Albert the Librarian and the Magic Marble

The Adventures of Albert the Librarian - Part 2

Inspired by true events

He was looking nervously around

In his head - so many sounds

Confusion, terrible headache, ears ringing

In his stomach there was a tingling

Alone he stood among the shambles

Dust, broken shelves that someone should assemble

There was no time, it was almost six 

How could all this get fixed?

Why was it broken? It was not that way!

Who left the library in disarray?

No one was around to say

Are the others too okay?

No sound from them was to be heard

No feet were sticking out, no words

They were all gone, it seemed so

He went through all rooms, all halls

The storage too, he didn’t miss

They disappeared all of them in an abyss

Concern, and worry taking over

As far as he knew he had been sober

It was a Friday night, he thought

The weekend was ahead for this to be absorbed

Whatever happened here short time ago

Why did they have this way to go?

Those gods, are they responsible for this?

Or maybe someone else is?

Back to the place where he’s been lying

And looked around some more, just sighing 

All the more, the whole point of this mess?

There will be charges pressed

If they were particular about the books

The state of this place, it just looks

As though here passed a hurricane

Like those that get those weird names

How could this be explained?

To his superiors and to his friends?

To the readers, who would never come again

Nobody would believe who here came!

And why it ended up like this?

There was something here amiss! 

He wondered where to start from

How much could he tidy up alone?

Damages - as far the eye could see

Albert felt a nagging urge to flee

And so he did, as it was late, 

Time to go home, no debate!

The camera was always on, he knew

They will be caught, though now - no clue!

Desire surging for someone to phone

But then the only option - it was gone 

There was no one he could trust

He had to hold on, yes, he must

A thought of calling the police

Probably they won’t believe, and start to tease

Black screen stared back at him, although he tried

A wind of panic blew inside

The empty ruined place was locked

The phone tucked back into the pocket

There was no one the street

The ground was trembling under his feet

There was such terrible vibration

All the way into his brain, it felt like cutting on a few occasions

A building was collapsing

Like on a movie screen, time was slowly here elapsing

Twenty minutes far from home

Walking on the trembling pavement all alone

Huge cracks through buildings getting wider

Huge chunks detaching, lights flickering inside them

It seemed the occupants had all departed

Like an apocalypse had started

Empty cars and busses standing in the middle of the road 

Some crashed into some other cars, others into walls

Albert walked completely undisturbed 

Things were different, his mind inferred

But clouds of hunger nestled in his head

The contents of his fridge he thought about instead

“Time had stopped” a distant thought

It lingered and it left, uncaught

It didn't matter much at all

His mind was like a concrete wall

Broken glass strewn on the ground

Strange that she was not around

The old lady who usually gets so mad

Maybe a relief, of not having to explain instead

He went in, up the crooked stairs

That now seemed worse, but who would care?

His home was usually well-maintained

Constant improving was a pain

The door was stuck, so difficult to open

After few attempts, he was afraid it would be broken

In the end he managed

Hoping that the fridge would not be damaged

Albert found the cheese, the butter, bread

Should he cook? No. This would do instead

He sat on his beloved chair 

At the corner of the table, it was fair

He wouldn’t take a lot of space

He was taught this idea to embrace

The invisibility, the low importance

Reminding him of his deficiencies, of his shortness

Of all desired qualities all others had

He was never even close to have

He was the designated loser

Mama always told him, she was an abuser!

A conclusion that he had arrived at

From himself sometimes he tried to hide it 

To think of her in terms like these

Not these thoughts, they had to cease!

He chewed with patience the dry food

Strength was coming back, it felt so good!

Should the world need any saving 

It had to wait, first came his cravings!

Aside were pushed - the hard feelings

A choice he had, although he felt like stealing

Never mind, he was a work in progress

At this age a life he was forging

When he finished then he washed the plate

He left it then to dry, a need for some update

Cause there were more cracks and holes

It seemed much worse than he had thought

He fumbled for his phone

Again attempt to switch it on

Black screen, maybe it was broken

Not long ago on it he had spoken

He tried to charge it, nothing happened

The pc too, no, wait a second!

The window didn’t offer any better view

The buildings they seemed crooked too

Now he remembered: Where was it?

The reason why the world seemed sick

It maybe was a huge mistake

But Mama said “Keep it safe, for Goodness’ sake!”

“If it was gone, unspeakable disaster would occur

A big mess it would stir. 

