Mirai

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"Did you find what you were looking for?" the Librarian asked me once again as I stepped out of the room.

She had a soft smile on her lips and it made it hard to be annoyed over the fact that she yet again asked a question she very well knew the answer to.

"I can't see on demand," I told her, going straight to the point that frustrated me. "Like yes, since my birthday, my ability has definitely strengthened. But I have no control over it. Visions and knowledge and stuff come to me when it feels like it, not when I've ever tried to find the answer."

She didn't reply and I knew why. There was no question. There was only me pouring out what was in my head. So I continued.

"It's more like something that isn't a part of me, whispering and telling me what to do and say and stuff. I don't even know what half of it means. Like how I knew what to tell the owner of the café so that he'd be willing to help me. I don't actually know who Zoe is. I don't know if she is happy or not, except that I do. But I don't know how I know and I certainly don't know how to channel that power, or whatever, into finding out where Tamah is."

I paced back and forth and moved my hair around, wished that I had a hair band to tie it up and out of the way.

"I know the principles of it," I continued. "The Priestess has taught me every single way there is to help force a vision. She's had me try them all out. But I can't see any of them working. Like I tried meditating to find the sphinx, but that was completely pointless and it just feels like it'll be as pointless now. As for all else, like burning sage or drinking tea, all of those have always felt even more useless. That's not how my gift works. That much I know. But I have no idea how it works or how to focus it on a goal."

I stopped pacing and turned to look at the Librarian. She still had a soft smile on her face, but as I stopped, she held out her hand for me. In her hand laid a hair tie. I picked it up, touched her skin in the process of doing it, and the next words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"There'll come a day soon, though still quite far off, when you'll want to ask the questions instead of giving the answers. Don't be afraid of that. Make sure to ask the questions."

I was stunned by what I had said, but even more stunned as I saw the Librarian open her mouth slightly, as if to reply, but no words came out. She was speechless, and I had to be the first one to see her as such, but I knew I wouldn't be the last.

But I also didn't stop to consider any of that for too long because another thought had occurred to me as I had touched her. I didn't need to find out where Tamah was held because a part of me already knew.

I had thought of those whispers that told me things I couldn't possibly know as a separate part of me. But they weren't. It was more like a second consciousness inside of me that knew so much more than what was there for me to see. That, when it looked at something or someone, could see the heart of it and all that had happened and all that would happen to it. I couldn't properly access that consciousness yet for some reason, but it grew stronger and stronger. One day it would be open for me to view it in whole, but as for now, I could only trust that it would guide me and show me the path one step at a time.

"I could always find her. I never needed to go looking for her. So this whole running around the world has been completely pointless," I said and heard the bitterness in my voice.

The Librarian snapped out of her dazed state and shook her head. "There's nothing that's pointless."

I knew she was right and what her words really meant without having to think it over. This whole ordeal was what had opened my eyes to trust my gift, and it had also shown me who Tamah was. If I had only been told who she was, how would I have reacted? Probably with slight fear, and maybe I wouldn't have even wanted to find her. It was like the sphinx had said, Tamah's story was one to see, not to be told.

"I have to leave then," I told the Librarian and turned to go.

"There might be other information that can be useful for you though. You only need to ask the right question," the Librarian said behind me.

I turned back to her for a moment and gave her a smile. Her eyes gazed fixedly at me, but I shook my head. "I know there is. But it's not time yet. All five of us need to be happy first and we need to have something worth fighting for. It's not until then that me, Morana, Danae, Crimson, and Zoe can know how we are connected."

I walked out of the Library. It was well into the night and I considered for a moment. Independent of where she was held, I would have to fight to get her out or sneak. It would be best to be done in the dead of night. But since I had no idea where I would end up when I teleported, I had no way to plan for that to happen. Besides, who knew for how long the Priestess would be lenient enough to let me be at the Library on my own? It was only a matter of time before she sent someone to pick me up.

I took a deep breath. Closed my eyes. Teleported.

As I teleported, I knew what I would look at when I opened my eyes again. I knew where I would end up and it felt so obvious that it was almost shameful that I hadn't realized before.

The Librarian speechless? And the Librarian needing to ask questions at some point in the future? 😯