children knew if even great fat Hock stayed inside they’d have to too.

  When the wind stopped blowing, the children all ran outside and the ground was covered with blue flowers. The children knew that the sky had broken and fallen as flowers. So they ran to the town wise woman Goldberry. They told her the sky had fallen.

  Goldberry said to the children, collect every piece of the sky and I’ll glue it together and tomorrow, you’ll have your deep blue sky back and tomorrow night you’ll have a surprise.

  So the children worked all day collecting the flowers, bringing baskets upon baskets to her to repair the sky. What if we can’t find them all, the sky will have holes. No Goldberry assured them, just bring me all the flowers and everything will be alright.

  The next day the children got up and the sky was as blue as it ever was before, that night before they went to bed they looked up at the night sky and the usually black sky now twinkled with light.

  The next morning the children ran to Goldberry and marveled about the twinkling lights. Goldberry said the pieces of sky that were missing I filled in with stars so now the sky at night is as beautiful as the sky during the day all due to the hard work of the children of our town.

  The End

  The children all jumped up clapping and laughing, shouting thank you Eldara, who gave a quick bow.

  “Don’t forget storytime the day after tomorrow, we’re going to learn about levers. How would you like to be able to lift, great fat Hock? I know I would. See you all then.”

  Then a long line of children and parents formed behind the librarian's desk so they could check out their books before the library closed. Paula joined the end of the line just before closing.

  Then she reached the desk. “I never knew a librarian's job was so busy.”

  “Don’t you mean fun”

  “Yes I suppose it is, especially if you like children.”

  “Don’t you like children, Paula.”

  “I really don’t know any, in my old job, I dealt mainly with elderly actors, who often acted like children, or at least my idea of children.”

  “Henry and Martha you mean, I hope my library kids don’t start acting like them.”

  “Yeah, Henry and Martha were the most outrageous, I think that’s why Paula featured them in the book. Shock value, comedy relief. But the others all had their own foibles, which sometimes made them hard to deal with. But I didn’t come down here to talk about my former employers, I came to ask you on a date.”

  Eldara blushed. “I thought you were dating someone.”

  “Very briefly, but it never made it past the occasional kiss and as he is a very handsy fellow, a few butt squeezes. But we are very different people and I’d say incompatible people.”

  “How about we go for a drink, there’s a tavern not too far from the library. I sometimes stop into the ‘Hole in the Wall’ . It's small, quiet. Paula, Would that be alright?”

  “Actually that sounds perfect.”

  A little while later they were seated in a small booth. Eldara with a glass of white wine and Paula a large glass of ale.

  “Well, this was a nice surprise, I expected to cook supper then read tonight, this is much more pleasant.”

  “Thanks for me too, I really like Rose and Lu and they’ve been incredibly generous in opening their home to me but if I had to watch them make heart eyes at each other, without a break. I don’t know what I’d have done to myself.”

  Eldara laughs. “They do seem very much in love, and that can be hard to be around when you’re not and would like to be.”

  “See that’s part of the problem, I don’t know what ‘I’ want. Ever since Rose showed up in my life with Talbert. I’m just a character, I think I’m just an extension of Talbert. She’s not even trying to hide it. We’re both named Paula, she couldn’t even dream up a name for me so she used her own. So the things I want, ‘like a date with you who I thought was intriguing’ is this something I want or Talbert.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Paula, That is an existential crisis, but don’t think just because you started as fictional that you are the only person to have them. I’m as far as I know non-fictional but I can’t prove that I’m not-fictional. A few weeks ago you learned you were fictional, I might learn the same tomorrow. Even Talbert and Rose still have the potential to be fictional. Just think of the implications of that.”

  “Gods that’d make me fictional twice removed. That’s even worse.”

  “How is that worse? You can be fictional or non, but you can’t be fictional squared nor can you be non-fictional. But there isn’t a non-fictional person in any world that can prove he is non-fictional. Just as you assumed you were non-fictional, so all non-fictionals assume until we’re proven not.”

  “Wow, now you’ve made the whole of all worlds feel bad.”

  “How so.”

  “By saying that all that exists is fictional, makes nothing real.”

