Naïve Wisdom

Beneath iridescent lights in the old library, I sat between two large bookshelves in the small nook that was created by the librarians for those who enjoy being hidden away. Having looked up from my leather-bound journal, I glanced around the floor looking for those I had never seen on my last visit. For a moment I glanced around and spot a young female with light brown hair that has been placed in a messily made bun. She sat in a lounge chair in what appeared to be the romance section. Her left elbow rested on the arm of the chair as she had begun to twirl a piece of hair around her index finger, all the while holding open a novel in her right hand.

While I observed this young female, I noticed out of the corner of my eye an elderly male. He stood with a slight hunch next to a bookshelf that was labeled ‘History’. The man held a cane in front of him with both hands. As he looked at the row of books, the elderly male would grumble something underneath his ragged breath about past wars and history. It was fascinating to think about how many untold stories still remain unwritten. Each living being in any universe has a story to be told.

“Sir?” The voice that intruded on my observations seemed to be female. In the direction of this peculiar voice and saw a young female with caramel color hair that was cut to her shoulders. Her face held angelic features and her eyes. Her eyes reminded me of the soft blue hue that painted the sky. Once again, her voice struck me. “Sir!”

For a moment I blinked before I was finally able to speak. “Hello.” My face held the look of confusion even though I decided to give her a warm smile. “I appear male?” Glee had filled my voice. “That is most fascinating to hear.” I would quickly look downward at my journal, jotting this observation that she had made about me.

Pure horror emerged on her delicate features. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to assume that you were male.”

“Don’t be sorry. I suppose you could state that I prefer to be neither male nor female. One could say that I am androgynous in nature.” My head tilted as I looked at her once again.

She gave a sigh of, what I could assume, relief. “Alright then.” A smile appeared on her face. “Originally, I came over her to ask if you would like to model for some of my painting.”

Over several thousand years of knowledge at my fingertips, I remained naïve to mane aspects of this particular world’s customs, and words. “What do you mean by model?”

The smallest giggle left this female’s lips as she went to cover her mouth with her right hand. As if she was shielding the world from the sound. “You seriously don’t know what a model is?” Disbelief, in its purest of forms, showed in her enchanting eyes.

“I know the definition of what a model is. The context in which you are using it in is lost to me.” Soon as the words had left my lips; my vision no longer my own. Instead, I saw a man in red and brown armor with flowing red hair. Seeing this man, my eldest brother Vulcan, I was able to tell that I was seeing through the eyes of my younger brother, Akshay. As I witnessed the events from Akshay’s eyes, I begun to auto-write in my journal without having to look down once. There was a brief gasp, that made me sever the connection, coming from the woman.

“How is it possible for you to write without seeing where your journal is?” She had remained in front of me for the entire duration of my connection. We both remained motionless and silent, just amazed at the situation.

The entirety of my family had always held some form of decorum when it came to speaking with other species, or even being around anyone at all. It is unfortunate for me, as I have never grasped the concept in its entirety. Primarily, I remain hidden in libraries to document what I see from the eyes of others. Her question swirls around in my mind, and with me not grasping the decorum of our family, I face the honest truth. “I have had to learn how to write while my eyes are not my own.”

“What do you mean, your eyes are not your own?” The tone of her voice gave off a sense of curiosity with no ill intent. At least that is how I was perceiving the entire situation at the time.

“To see through the eyes of another.” I had not meant to completely change the subject. However, I knew the subject needed to return to the request she had inquired about. “Could you please explain to me what the context for being your model?”

Her hands shot up and landed on her head in a moment of remembering. “I completely got sidetracked!” She would calm down and an air of seriousness settled over her. “You, as my model, would come to my studio. Once there, you would be placed in a specific pose with appropriate wardrobe so that I can paint your picture.”

As if it were already decided in my mind, I closed the journal and stood up. “Alright. Let us go and do this then. Lead the way?”

Her mouth fell open in awe at my reaction. “You don’t even know my name, what I am about, or what I will give you in return.” Having shifted her stance slightly, she would sigh. “Two things. First and foremost, let’s introduce ourselves. I am Alara James.”

“I was given the name Wisdom when I came to be.” Never have I had the need to tell another living soul what my name was. My siblings already knew it, therefore there was never the need.

Alara James would then out stretch her hand, placing it directly in front of me. “Pleased to meet you, Wisdom. For a brief moment we locked eyes.

Suddenly, I was greeted by my own face. Deep copper eyes, reddish-brown hair with one side shaved and my slightly pointed ears were all observed through the eyes of another. I thought to myself for a brief moment; This is how she sees me? Alara’s gaze moved down my body, my skin seemed to have a slight glow over the crisp tan tone. Her vision made my skin look slightly golden. I was able to see the revealing top, that was forced on me thanks to one of my siblings. Her gaze fell onto my hand, and then changed to her own hand and back to mine. I snapped back into my own eyes and took her hand. I had observed humans in this library shaking hands, which must be what she was desiring to do here.

There was no chance for her to confront me, once again, for not knowing her customs. I placed my hand into hers, and gentle shook her hand. “As I am pleased to meet you, Miss Alara James.”

