The Oracle | By Teh Su Syuen
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| Illustration by Sammi and Yameen. |
Celine blinked as the frost kissed her face, captivated by the soft, dusty illusions of light that sat on her eyelashes. Her breath rose in visible puffs to join the cloudy night sky. There was a freezing chill in the air that brought crispness to the leaves, bejewelled with frost, crunching underfoot. Another day had flown by, and she was trudging back to her apartment, kicking herself inwardly for missing the last bus after her night shift. Perhaps she would have been able to enjoy a warm cozy night with some hot chocolate by then. With a soft smile, her mind drifted back to him. He would surely enjoy that too, she thought.
Just then, a sign lit up at the side of the road. From here, it looked like one of the cafes one would easily come across whenever they were in town, but upon closer inspection, she realised it was a library. The building was made of bricks and when she peered behind the glass window, she could see books displayed on rows of shelves. Sensing that she had never been to this particular library before, she entered.
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| Photo by Brendon Ban Ren Jie. |
Walking into the library felt like walking into a maze of stacks. Bookshelves were arranged in a way that made the whole place feel like giant blocks of dominoes. The room smelled musty, and though it looked old, there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen anywhere; clearly the library was well taken care of. It was lit by ceiling lights that created a warm and cozy atmosphere. However, in contrast to the welcoming aura of the place, it was missing the most important aspect that most stores would have: the people.
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| Photo by Brendon Ban Ren Jie. |
“Welcome to The Oracle.” A man in his mid-30s stepped out from the shadows and asked, “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
The man didn’t say anything else and merely stared at Celine as he awaited her answer. He had long eyes, dark eyebrows slightly raised as he smiled. The man carried himself with a courteous air, suggesting that he was the librarian who worked there.
“Not really,” she answered, looking around the vast interior once more. “Is there anything you would recommend?”
Without missing a beat, the librarian smiled, as if he’d been waiting for her to say that. “Of course, I’ll be right back,” he said, turning away towards another section immediately, like he knew exactly what she would be interested in. He gestured to the bookshelves. “Feel free to take a look at our other books in the meantime.”
Saying her thanks, she turned to one of the wooden bookshelves and glanced at the titles. Strange, she thought. These books all had names as their titles. Alexander Theo. Alexandra Hepson. Blaine Jeffer. Nicole Feys. Lyvia Peterr. She reeled, astonished. These aren’t ordinary books.
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| Photo on Mental Floss Magazine. |
“Judging from your reaction, you seem to have realised that this isn’t a normal library.”
Celine spun around to face Mr Librarian as he walked back into the room, a smile still hanging on his face. “Quite extraordinary, isn’t it?”
The words died on her lips as Celine stared blankly at him, urging him to give her some explanation of what he meant. She didn’t peg this place as sketchy, but she surely hadn’t seen or been here before, and that was saying something, considering that she had technically been to every library or bookstore in town.
She heard the hint of a laugh in his voice as he responded, “This...” He spread his arms wide open and around the library. “...is a library that has the biographies of everyone on Earth, including yours.” Then he handed her a book bound in black hard cover, titled Celine Kingz. Her careful, calculating eyes scrutinised the book in his hand. Hesitantly, she accepted the book. “This better not be some kind of prank,” she muttered, before she flipped the book open and started to read.
Age: 8. It was a fine day at the park. Perched on top of the fluffy picnic blanket, I looked over at my older brother running on the flush green meadow, laughing as he took in the picturesque view of our picnic site. Just then, he gave me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, gesturing for me to follow him. Sharing his excitement, I returned his smile, and headed towards him.
Age: 10. I fell off my bike today. Blood was already oozing from my wound by the time I reached the front door. My brother’s eyes widened in shock and he immediately ushered me into the living room. Opening up the first aid kit, he started tending to my wounds with trembling hands. “Are you okay?” he mumbled softly, glancing away from my wound to see me nodding my head.
“I’m okay as long as you’re here, brother,” I said.
He sighed but managed a smile for me. “I won’t always be here when something goes wrong, sis.” He held out his pinky finger towards me. “You’ve got to be more careful, promise?”
Smiling, I wrapped my pinky around his. “I promise.”
Age: 15. I entered the house and found no one in it. No decorations. No birthday cake. And no birthday boy. After searching every room in the house, I came across a written note stuck on the refrigerator. It read:
“By the time you guys read this note, mom and brother have already left. Don’t wait up on us, because we won’t be coming back. I’m sorry that we had to leave like this, but it’s for the best. Please do not search for us either. Thank you for everything, and I hope you both have a good life. ~Mom”
As my eyes scanned the words on the note, I covered my mouth to hold back a sob. They left us. Left me. Once the first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream and raced down my cheeks. By the time my dad came home, he found my body in a dishevelled heap on the floor, with a little wrapped birthday gift that I had dropped earlier by my side.
Age: 19. The strong aroma of ground coffee beans fills my nose as I make my rounds in the busy cafe. Mina, my colleague, was working the shift with me. “You’re still in university, aren’t you? You’re a hardworking little fella,” she said.
I shrugged. “Well, I need the money. To find my brother.”
Seeing Mina’s questioning gaze, I explained to her, “I was hoping to get more information about my brother’s whereabouts with the money, he and my mom left two years ago.”
She blinked, taking in the information. “I see. Well, I hope you find your brother soon,” she said softly and patted my shoulder.
I felt a little ache in my heart as I sighed, “I hope so too.”
Age: 20. I’ve been suffering from a terrible headache the whole day. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working myself too hard. My head throbbed as I wiped the counters and tables in the cafe, and my vision went fuzzy for a few seconds before returning to normal. At closing time, I locked up the cafe and walked outside. But instead of taking a step forward, I staggered back, my mind swirling and my breaths shallow until I fell in a heap to the floor. The last thing I remembered was seeing someone running towards me, before everything bled into darkness.
