It was summer break after sixth grade. The sun was high in the sky, and everyone was either sleeping or traveling. Cleo was going to summer camp.
"Hey, Cleo! How are you?" Mr. Ray said, giving Cleo a high five. "The sun's not getting to you, right?"
"No, I'm good."
Cleo walked towards the shade to put down her bag, and just as she turned around, she saw a boy walking over. He was tall and slim. His short, brown hair flopped a bit in the light breeze, and his soft, brown eyes smiled as he high-fived the teacher. His smile was genuine, compared to the judgmental and condescending smirks Cleo saw at school. But the worst part was that she already knew him. She had met him first during an interschool event that had happened shortly before the end of the school year.
Cleo looked away as he walked over. She did not want him to catch her staring.
The summer went on. Cleo became friends with the boy. They spent almost their entire time at the camp together. Eating lunch, having fun, and telling each other jokes. But one summer cannot last forever.
"Cleo, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..." the boy said to Cleo one day. "I...I know that you like me, but I don't think we're meant to be."
Cleo blinked. "Oh...okay."
A moment of silence passed.
"Then..." Cleo bit her lip. "Can we still be friends?"
"I'm sorry, Cleo."
He walked away.
A few weeks later, the school year began. Cleo was on her way to school, when she heard a few girls giggling in a small alleyway. She could hear their shrieks of laughter as well as a voice that was all to familiar to her.
"I knew she liked me, so I decided to humor her."
They were talking about Cleo.
"Oh, you're so funny, Nathan!" one of the girls said.
Cleo sucked in a breath. Surely this was not Nathan. He was not this kind of person.
"I can't believe she really fell for it."
Laughter echoed through the alleyway.
"I've never seen anyone as dumb and naive as she was."
***
Cleo woke up gasping for air. She was still in her clothes from last night. Her hair was a mess, and she had no idea what happened with Rosa. She stood up, brushed her hair, and changed.
A knock sounded at her door.
"Theo?" Cleo said, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry about last night. I didn't know that Cecil would act out like that."
"It's fine," Cleo motioned for him to enter the room. She closed the door.
The two of them made their way to the balcony, and there they stood, looking over the path below. It was already midday, and the sun was shining brightly over the academy grounds. A gust of wind blew past, ruffling Cleo's hair.
"I hate him," she said, leaning her elbows on the railing.
"What do you mean?" Theo asked, mimicking her position.
"Cecil."
"But you seemed to like him enough before. What changed?"
Cleo turned around, resting her back on the side of the balcony instead. "I liked him because he was perfect. Because he was a character in a book that had no flaws, since he didn't exist. But now that he's real, he's not the same anymore."
She looked down at the floor. "He's vulnerable. He's emotional, and he's..."
"...human."
Theo nodded in understanding. "I spent so much time with him before everything in the main plot happened. You could imagine my surprise when I found him running around his room trying to find his underwear like any normal person."
Cleo laughed. "He's different, alright."
"I think you should talk to him. Resolve your issues."
"No..."
"I think he'd like that."
Cleo stood up. She began making her way back inside. Theo tried to follow, but she flicked him over the side of the balcony with her magic. Then she closed the door behind her.
As Theo struggled to steady himself and soften his landing, he heard a single phrase.
"No, he wouldn't."
***
That day, three students died while sparring because someone had put poison on their swords. Now, only sixteen of the original twenty kids remained. The academy was in an uproar. Nobody knew what had happened, and who had done it.
Cleo was not fazed. Everything was done by the librarian, Julius Augustus. She had been avoiding the library on purpose in order to not bump into him, but now the only way to sort everything out was to go find him.
***
The ceremony for Rosa and the three boys was over. Cleo made her way to the academy's library. She opened the grand, polished wooden doors, and walked up the ornate, marble steps until she reached the highest floor of the building. There, she continued all the way down a hallway lined with portraits of previous headmasters, until she was standing before a small, simple door at the end of the hall. She opened the door.
On the other side was a small study with walls lined with bookshelves. A large, floor to ceiling window covered the far wall. A man seemingly in his forties stood by it. He had dark brown hair that was tied into a ponytail, trailing down to his waist. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, facing away from Cleo. He turned slowly, his glasses catching the reflection of the sunlight, momentarily keeping his eyes from view.
"Cleo!" the librarian said.
Recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning. "You-"
"It's been too long."
***
The reflection on the man's glasses was gone now. And in the place of the light were a pair of bright, inquisitive eyes. Red like the sunset. Red like the eyes of a person in a picture back in Cleo's room. Those were eyes that she knew well.
Those were her eyes.
And the eyes of a father that was no longer here.
"...Dad?" Cleo said, not believing the words coming out her mouth.
"I'm sorry," the man said, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge. "I'm afraid you've got the wrong person, dear."
Cleo blinked at him.
"I am Julius Vanderbilt Augustus. And frankly, I've never met you in my entire life."
"But you said that-"
"No, no, no, dear. You must have misheard. If you haven't entered this library, then that means we've never seen each other, understood?"
He winked at her.
Abruptly, the door to the office room burst open. On the other side was a very sweaty, out of breath, and discombobulated teacher.
"Ah, Ms. Mintz. How lovely of you to join us."
The woman looked up, noting the presence of Cleo and Mr. Augustus in the room, and straightened, attempting to rebuild the dignity that she had lost.
"Cleo," she greeted, dusting herself off. "There you are. Theo's been looking for you for ages already."
Cleo did not move. The woman, Laura Cyprus Mintz, had black hair, long enough to accidentally sit on, and brown eyes. The kindest, most loving brown eyes to ever rest on a face. And a smile, a smile that was warm enough to melt the coldest of hearts. Who was this woman, who so similarly resembled Cleo's mom? Just who exactly is Laura Cyprus Mintz?
"Now, now, dear. Off you go now."
Cleo nodded, and walked towards the door. Then she stopped.
"It was an accident. I was hit by a truck."
Ms. Mintz gasped.
Mr. Augustus sighed.
"You seemed like you wanted to know."
Cleo left the room. She knew that she was not supposed to know, but at least now, she knew that they were alive.
***
Mr. Augustus paced around the room, fidgeting with his hands.
"You know what it means if she's back," Ms. Mintz said, putting a hand on the librarian's shoulder.
"I know, Laura. Now, what are we going to do? Just let her die?"
"It's what the letter said. We should follow it. I'm sure everything will end up okay."
"Do you know who sent that letter? How can we just trust someone like that? We don't even know who wrote that! It could be some kind of demon! And you're just going to-"
"Julius!" Ms. Mintz hissed, slapping him across the face. "Don't talk about our daughter like that!"
He blinked in surprise. "W-who?"
"She's trapped. You know where."
"Then we should do something! If things continue along the same path, then she would just end up back there again!"
"We can't do anything. We barely escaped from there with our lives. We can't anger him anymore. We can't change anything. Not when the collector demands his due."
Mr. Augustus closed his eyes and took his glasses off. He massaged his temples.
"Then what do you suggest we do? If she dies, he'll just swoop in and put her in his little collection."
"She'll find a way to escape. After all, we did."
"We did it together. The top is not an easy place to break out of."
"I'm sure she's not alone either," Ms. Mintz smiled.
***
Rosa opened her eyes. She was free at last. She quickly got out of the hospital bed, and ran out into the hallway. Now she could finally reunite with her friends. But Ari was nowhere to be found. Rosa walked down the hall, past many different rooms, each labeled with a name that seemed strangely familiar to her, despite the fact that she had never met any of these people. At the end of the hallway was a room with the door open. Ari was inside, leaning on the bed, head in her arms, hands tightly holding onto the patient's hand.
"Rosa?" Ari looked up. She sniffed, wiping her tears away.
"What happened?" Rosa asked, walking further into the room. "What's wrong?"
"She's gone. She's gone."
Rosa slowly approached the bed where the patient was resting. She could see that this person's heart rate was a flat line. But beneath all of the medical equipment, she could not make out the patient's face. She could see the information on one of the monitors glowing eerily in the far corner of the room. She made her way around the bed until she stood before the screen. But it could not be possible.
"She's gone," Rosa whispered in disbelief.
"I know," Ari mumbled. Her eyes were red from crying. "I didn't think it was real."
Rosa tried to speak, but her mouth could not form words.
Ari sucked in a breath. She had been avoiding speaking the name of the patient, believing that if she did not admit the truth, then it had not happened. But no matter how much she hoped, she could not change reality.
"Cleo's gone."