A giggle slipped from her lips before she had a chance to cover it. “You are beautiful as you are adorable. Now that we are introduced. The second thing that needs to happen. What would you like in return for being in my model?”

“What would I like in return?” Having let go of her hand, I gripped my journal with both. This was another custom that I had not observed, or perhaps didn’t quite understand.

“You really don’t know a whole lot. Money, or a place to stay? I need to at least pay you for the time you are going to give me for being my model. I refuse to let you work for free.” Her expression seemed slightly irritated. At the same time there was a softness as if she were a mother looking after a small child.

Alara begun to say something else, but before she was able to utter a single syllable, an all too familiar voice sounded behind her. “Money is their currency, you dense child.” Out from behind Alara James, appeared a dark blue-haired male with a seductively handsome face. Unfortunately, she was about to meet my younger brother, River. It wouldn’t have matter who was present, he would still carry himself in an extremely seductive manner.

“Currency? I have no need for that.” One hand left my journal to rub the back of my head. I felt as if River was going to give me a headache just by breathing the same air as me. “Why have you left Raine, little brother?” Even though I was irritated, my expression remained calm as did my mannerisms.

Alra glanced behind her, looking directly in River’s direction. Personally, I never understood why anyone would find him attractive. I was surprised to see that Alara did not seem to be captured by his alluring visage. After a brief moment of looking over River, she would then turn to me. “Your brother?” Her face seemed to contort into something of malice or disgust toward River’s presence.

River gave a smirk to Alara, not even giving a care about her disgusted look towards him. He spoke to her directly, almost trying to cut me out of it altogether. “Of course. Wisdom and I have several brothers and sisters. Now if you excuse me, I am most curious to why my sibling would give you the time of day.” Before she could even attempt to cut him off, River continued on by giving me his full attention. “Now. Wisdom, I know that you probably don’t know much about what she is wanting. If Raine was here, or even Vulcan. They would straight up tell you to stay in the library and not to talk to strangers without one of us with you.” He let out a chuckle as he placed a hand on his hip and his other ran through his hair. “I am not them. Perhaps this will help that naive nature of yours. Just make sure that you stay safe. Shout or something if you need help. But don’t make use have to clean up any messes or have to rescue you.” Of course, he said it backhanded. He turned away from both of us and looked over his shoulder. “To think I am younger than you.” As he winked, he turned his head back to his front and walked away, disappearing from sight.

Without uttering a word, Alara would motion for me to follow her. Like a lost child, I followed her blindly through the library to the main entrance. Quickly, Alara would open the right side of the door, making her way to the outside. Hesitation finds its place in my body, as my hand begun to shake as I attempted to place my hand on the door. After, what felt like an eternity, I brought myself to open the door as she did. As I walked through the door, my sight was filled with the brightest light of the outside world. My right arm seemed to move on its own to cover my eyes as a shield.

I have only ever seen the outside through the eyes of others. Never once had I had the chance until this moment in my long life. I had never known the sun to be this bright, nor that it would take several moments for my eyes to finally adjust to this new brightness that I brought myself into. I took that time to listen to my new surroundings. Sounds begun to hit me all at once, people talking and walking, as well as mechanical sounds, and horns. There were a few tweets from birds, but mostly people could be heard. Finally, my eyes officially adjusted enough for me to open my eyes. Vivid colors greeted me, with the different kinds of buildings and unnatural ground. As I kept looking around, my eyes fell on Alara who was staring at me.

“You act as if you have never been outside. Is that what River meant by staying in the library?” She moved closer to me, having only been about two or three feet away.

Embarrassment filtered throughout my entire being. My hands shot to my sides, as I plunged them into my pockets. “Honestly? Not once have I been anywhere outside libraries.” I glanced at her briefly before looking around once again.

A look of disbelief found its place on her beautiful face. “You are serious. Wisdom, it is my pleasure to introduce the world to you.” She gave out a sigh as looked at me still. “Before your brother interrupted, we were discussing what you would want in return for being my model. I know you said you have no need for money. Surely there is something else.” I looked at her having been lost for the right words to use. She gave a defeated sigh. “Let’s get to my studio. We can discuss everything in further detail. Just stay close so you don’t get lost.” I gave Alara a nod. She would then lead us from the library and down the path next to the building.

Several minutes pass with Alara leading the way, then her movement ceased. She looked towards me as I had been looking nonstop at my new surroundings, taking it all in. The moment I noticed her gaze, she grabbed my hand and begun to pull me behind her. At that moment in time, if I had seen through the eyes of anyone watching us, they would have seen a woman about 5’4” pulling a person roughly around six feet tall behind her. The sight had to be quite comical. A chuckle left my lips as she begun to move even fast.

Within about 5 to 10 minutes, we came to a stop in front of an old brick building. As I gazed up at the building, I could assume that it was about six stories high. “Okay. In here.” Alara’s voice fills my ears as if summoning my gaze. She held the door open with one hand, all the while she motioned for me to enter the building with the other hand.

Having moved past her, I walked into the building. “Alara, is this building your dwelling?”

