Page 62 of Must Love Libraries and Libations
The others nodded.
“I need to get ready to make the opening comments. I’ll talk with you all later,” I told them, then headed off, making my way toward the podium. It had been placed so the library windows served as my backdrop.
I smoothed my dress, downed the last of the champagne for a little more liquid courage, then joined Elder Theodonna, who was lingering nearby.
“Elder,” I said, gently taking her arm. “I think it’s time. The crowd has gathered, and everyone who wanted a drink has one.”
“Oh, of course. Let’s get at it, shall we?”
Together, Elder Theodonna and I went to the podium. I clicked my fingers, sending off a soft melodic chime across the party, to let everyone know we were about to open the festivities. The spell rolled across the lawn, notes drifting along a glimmering golden staff that wavered in the air.
The sweet sound brought the room to silence, and the crowd gathered in.
Elder Theodonna went to the podium. Working her hands, she cast a quick spell to allow her voice to amplify, carrying her words to everyone gathered.
“Friends and family, I am delighted to welcome you all tonight to the eleventy-first birthday celebration of Moonshine Hollow’s beloved library!”
At that, the crowd clapped politely.
“On behalf of all the elders of Moonshine Hollow, I thank you all for coming. Tonight, we gather to eat, drink, be merry, and leave our donations before we depart,” she added with a laugh, gesturing to the donations well. “But now, I turn the podium over to the young woman who was the mastermind behind this event, none other than our own Primrose Windsong!”
The crowd clapped loudly, Rosalyn whistling as I stepped to the podium.
I cleared my throat and smiled at the assembled guests. “My dearest fellow citizens, I welcome you tonight to this celebration of our beloved Moonshine Hollow Library. For eleventy-one years, this magnificent structure behind us has offered our community so much. From young wizards and witches learning from spellbooks to historians looking for lost facts to…” My eyes drifted across the party to my parents. “To garden-loving elves looking for guides to rare fungi or mothers searching for something to occupy aimless children, the library has always been a resource to us. It started as nothing more than a cart full of books, which gathered the attention of our scholarly friends, the bookwyrms, who planted the Wyrmwood tree they now call home. Ever guarded by its faithful gargoyle, our library is an integral part of our community. It is magic made of wood, stone, love, and decades of care. Tonight, I am honored to celebrate the birthday of this beloved institution. Let’s thank her for her care,” I said, turning back toward the library.
I snapped my fingers in an attempt to trigger the spell I had laid at the foundation of the library, an enchantment that was intended to light up the entire library for a brief moment in colorful light, but the spell did not discharge.
It was almost like it was tangled or defused.
Frowning, I chuckled lightly. “Let’s try this one more time,” I told the audience with a laugh. “Let’s thank her for her care,” I said again, this time making my snap obvious. The gesture made the crowd, who had no doubt suffered through their own misfiring spells, chuckle.
But this time…
This time when I snapped, the unexpected happened.
The spell triggered the magical light engulfing the building.
But there was more, so much more.
The curtains that had blocked the windows were not the real curtains at all but an enchantment. At the sound of my snap, they, too, began to fizzle away. Sparks of golden light snapped as the curtains disappeared to reveal a fully illuminated library…and the glowing red blossoms of the Wyrmwood tree.
There, sitting in the window, was Stevenson, who had pressed his paws against the glass and was staring at the cupcake display with a sparkle in his eyes. When he could finally see, he jumped up and down in excitement.
As charming as he was, my breath was taken away by the sound of beating wings as Erasmus dropped from the roof of the library where he must have been sitting in shadowed darkness. Taking a moment to shake his wings, he tucked them in once more then smoothed his tuxedo jacket. He stepped forward, a single sunflower in his hand. When he reached me, he handed me the flower then met my gaze and held it.
He held it too long before the crowd.
So long that I knew they would see.
Winifred would see.
My mother would see.
He held it long enough for me to see.
He was sorry.
And…