  “Right, I thought that’d be reassuring. See I was brought up in a very harsh household. The only things my parents cared about was that I followed their arbitrary rules and I achieved whatever goal they put before me. Their first goal was that their daughter have black hair, weekly from the age of three it was dyed. I was pushed and shoved down a very narrow path. I graduated from college in Quintessence with a masters degree in Engineering and a minor in Technology studies, because my parents didn’t want me to stray from the Engineering department. After my graduation my father arranged for my employment in his engineering firm. On the day that was to be my first day of work, I took a coach to Wyldwood. I finally pushed back against the authors of my life. I haven’t spoken to them since. I’m sure that I’m a great disappointment to them and I don’t care because I love my life here. I love the library, the kids, even the couple doing inappropriate things in the cooking section are surprising and wonderful. You asking me out on a date is surprising and wonderful. Fictional parents driving me down their path, or non-fictional parents driving me down their path. What's the difference? I’m here, alive and that sure beats dead.”

  “Ouch, why’d you pinch me.”

  “To prove you are alive. Now tell me, is that better than dead?”

  “Yes, much better than dead. You have surprising strong fingers, and for the record I love your hair it’s what first drew my attention to you. Although I’m surprised that after being forced to dye it you still do.”

  “The reason my parents wanted it dyed was to hide fey blood somewhere in our family tree. No rainbow colored is my natural color, and I can prove it on our third date and show just how useful strong fingers can be. But I gave you that long speech about my life, tell me about yours, what’s your favorite book.”

  “Well you know about my losing my father at an impressionable age, drove me down the path to being a spy. Which turned out poorly. My mom worked her tail off to support the two of us. I studied non stop to get scholarships to Oxford. I went to Oxford because Tolkien, was, is, ever shall be my favorite author. I just wanted to be in the same space as him. My favorite book is “The Fellowship of the Ring” because it’s the last book that Gandalf is Gandalf, I preferred the grey to the white. I’ve never been in a long term relationship, a couple girls and a boy in college. No one since, a spy shouldn't have a family. You shouldn’t have to lie to your wife/husband/kids everytime you walk out the door. I lived my life for work as a spy. Now that it’s done I’m at loose ends.”

  “I have a question for you, what’s Talbert’s favorite book.”

  “Well she’d probably say whatever it is she’s reading. But I think her all time favorite is ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ she told me she’s read it many times.”

  “Wow, that's quite different from Fellowship, almost polar opposites but both great books. If I was an author and my favorite book was a thriller / mystery I’d think that a character I based on me would be raised reading Nancy Drew or Enola Holmes or any of the other age appropriate female detectives, not a pastoral author like Tolkien. It’s almost like you or your dad choose not Talbert.”

  “I see what you did there, and I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “I’ll bet you’d see a lot more if you just a little more closely. You should talk to Juliet about all this. In fact I can’t think of a better person to talk to. She is as far different from Rose as possible and has always pushed back against Rose, yet Rose still loves her like a sister. Talbert will too, I think. I don’t know her very well but she seems nice and open minded. So let me ask you another blunt and pointed question. Am I just a fling? It’s Ok if I am, I’m very open minded. I’m just wondering if you might consider staying here in Wyldwood for some time or is this just a vacation?”

  “I’d love to stay here for a while, I’m just not sure what I’d do for money.”

  “You’d be surprised what little money you need to live a simple life here. Of course if you want a castle or tower you’d have to pony up. Any money on Earth, can be changed. We mostly use coins because Oberon would never let prices rise. I make 5gp a week and live very comfortably. I could have made twenty times that as an engineer but I wouldn’t enjoy it.”

  “Really I could take money on earth and bring it here?”

  “Well it’s probably easier to just change it there, buy some gold and bring it here trade for coins.”

  “Rose, paid me an insane amount of money for that heist job. When Rose and Talbert found me on the beach that day to tell me I was fictional and ask for my help. I thought they were either lying or just joking around. So Rose asked me how much money I wanted to help out. I told her ten million dollars. She transferred the money on the spot. Later when I asked her to take it back she asked why? I told her that I never expected her to pay me, let alone that crazy amount of money. If I brought that much gold here I could build a tower next to Sparky. Bibliomancy power is insane, and Rose doesn’t even think about it, she sees a way to help someone and just runs with it. But if someone evil had that kind of power I shudder to think what they could do. But to answer your original question, I’d like to stay here and now that I know that I have the money to do so, I will.”

  “So will you work? Spy? Detective? Security?”

  “Your going to laugh, at what I’d like to do Paula 2.0”

  “What I promise I won’t laugh.”

  “I’d like to work in a bakery.”

  “What’s funny about that, you help feed people everyday, noble work. You should talk to Lily. I bet you ten million dollars she’d take you on as an apprentice.”

  “You, really think so?”

  “I’m sure of it, she’ll take all the free labor she can get.”

  “Eldara, I’m so glad I got up the courage to ask you out, you’ve solved half of my life’s on just one date.”

  “Well in that case walk me home, kiss me goodnight and if that goes well, lets have a second date.”