She lets go of the door to quickly move past where I had been standing. “Well, this is a place called an apartment complex. Technically I do live here, but others live here as well.” She explained with a sickly-sweet look on her face. “We are almost to the studio. I am on the fifth floor.

I was amazed once again at the world she existed in. I gave the most simplistic reply by giving her a slight nod as I followed her lead to a strange metal door. She pressed a button on a panel next to the metal door, and it gave off a lite glow. A second later the metal door slid open to one side. Alara quickly moved through the door that leads to a very small room. After I observed her actions, I too crossed the threshold into the small room. Once in the small room, the door quickly slid closed behind me. I jumped and turned around with quick speed.

Alara erupted into a fit of giggles. “I take it you have never been on an elevator before?” She leaned forward to another panel pressing a button on it.

Having looked utterly frightened, she pulled me to her side as I tightly close my eyes and cling to her as a child to its mother. “I have never seen a contraption such as this, elevator. As you call it.”

The elevator made a loud ding with a jolt of movement. Shortly after the door slide back open. At this sudden change, I opened my eyes to observe the situation that surrounds me. I made great haste getting off the elevator. Alara came to my side and offered her hand. I took her hand gently looking at her ever so gently.

“We are a few doors away from my studio.” Her voice gave off an even softer tone. Could she tell how innocent I truly was?

Both of us fell into silence as she took me directly to her door. Once there, she took out a strange looking key to unlock the door that stood before her. As before, she held the door open for me but this time to her own domain. Before I even thought about setting one foot into her domain, I took a moment to observe what I could see. In the distance, I saw a large bookshelf inside. Upon seeing this bookshelf, it was as if I was pulled directly to it. Next thing I knew, I was in front of the bookshelf.

Alara quickly closed her door, locking it behind her. I could not say if it was amazement or what it was exactly, but she ran over to me. As she stared at me, speechless, I begun to look at each book on the shelf that was in front of me. Thoughts went back to Alara having asked me what I wanted in exchange for her use of me as her model. It finally came to me while I stood there in my element. I had observed my siblings make deals with several species, multiple times. Though, if she and I entered into a deal she would be bound until I stated otherwise. With a smile I turned to her, as it was finally my turn to make a deal.

Upon her angelic face, was a look of shock. “Alara, like I said before. I have no need for money. Though I have been thinking. I would love to observe more of your world with my own eyes.” I turned my attention back to the bookshelf and knelt down to look closer at the bottom shelves.

“Are we just going to ignore the fact you teleported over to the bookshelf?” Alara came closer, looking down at me.

I turned my heard to look at her. “Alright. You are human. Whereas I am something that is not. My family and I can travel in different ways. To other dimensions even. Our species really doesn't have a name, before you ask.” As I explained myself, she took a seat next to my on the floor, utterly enthralled with my ever word. “I serve as our observer, or as our historian.”

“You sound like gods.” Her face rested in the palm of her hands, as if she were a child listening to a bedtime story.

“My eldest brother would agree.” I chuckled a bit, smiling. “Some call us gods, other say fae. Thing is, we don’t always act like either one.”

“I need to know more, Wisdom. Heck, I want to know more about you as well.” As the words left her lips and to my ears, I felt what I can only describe as a sinister glee.

I turned my entire body to face her offering my hand to her. “Then you want a total of two things from me.” As I was naïve to the outside world, I assumed she was naïve to my species’ nature. Alara took my hand as I then hold it gently. “Alara James, I will tell you all I know of my family and be your model. In exchange, you will show me your world in its entirety.”

“When?” As before, we locked eyes.

“Anytime you need me for your model, or desire to learn of my species.” I watched as Alara gave a nod in agreement. “Do you accept this deal?”

Alara looked me over and then around at her domain. I could tell that she was thinking heavily on the deal laid out before her. Minutes pass by before she breaks the silence. “Wisdom, I accept the deal.”

We both stood up, our hands still intertwined together. “Majority of deals that I have observed are sealed by a kiss. Is that alright with you?” Expressions say more than words and Alara’s seemed to ask why I didn’t know more about making deals. I take my free hand placing it on the back of my head as blush grew on my cheeks. “This is actually my first deal.”

“Alright.” She giggles while she leans up pressing her lips against mine. The kiss lasted for a single moment. “There. We sealed the deal.” A smile was on her face, ear to ear. My only thought, I hoped I just didn’t seal her fate to the Fae Family in the process.

“Shall I model for you now? Or tell you more about my family?” The moment I ceased my words, she began to guide me to a bed with different hues of brown strewn about it as her answer.

Something began to feel a bit off about the entire situation. The placement of the bookshelf. The way she motioned for me to sit on the bed. She began to walk away from me and to a desk. Within that moment I took the opportunity to switch to her vision. My body left her view and went onto the desk. There on the desk of a journal, similar to mine, but not leather. As she turned the pages carefully, as the book looked old. On the pages, I saw sketches and notes. She stopped at a sketch of me with a few notes. As my curiosity began to grow, she spoke. “Now, Wisdom. We can officially begin.”