Celine’s brows knitted in confusion as she peered at the last page filled with words. “Wait, that can’t be it,” she exclaimed, flipping to the other pages in the back only to find them empty, a stale white in contrast to the black wordings in front. “What about everything that’s happening right now?”
The librarian put up both his hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just a librarian here, not the Wizard of Oz, but…” He pointed to the open book in her hand and said, “Maybe the clue in there might give you some answers.”
Looking back at the last page, she let out a small gasp. There was a footnote at the end of the page that showed her where to find this stranger’s biography. That’s it. That’s her lead.
“Could you take me to it?” Celine asked the librarian, unable to keep the anxiety from her voice. She wanted to know who this person was and what actually happened to her.
“Of course, that’s my job,” he said, smiling as he led the way to another shelf. “This….” He removed a white-bound book from its place, titled Noah Jackson. “...should be the one that you’re searching for,” he said, handing the book over to her.
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| Photo on Wayfaring views. |
Mumbling her thanks, she found herself holding her breath as she accepted it. What actually happened? Flipping open the pages, she’s ready to find out.
Age: 19. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my bleary eyes. Helping Cole with his assignment was probably not a good idea. Deciding to take a break, I got up and walked around the library. My thoughts drifted to the main reason why I proposed to help with Cole’s assignment: it reminded me of her. Her little smiles as she read her favourite book. Her tiptoeing to get the books located on the higher shelves just because I refused to get them for her. Her grumbling when she couldn’t understand a topic she was studying. Sighing softly, I thought to myself as I closed the book and trudged back to my seat, I wonder what my little sis is doing now.
Age: 21. Cole and I were on our way back to the dorms after classes. It’s been a long day, and I couldn’t wait to bury my face into my pillow. Breaking the silence, Cole nudged me to look at his phone. It was a picture from his family, showing them gathered around a table of home-cooked food, wide grins etched on their faces.
“Man, they’re really trying to make me go home sooner,” he laughed, swiping on to the other pictures they sent. “As soppy as it sounds, I actually really miss them.” He glanced at me before asking, “How ‘bout you, do you miss your family?”
My mind wandered back to my little sister. “Yeah, I miss them a lot.”
Reading up to this point, Celine could tell that the boy was a very warm and compassionate person who valued family a great deal. She continued flipping through the pages to get to the part where she had fainted.
Her heart caught in her chest when she saw her name written in bold, cursive letters at the top of a page. Why does he have a whole chapter for me? she thought. Could he be ‒?
Anxiously, she started reading her chapter in his book, hoping that her guess had been right.
Celine Kingz
Age: 12. My sister fell off her bike today. I fought a rising panic as I inspected her wound. Using the first aid kid, I started treating her wounded knee gently, trying hard to stop my hands from trembling. I asked if she’s okay and checked her body for other wounds. Relief coursed through me when she nodded her head.
“I’m okay as long as you’re here, brother,” she said. Hearing her utter those words, I felt a little bitter, knowing that I won’t be able to constantly watch over her like a guardian angel. Nonetheless, I smiled, holding out my pinky to her and asked her to promise she’ll be more careful next time. When she wrapped her pinky finger around mine, my heart warmed immensely, wishing that I could stay this happy forever.
Age: 17. Mom shook me awake. She was dressed up nicely, as if ready to go out.
“We’re leaving, son. A taxi is on its way to pick us up,” she said softly, her lips quivering.
I stared at her in disbelief before seeing two suitcases by her side: one of them was hers, while the other...was mine. “What?”
Just then, the taxi honked, signalling its arrival. Promising to explain everything to me later, she rushed me to get dressed and went to wait for me in the taxi.
In the car, I sat as still as a statue when she told me that she was going to remarry and that we were going to live somewhere else starting from now on. We weren’t going home ever again. I won’t ever see my dad or little sister again. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I turned to look out the window, seeing the dark, grey clouds hanging heavy in the sky as it wept. It was the worst birthday ever.
Age: 22. Although it was getting late, I headed downtown to a famous cafe that my friend recommended, hoping that it hadn’t closed just yet. Unfortunately, the cafe was just being closed up by a lady. Just as I was ready to turn back, I got a glimpse at the familiar-looking lady who wasn’t looking too well. I stepped towards her, intending to ask if she was alright.
All of a sudden, she crumpled to the floor. Alarmed, I rushed towards her to check her condition. My heart stopped as I realized why she seemed so familiar: the person lying on the ground in front of me was my little sister.
Hurriedly, I took her in my arms and called for a taxi, wanting to get to the hospital as fast as we can. “Everything is going to be alright,” I said softly, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me as I gently ran a hand across her pale cheek. “I’m here now.”
Letting out a breath that she unknowingly held, Celine sank to her knees and hugged the book in her hands, hoping that this wasn’t just some cruel dream and that it was true. Tears were running down her face and her shoulders sagged from the relief and happiness she felt. I’ve finally found him.
Mr Librarian appeared beside her, patting the top of her head lightly. “It’s time to wake up,” he said, smiling as gently as before.
Celine closed her eyes and found everything fading into black. The next thing she knew, she could feel the soft fabric of bedsheets beneath her, the pungent smell of disinfectant invading her nostrils. Someone was holding her hand. Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting in attempt to sharpen the blurred images before her.
It was him. Right beside her, he clasped her hand tightly, as if he was afraid of letting her go. His red, puffy eyes widened upon seeing her awake, staring at her as if she had returned from the dead.
Then, with a soft smile, he whispered, “You’re finally awake.”
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