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They borrowed some beanbags from the children's literature area and took them up to the Grammar of Classical Latin section, on the walkway overlooking the third floor of the library, because that section was almost guaranteed to be deserted.
Baz, who hadn't been seen in a library since the school trip they'd taken there eight years ago, slouched in his beanbag and folded his arms, decidedly out of place. "Alright, what are we doing in here?"
Sadie leaned forward and started to explain, words tumbling over each other and avoiding his eyes as she spoke. She explained about Casper, about Eseran, the plants and the landscapes they'd been seeing through the camera lens.
"So, I was thinking," Sadie concluded, "that maybe Casper was onto something. Like, this Eseran place he wrote about...maybe it's real. And then that's what we might be seeing, when you took those pictures at the radio tower, or when we look through the lens and see those plants everywhere..."
Baz's silence got the better of her. She risked a glance up. He stared back at her, arms folded, brow furrowed and mouth slightly open, as if he'd give her a piece of his mind if he could only put together the words to adequately express how deranged the whole thing sounded. A picture-perfect display of incredulity.
She dipped her head. I knew it. I'm losing my mind.
"Another world?" he said finally.
"Well, perhaps..."
"Like a parallel universe? An isekai kinda thing?"
Sadie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
Baz stared at her for a moment longer. "But you said this guy Casper went a bit nuts before he died, right?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"And you still think the place he made up might be real?"
Sadie winced. It sounded better in her head. "It's the only thing I could think of that made sense."
"That made sense?!"
She knew she shouldn't have brought it up. Go on, she thought, staring at Baz. Just cut to the chase and tell me I'm crazy. Maybe if she heard it from someone else it'd be the wake-up call she desperately needed, to let this all go and sort her life out.
"Look," she said. "If you think it's too far-fetched, just tell me. I won't—"
He shushed her. "Shut up a sec, I'm thinking. What if that's what happened to Etta?"
Sadie tilted her head. "Sorry, what?"
"Think about it. How does someone disappear for that long with no trace? Etta was obviously interested in the place, or she wouldn't have been drawing it all the time. Maybe that's where she went."
