Re-clothing the Memories

At the end of the hallway two polished wooden doors stand ajar. They have been propped open by two marble lions that are either hollow or were moved by Hercules. The lions smile pleasantly despite their fangs. I barely have time to look into their empty polished marble eyes before I find myself being escorted past them into the stuffy confines of the library.

I find it odd that as we walk in, we seem to be directly on top of one of fully-loaded shelves. The books on it are all perfectly aligned about an inch from the edge, and despite obvious differences in age seem to be in excellent condition. I glance at the titles for a moment, blinking my eyes to clear them as the titles see to waver and change before my eyes.

"Did they just..." I begin.

Neesa looks at me and smiles without saying a word. Then she puts her hand on one of the shelves. I look where her hand is resting and see a button nestled inside the knotholes of the wood.

"Push the button."

"What does it do?"

"Only one way to find out."

I look at her. I can feel my lips drawing closer to each other. I can feel my whole face tightening up like a question mark. I can tell by the look in Neesa's eyes that she is aware of the doubts that still haunt me, but she says nothing. She turns her attention back to the button. I reach out slowly, not sure what to expect.

I place my finger on the button. The metal that covers it is cool to the touch. I press gently, surprised by how easily it depresses. I look to Neesa questioningly. Then her hand is on mine, gently drawing my hand back from the shelf. I look back and see that the shelf is slowly lowering into the floor. I listen for the whirring of gears, but hear nothing. The room is still as quiet as before.

Of course, it is at this moment that I realize it isn't the normal quiet of a library. I hear the swishing of fabric. I am now aware of the sounds of feet shuffling. From time to time, the air is punctuated by what I am now convinced is someone shushing someone else. I didn't think it odd since we're in a library, but now it seems out of place since I haven't heard the sounds of pages shuffling, pens scratching the page, or books being opened or closed.

As the shelf continues to sink into the floor, I begin to see a whole new scene unfolding before me. Brightly colored balloons are floating amid a warm glow of light from polished, orange-tinted wood and smoky chandelier globes that drop down from the high ceilings. Then I can see an array of faces looking at me expectantly. Some are familiar but many are not. From the looks on their faces, they have been awaiting this moment.

Suddenly, every face in the room is the home of a smile. As if this has been perfectly choreographed and rehearsed, everyone in the room begins to applaud. Then their voices rise in a version of the birthday song that is as melodic as can be expected from your average mortals.

Then I am caught up in the waves of people. Neesa is introducing me to beautiful women with names like Firewalker and Divine. Handsome men with names like Timbros and Norrad are smiling as they take my hand or hug me. I am so overwhelmed by all of these new people. I even find some familiar faces awaiting me in this crowd. In fact, AAB manages to sneak a hug before even more people press forward to be introduced. I even catch a glimpse of Little Lizard King and Edifier among the faces.

Then I am being fed cake and ice cream. I find this is to give me energy to open the gaudily wrapped packages that have been neatly piled on one of the tables. Many of them seem to follow the LAVA theme. They are arrayed in hues of orange, flames, or adorned with little spouts of magma made from ribbon or stiff fabric. Others are decked with vibrant flowers. A few stand out as they are wrapped in brown paper. I reach for them first, drawn by their plain packaging. They have no card or name attached to them. As I pull one into my lap to open it, the room goes quiet.

The box is filled with different colored veils. I look to Neesa questioningly, but she looks as bewildered as me. Then I move on to opening the rest. It seems like an eternity is spent opening those presents. I receive gift cards, books, a few toys, and lots and lots of clothes. I stop to thank the people who gave me each present, trying to put a name to a face.

Then the dancing begins. Indeed, we are dancing in the library. I am twirling and whirling from lady to lord to lady to lord again. I can't remember having had so much fun or feeling so tired when the evening winds down. I find myself alone at last. Well, I am relatively alone. Neesa has gone home to tend to her own budding lava lady. Others mumbled their good-byes before going off to get some sleep. Now it is basically me and LLK looking at the piles of gifts, paper, and empty cups that are scattered around the room.

I sigh heavily and get up. Looking around the room, I find that a large plastic trash can has been hidden behind the counter. I wheel it out and begin pushing piles paper plates into it. Crumbs of cake and pools of melted ice cream are left in the wake of my sweeping hand.

LLK puts out a restraining hand, "I can't let you clean up after your own party."

"But it needs to be done and I don't mind," I reply as I push another pile of plates into the trash can.

"Then I would be honored to help you."

"You don't have to. It was sweet of you guys to throw me a party, since most of the clan barely even knows me."

"It's just like in a family how you stick with them through good and bad times," LLK replies softly and I know she speaks of more than just a few minutes of cleaning in the warm orange glow of the luxurious LAVA library.