The Cursed Library || ONC 2025

Library looked as radiant as ever. Ancient yet magnificent. No one from the outside could ever imagine the chaos that was happening inside.

Books had started vanishing at an alarming rate. So many empty bookshelves were uprooted and were flying around, crashing into walls. The back room where Selena's mother had been resting had already disappeared.

Selena held her sick mother in her embrace, as they both tried to escape from getting hit by the flying pieces of wood and rods from the pillar.

Not only her mother's pillar, but Selena's pillar had started rotting too.

"No this can't happen," her mother cried, as the library started closing on them. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Your time hasn't even begun. How can it end?" Selena's mother spoke in frightened disbelief. She didn't care about her own life. But Selena, she was still young. She couldn't die. She wouldn't let her die.

"Let's... let's get out of this library," her mother said, looking up at Selena.

"You know, we can't," Selena whispered, her eyes glistened with tears.

She had already tried and failed. The library won't let them escape.

"It's dying. Maybe it lost its power now," her mother said, not giving up. She wouldn't let her daughter die. Not without trying.

"Just forget it. It's better this way. We can just die together and end the whole thing," Selena muttered, earning a slap in return.

"You. Will. Not. Die," her mother said strongly, before wheezing in pain.

Selena immediately started rubbing her back, ducking when a rod flew past by her. "Geez, you have like what- 10% energy left in your body. And you are using that little amount of energy in abusing me. Tsk, tsk." Selena tried to lighten the mood, earning another hit on her forearm.

"Gosh! Let my friends come. I will ask them to report this abuse," Selena joked, before a scary thought crossed her mind.

"Will they all die too?" She asked no one in particular.

"What?" Her mother questioned.

"We need to save the library," Selena said with determination, hoisting her mother up along with her.

"What?" Her mother asked again, barely managing to stand upright, even with Selena's support.

"It's not just us, Mom. There are other people whose lives are in danger as well. They probably don't even know that the library is dying. They probably don't know that they will be dying," Selena said, remembering all the people who were related to the library.

The ones who could leave and roam around, but were still somehow stuck with the library. The ones who had to come back with or without their will. The ones she loved, the ones she hated and the ones she tolerated. All those people whose fate depended on the library.

"We cannot let them die. We cannot let the library die," Selena's mother said, with equal determination.

After all, they were the caretakers of the library. If not them, then who will save the library.

Falling and stumbling, they managed to reach the counter. Selena immediately took out the ink pots and feathers. They didn't need to speak with each other to know what they were planning to do. Their last resort.

If others won't, they will. They would write a story.

With whatever strength she had left in her, Selena's mother started writing. She was no writer, but still she had some stories. Stories about her mother, her own childhood and her daughter's childhood. She hoped that this would be enough. She prayed that this would work.