Don’t let it end up in wrong hands

Your life on it, it should depend”

But did he leave it somewhere indoors?

Or maybe it fell on the street or in a corridor?

Earlier the shambles searched a little

He failed to honour his commitment

He wasn’t sure, but he knew

It was in his pocket he had put

He had considered better ways of safe-keeping

Making up his mind was difficult, he felt like weeping

Because he had to take a pick

Too many options make him sick

He had vowed to decide on one

Now it was gone, it can’t be done

He put his head into his hands

Oh, no, they’d never understand

One day they would demand an explanation

He had none, just quiet desperation

He never even thought that it was true

It was Mama’s gibberish, and nagging, and ado

He was loosing all his marbles, oh!

Not just the one, all of them at one go!

It was the legend, the prediction

Which sounded like a pure fiction

Why did she have it in the first place?

What was the meaning in this case?

“The world will fall apart

If you don't keep it well-hidden, you will be a part

Of its destruction, you will blame yourself

Especially if you give it to an elf!”

This was an old forgotten saying

No destruction would it be conveying

Furthermore, no elves were here involved

So this matter should be solved

Why would even elves be mentioned?

What was the intention?

They never did exist

People like those things to twist

It must be still into the library somewhere

He never did believe in this, nor cared

But he would like to have it in his pocket

He would even do his best to lock it

In case the world depended on this little thing

He wouldn’t want his carelessness to bring

About destruction, though he failed to see the true causation

He had some more noble aspirations 

Though Mama was already dead

One had to do as she had said

It was a rule, a way of living

Or else he would be suffering, cease being

He was afraid, he knew she watched him

With her words she would have scorched him

And sent him death, or maybe hired an assassin

But it was not an issue he now felt addressing

Everything around him looked so scary

Soon under debris he would be buried

A piece of wall was still detaching slowly

The ceiling, it seemed the gravity was calling

He didn’t feel like staying here

He knew he had to interfere

With what was taking place, unknown

Emergency supplies he had to pick up, go

Money too, shoes, and jacket plain

In case that it would rain

Preparation was of use

There was no harm and no excuse

He had to find the dumpster earlier in question

The rumour said it was part of the librarians` profession

Like the above-said, no, it wasn’t true

Librarians around the world all knew

It was something that they learned one day

Another legend here to stay

A prominent librarian long time ago

Was on the verge of breaking the unwritten law

Some books were thrown away

To curiosity he did obey

Then hell broke loose

He was aware, yet confused

The knowledge came into wrong hands

The world on darkness since depends

The humans had a lot of powers

With divine knowledge were they endowed

With skills that now would be considered weird

However, now they are despicable and full of fears

“Oh, yes” he thought, ridiculousness seeping

“This is just gibberish”. as water from the ceiling started dripping

You wouldn’t set a foot in this forsaken place

Especially for a librarian it would be a disgrace

It was a place of horror, torture

You wouldn’t find there any fortune

The lord would flatter you to death

No chance for you to save yourself

If you are lucky, you would leave the place

But soulless, empty, with no face

You’d be a vegetable, zombie hypnotised

Ready to believe the lie

A lot of darkness - a huge storage

To go there takes a lot of courage

It was nothing like the ordinary thing

“Dumpster” was a euphemism, nobody would dare think

The word was good enough description 

The horrors were excluded from its encryption 

Or probably forgotten, non-existent

Doubt creeping in his head, persistent

He tread on, a little bit unsure

About the exact location and whether it would cure

The current situation, please the gods

He slightly felt again like a big shot

The city usually cold, now seemed abandoned

It was spooky, empty rendered

“Was it about the marble? … No chance”

Maybe it was just coincidence

But if it was about it, what would he do?

This should be considered too!

There were so many doubts

A red-haired girl screamed at him “Look out!”

He looked around a bit surprised

Followed her pointing finger to the sky

Then ran instinctively to the far side

Of the street that now was full of empty cars

It was a miracle, it was on time

The thing smashed into pieces fine

His heart was throbbing, ready to explode

Lying on the ground, “this didn’t happen, nope!” 

The only person on the street

Scrawny-looking, neat

But it was very poorly lit

No face to see, it`s good someone to meet. 

There was something strange about her

The only person in the dark to lurk

He timidly approached her and said “hi”

Only to suppress a terrified cry

Frozen, scared, stuck

His manners left him all alone, and so his luck

“It`s ok” she said, “this is a normal reaction”

“None of us will be experiencing any attraction”

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