"You can stay here but what will you do if you all.." I gestured at her size.
"It depends on how strong our magic is. I told you we are different, from abroad, some call us aliens although we prefer our name."
"You mean Titans or the magic ones?"
We sat on the sofa and went through the books on the first shelf. I did it before but I had no intention to give up. Not after I remembered Carmen did the same and I couldn't help thinking she found something. The smallest hint was welcome.
"I can still go home. Once invisible I even fit into the smallest hole. It's just a bit harder to get some rest. Are you sure these are all the books there are?"
Rosemary studied the books on the lowest shelf.
"I could swear I saw different books once I was here."
"You know what? I thought the same."
"Is it possible the collection of books changes by itself? We should write the titles down and check them the next days."
It was a good plan but I wondered if it was worth the trouble. Within a few days, Carmen would be back and we had to tell her about our latest adventures. 'Adventures' was what Rosemary called her transformation and she added excitedly to it even more adventures were waiting for them. The Titans would be back or at least their great, great, great-grandchildren would be. Her age was still a mystery since she had a hard time remembering it but from her stories I imagined her community -like she still called it- lived for hundreds of years underground and served mother Nature after some questionable god with a huge ego and big mouth framed their young leader and made him carry the celestial vault till the moment they came to his aid. At least that story she told me and I read something about it in a book called 'The greatness of the Greek'. It sounded like a time of suspicion and lives filled with anxiety.
"That god," she spat out the words, "was a monster, a cheater and rapist but what did those people know at that time? He ruled by spreading fear, fear, and lies, and hardly anyone was educated during those days. A few false prophets set up complete nations. The Titaniums... They tried to fight back, to free the people. The time wasn't right... Wars are no good, I know and neither is a tyrant."
I listened to her and thought about what she said as I did with everything.
After I made us some tea we wrote down the titles of each book. It went faster than expected.
"It's quite a list. Are you sure we have written down each one of them? No books are hidden behind these?"
I shook my head. I checked it several times and searched the house but this was the only place where the books were stored. The next days we would check them again.
After I cleaned up I brought her some sheets, one of my pillows, and a small blanket.
"You can sleep on the sofa, tomorrow we'll see. Does Basil know?"
"He knows, knows, and is preparing.... Are you still there?"
She felt a bit uncomfortable by my lack of response and tried to catch my attention by jumping up and down.
"Hello, Isaaa are you still with me?"
She pulled at my robe till I finally responded.
"Who made this bookcase? It's not made by the cabinet-maker. Someone else did."
"What do you mean?"
"He leaves his mark, the cabinet-maker I mean. In everything he made, even in the hen house, he left it. Look here, and here, and here."
I ran from the table to the cabinet and pulled a chair away from underneath the table to show her the mark. Each piece of furniture had one except for the bookcase.
"She might have brought it along with her or..."
"Or?"
"Or it was already in the house at the time she moved in," Rosemary proclaimed enthusiastically.
"She didn't build the house?"
"No, she did not. She changed it but the house was there. If you ask me it was a present from Mother Nature herself. Talking about presents... I have something for you."
She pointed at the coffee table.
"Feel free to unwrap it," she giggled as she saw me staring at the package that hadn't been there earlier. Not one but two teacups she had made for me. The cup was a copy of hers. I forgot she promised me to make one for me.
"One for you and one extra. Perhaps if you like to invite someone, someone like me, " she smirked.
"You can bring your cup."
"I'm afraid it will be too small for me if I... We need to make more, more cups, I'll bring mine if you invite me and you have a spare cup. It's okay."
"Thank you so much. I will cherish them and promise to be careful. I need some rest now it was a long day, one with more adventures than I expected. Don't wake me up if you are awake, please, " I begged while I rolled with my eyes.
"We'll see, we'll see, don't count on me, " she grinned while she laid down and stared at the ceiling.
We ended the night happily. All owls arrived back home and with Rosemary around and her knowledge I expected to find Atlas soon and If not him the book that knows all answers or at least some hints about the promising land mentioned by Basil. If the dark days continued and they left it wouldn't surprise me if the community would try to find it.
