Aletheia: Following the Luster of the Froth
CHAPTER V

It was like a fire touching the ice. Although the air around it already feels like ice, but the ice in front of it feels the coldest. Because it is not air that cannot be touched.

They stared at each other with empty minds. If there was no Daniel, maybe the two of them would have stood there staring at each other for a long time.

Neither of them asked any questions about this. They walked in silence as the north building got closer.

In the office. A man was staring out the window. His mind floated up remembering some important things in his life. His face was not expression at all. Looks dreamy. The man blinked as the door of his room was knocked from outside. He turned and walked towards the door.

The big door of her room opened, a girl with two others came into the room with a stack of books in their arms.

"Thank you for delivering these books." Joerrel took the books from Attiene's embrace and placed them on the table. Daniel and Gwenaelle also follow him, putting the books they hold on Joerrel's desk.

The room was neat with a few pots of plants in it, it felt pleasant to linger inside. But most importantly, the room was warm. Daniel was sleepy because the room felt like a chicken egg hatching room, very comfortable.

"No problem, Sir. Joerner." Attiene answered.

Sir Class. Joerrel was very interesting this morning. In the middle of the lesson, the topic he brought was a bit off the mark with the topic in the book. He discussed an artifact that none of the students in the class had ever heard of. They all almost smashed their heads on the table from drowsiness. Only Daniel seemed to be very interested in the subject and asked the question several times.

An artifact known to exist because of folklore. Since this is folklore, not many actually believe in this artifact. Folklore is told through word of mouth. There must be a change in the version of the presenter. It could be that the person added spices that were not there just to sound more amazing the story. This story has many versions as well.

But a museum in the capital, keeping ancient records that are the same contents as this folklore. Although it has many versions, the core of the story remains the same. That is, that it was a beautiful crystal stone that fell away from the sky towards. Landed in the human world and never found. Only angels and demons can use the artifact.

People are still unclear with the phrase Only the angels and demons. Many people speculate that it is a fairy tale. There are no angels and demons in this world. People don't believe in something they've never seen. Then it will be called a fairy tale.

The curious Daniel asks a random question to Joerrel. "Sir, did you not keep the artifact?"

Joerrel laughed out loud in the classroom, the students were confused, but some seemed to catch Joerrel's laugh so they chuckled along. Daniel's question was funny. Joerrel replied after wiping the water at the end of his eyes, "Of course not. If I had it then I wouldn't be here."

Attiene who had been sitting upright looked tense, while Gwenaelle next to him seemed interested. Morning classes are great for some people.

Gwenaelle and Daniel and Attiene leave Joerrel's room.

"Hey girls, let's eat something." Daniel walked behind them.

Attiene seemed to agree, "True.I'm also a bit hungry."

Gwenaelle agreed in the end. He wanted to get to know Attienne further. I don't know why he felt there was something about this girl. Makes himself very interested.

"Then let's eat in the cafeteria. Today's menu is delicious." Gwenaelle suggested.

They went to the cafeteria and ordered. The queue wasn't too long, probably because they were late earlier. Some of the menu has gone missing. There are only two menus left. Daniel and Attiene ordered curry rice while Gwenaelle ordered udon.

They sat together at an empty table.

Gwenaelle: "Attiene, where did you study before?"

Attiene who was picking up the spoon in front of her looked at Gwenaelle. He was silent for a moment. "Ma.mmm..." Then he put the curry rice into his mouth.

"Whuah, Hattiehe hangs a leaf! Hwa hwa hwa." Daniel spoke with his mouth full of curry rice.

"Daniel, please swallow your food before you speak." Gwenaelle commented while rubbing her chopsticks apart from the wrapper.

Attiene swallowed her rice and then spoke, "University in the capital."

Gwenaelle nodded.

"Oh, it's a good university. Why did you move here?" Daniel scoops his rice.

Attiene chewed her food. "There's business that's got me moving on."

Daniel: "What is that business?"

Attienne: "..."

Gwenaelle did not expect Daniel this sepo, instead of talking about Gwenaelle running into the forest, she also came to terms with the affairs of the girl he had only met two hours ago.

Daniel laughed and chewed his car.

***

That afternoon, Gwenaelle stopped by her favorite old library. He went back to looking for the book he had read yesterday. But today when he looked for it, the book did not exist.

