I Dreamed A Dream

A few weeks after the wedding, we learned that Marie was carrying a second baby. I was all too excited to see the new baby on the way.

Meanwhile, Marie continued to tend her garden, growing food for us and fruits to make nectar.

Finally, finally, our first batch of nectar was ready, and it was the perfect time for it too.

After all, our first batch of nectar was ready just in time for little Lysander’s birthday. He was a handsome child, with my hair and eyes.

We celebrated his birthday by sipping the apple nectar Marie had made. It wasn’t perfect, but it was lovely for a first batch.

And as time went on, Marie’s due date drew closer and closer. Our family of three would soon be a family of four.

This time, the birth came in the middle of the night. I was unprepared and terrified.

Marie’s screams pierced straight through me as she went through the painful process of bringing our second baby into the world.

This time, it was a little girl. My sweet daughter, Bianca Reve.



Even outside, I could hear Marie’s screams as she went through labor. I was terrified. We had no medical help, nothing. If something went wrong…if something went wrong, I could lose Marie forever.

Thank God, nothing did. Our son, Lysander, came into that world early in the morning.

Once Lysander was tucked into his crib, Marie and I put on the wedding attire we had found.

We exchanged whispered, loving vows. Whispered so as not to wake our sleeping son, loving because there was no other way they could be. There was no more we could do, and no more we needed. Ours was a bond of souls, not of words on paper.

As I pulled Marie in for our first kiss as husband and wife, I no longer felt the fear that normally haunted my every step.

And then…we truly became one.

I won’t pretend that things were the same between Marie and I…because they weren’t. Sometimes, all it took was a glance…

And then we were sharing a sweet kiss.

Sometimes…it went a little farther.

And sometimes…

It maybe went…a little too far.

When Marie came up to me, wearing clothes far looser than her normal dress, I wondered if perhaps something might be up.

“Will, there’s something I need to tell you.” She said softly.

“Marie, love, you can tell me anything.” I said.

“…It’s just…I’m not sure how to say this…” She began.

Then, her nervous expression changed to an excited one. “Will, I’m pregnant, and it’s yours.”

“That’s…that’s amazing!” I gasped. I had never imagined having children. Not until Marie came into my life. Maybe, just maybe, we might be able to have a real family…

“Knowing that, Marie my sweet, there’s something I have to ask you. Wait a moment, will you?” I asked. I left her briefly, to search for the object I needed. It was in a trunk I kept under the bed-memories that I clung to after the loss of my family.

I came back, and dropped to one knee in front of my beautiful Marie.

“Will, what?”

“Marry me, Marie?” I asked softly.

“Aieeeee!” Marie squealed with joy. “Yesyesyes!”

I reached out and placed the ring on Marie’s finger.

Then, we embraced.

“Oh, Will,” Marie whispered.

“I love you, my Marie.” I murmured in her ear. “Forever.”

Marie Laveau. I knew little about her, other than that I was falling for her, and that she adored my books as much as I did. I often found her settled in to read, though she chose books about the oddest thing…farming and nectar production…

Then, one morning, I discovered that everything she had been up to had come to fruition.

Entirely on her own, Marie had put together a fence and begun a garden.

“What are you up to?” I asked.

“I think we need some green around here. How do you eat, anyway?” She asked.

“…I forage in the forest…as you appear to have done to get wood for this fence…” I replied.

“Ah.” Marie replied. As I watched her plant, something occurred to me.

“Marie, my dear, will you come with me? There’s something I’d like you to see.”

“Alright,” Marie agreed.

I led her to a shed to the side of the library, inside which was nothing but a set of stairs. Stairs that led to the library’s basement.

In the basement was a nectar press and a number of empty racks. There had once been nectar down there, but…well, the first few years I had been hiding out had been…bad. I had drank much of it, and after I stopped drinking, I had poured out the rest, not wanting to be tempted. Now, it was empty.

“Will, I never would have expected this to be here…” Marie said.

“Well, once upon a time, nectar-making was very profitable, and this place was part of a real community…not anymore…” I said, feeling a bit sad. I had only heard stories of that past time.

“It’s amazing.” Marie whispered. “The most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen.”

And then…she kissed me.

“Marie…” I whispered, gently taking her hand, “I love you.” I said. I knew it was true.

“Oh, Will…”

I leaned in and kissed her again. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. I hoped that mine said that I wanted her to be mine.

Forever.

I don’t know how I managed, but I was able to drag the woman through the entire library back to my room. I placed her on my bed, letting her sleep, and as I laid her down, I realized something. This was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

But that was what worried me. I had expected to live out my days alone in this library, to die without ever seeing another person. After my family and the other Book People had been wiped out, I had retreated here, to our library, to the place that only we knew the location of.

I began to fear. What if she were a government agent, sent to find and destroy this place? What if I had brought on my own end? After all, she was dressed in all black…

If I were any braver, I would examine her and check for the insignia of the Firemen. I couldn’t do it.

So, I went into the library, and sat and read. There was nothing else to do. She would wake eventually, and then I would learn if she brought my doom or not.

“This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.”

From the moment she spoke, I knew it had to be her, for the obvious reason but also because she had the most beautiful voice to ever grace my ears. I closed my book and stood up. If she were a government agent, this place would already be burning. Books, after all, are illegal.

“Who are you?” I asked, looking her in the eyes. I needed to know.

As I examined her, I saw something-a deep, mournful sadness in her beautiful purple eyes. She had suffered, that much I knew for certain.

“…I am Marie Laveau.”

 

This may not look like a treasure, but it is. This building, my home, is a hidden treasure to a world that will never appreciate it.

It is a library. Or, at least, the front room is. The books on those shelves are treasures.

The rooms behind, much smaller, are my living quarters.

I am William Shakespeare Reve, the last of the Book People. We were rebels, the last ones dedicated to preserving the knowledge of ancient peoples who communicated through writing.

That is a lost art today. Books, when found, are often burned. Those who own them burn with them. The only reason that I alone survive in this library is because I am so far form any currently inhabited place that they do not care. They think that I am no threat, hidden out here, and I agree.

I have not left this library in years.

Until that day.

I heard a scream outside, a shriek begging for help. Coward though I admittedly am, I could not help but run out.

There, lying on the ground in front of my library, was her. The woman that, little did I know, would change my life.