When asked at the library guards, the library guards did not remember that they had such a book. Gwenaelle was a little irritated. He turned around and looked for another book on a rather dusty shelf.

The dust floated clearly in the afternoon sun, translucent through the glass. Gwenaelle scanned books one by one on the shelf. Look at them carefully. When interested, he would pull the book out carefully and read the contents for a while, then return it to where it was before.

As his fingers moved one by one, his fingers touched the hands of others. Gwenaelle's heart almost jumped out of her mouth. The same goes for the person whose hands are touched. The two of them were shocked and stared at each other for a while with glaring eyes. Then it awakens and points at each other when it finds out it is someone they know.

"Attiene..."

"Gwenaelle, it's you." Attiene smiled.

Gwenaelle breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Yeah, I'm so shocked. Because there was rarely anyone here, so it was very unexpected. I think it's something else, hahaha."

Attiene: "You're right, this library is very quiet. Is it always this lonely?"

Gwenaelle pulls out a green book. "Yes. There were hardly any visitors. By the way, how did you find this library? Does Attiene live near here?"

"You can call me Attie, Gwenaelle." Attiene also came back looking for books on the shelf. "Right, I live around here."

"Then you can also call me, Elle, Attie." Gwenaelle turned to Attiene and smiled. "I also live in this area. But it's a bit far from this library so I have to take the bus once."

"Ahh, so." Attiene pulled out a blue-covered book. "Why are you so interested in this library, Elle?"

Gwenaelle: "Hmm. look at this library. It was like a library from a long time ago. I really like the design. Whaddya think? Isn't this the first time Attie's been to this library?"

"It's actually my second time in this library. I also really like the design. But the outer wall looks different huh." Attiene laughed softly.

Gwenaelle also laughed, she agreed. Beautiful inside, bad outside. Like a saying.

After getting the book they wanted, the two girls decided to go sit down together at the table usually Gwenaelle reads. They sit across.

They talked for a while and then read. Sometimes they talk about the books they read.

Gwenaelle's book tells of a forest filled with fantasy creatures. His two chapters have attracted Gwenaelle's heart. The book that Attiene read about Satan being condemned and cast into the earth. Each one is very attractive to their taste. They spend time reading and discussing.

The clock shows at eight o'clock. Gwenaelle closed the book and saw Attiene who was still focused on reading.

"Attiene, do you still want to continue reading?"

Attiene lifted her eyes from the book, "Yes, I think I'll read a little more. It's almost done."

Gwenaelle reluctantly leaves Attiene, as there is no one in the library. But he was afraid to go home too late. After all, the distance of Attiene's house is not too far from this library. So it looks like it's gonna be okay.

Gwenaelle took her bag and coat. "Attie, I go first. Afraid of the night. Is it okay I live alone."

"No problem." Attiene straightened her body.

Gwenaelle smiled and said goodbye. Leaving Attiene sitting while looking at Gwenaelle's departure out the door.

The atmosphere became very quiet. There was only Attiene, the light of the lights, and the noise outside the library. Attien read the book again.

The sound was very quiet, it felt calm. There was a sound of dogs barking outside, but it was muffled by the library building. Attiene did not pay much attention to the surroundings. His eyes and mind are fixed on the book. His head was filled with the imagination of the story from his book.

The imagination broke when it sounded like objects were falling from inside the library. Attiene was startled and raised her head, looking for the source of the voice. Attiene was still sitting still, focusing on the voice just now. But no more voices. Attiene thought maybe the library guard was just careless. So he went back to his book. But just as he wanted to reopen his book, the voice appeared again.

Sounds like a pile of falling things. Attiene stood up and walked towards the source of the sound. The lights in the sound source area turned out to be dead. The sweet smell started to bother him. Today he was able to withstand this smell quite well. But what smell is he smelling now? Rotten smell. Attiene gritted her teeth irritatedly. His eyes focused on the darkness before him.

The sound of the gedebug was getting closer, coming closer and closer from within the darkness. It turned out that the book fell from its shelf like a domino arranged. Keep falling, get closer to him. Attiene's feet stepped back. He ran back to his desk and took his things. He decided to finish the book he had read tonight.