She couldn't work, but everyone else she knew in the country was working, so she couldn't even get any company. She spent the morning debating whether or not she wanted to leave the apartment and go out into the cold if she didn't have to, but around noon she ended up going out for some lunch and then heading to the library. Just because she couldn't work on work didn't mean she couldn't work on other things. Like her Fjellish.
She knew her language skills would only be enough for the simplest of books, but also that only by using the language would she ever learn, so at the library she made her way to the children's section, grabbed some not-too-easy-but-not-too-hard looking books in Fjellish and headed to the second floor, to the reading area. The last time she had been here with Tove, they hadn't actually sat down to read, but she had seen the area. Tove had almost laughed at the look on her face when she had first got a glimpse. Back home the few libraries they had did have reading areas, but they were mostly a handful of tables and some chairs. The city library here had half the floor dedicated to a reading area that looked more like a living room than what she imagined a library reading area was supposed to be like. There were tables and chairs for those who preferred them, but a big portion of the floor was full of incredibly soft-looking couches, with just the right kind of back and armrests for curling up with a book. One corner was filled with beanbags.
One thing was for certain: unlike in Cametonia, the libraries here had some real value to the people.
Alaia wandered to a corner with her stack of Fjellish children's books and curled up on a couch, exactly like she had imagined would be wonderful to do. And it was exactly as wonderful as she had imagined. Very slowly but steadily she spent the afternoon reading through the books, until her eyes were hurting and her brain was exhausted from the sheer amount of words she had to really focus to understand. She checked out a few more, to take home with her. She was a little embarrassed to be borrowing children's books, but the librarian checking them out was incredibly nice to her, and even had some suggestions on what reading she thought might be nice for her level.
~X~
The next morning Alaia decided Tove had had her two days of not showing up, so she headed back to the office to see if she would be able to find her. Of course it was possible that she had been in yesterday, but wouldn't be there today. In that case she wouldn't be able to catch up with her, but at least she'd know Tove was okay, despite of what her paranoid brain was telling her. She was feeling eager to go, but she knew getting to the office early would probably lessen her chances of seeing Tove instead of increasing them, so instead she made herself some pancakes for breakfast. She had never done it in her life, but someone had mentioned at some point about how people here occasionally did that on weekends, and she wanted to try something new. And spend more time than normal on breakfast so she had a reason to stay put a little longer. The pancakes were great. She decided she should make them again some time.
And then she was off to the office, finally. Half-way there she noticed she was walking somewhat faster than usual. She thought of slowing down, but what would have been the point, really.
Tove wasn't in her office. She wasn't in the coffee rooms. No one had seen her in the last couple of days. Or at least didn't remember seeing her. It was a big office. There was no way for one person to keep up with who was in and when. The people whose desks were closest to Tove's office door told her they hadn't seen her either, and they were the ones most likely to notice if she'd come in. One more place to check.
"Oh, hi, Alaia," Ronja said as she walked into the room with the room-sized calculator. What ever anyone needed one of those for. "Enjoying your sick leave?"
"I'm not sure a sick leave is something you're supposed to enjoy," Alaia told her. "My arm hurts all the time, but other than that I mostly just have to keep coming up with things to do that aren't work. I don't know why they gave me time off anyway. Sure, it's harder and slower to write when I only have one hand to use, but I would imagine getting some work done is better than getting no work done at all."
"Well, you're only off for a week, right?" Ronja asked her.
"Yes. Speaking of being off work," she steered towards the reason she had come here. Her heart was beating just a little bit harder than it usually did. Please tell me she was here yesterday even though no one else noticed. "You seen Tove in the last couple of days?"
"Hmm," Ronja thought for a moment. "No. But I told you, she sometimes works outside the office for a day or two, chasing a story."
"It's the third day in a row she's not in," Alaia told her, her heart sinking.
"Third?" Ronja seemed surprised. Alaia couldn't quite tell if the surprise was because Tove hadn't been in for three days or that three days had already passed. With Ronja it could be either. "That's not so common. Usually she at least stops by to leave some notes, so she doesn't have to carry everything with her for that long. Or to organise the material she already has, to figure out what to do next."
Ronja stared ahead for a moment, thinking.
"I'm sure she's fine," she finally said, but didn't sound exactly convinced.
"Do you happen to have an extra key to her office?" Alaia asked. If someone did, it would be her.
"I do, in fact," Ronja dug through some drawers in her desk and after a minute handed Alaia an office key, looking slightly suspicious. "If you'd asked anyone else, they'd have told you to get the janitor. But I'm not sure--"
But Alaia was already heading back upstairs. She could hear a slightly alarmed Ronja shouting a hey after her.
She unlocked Tove's door and went straight for the cork board Tove kept the material of the case no one believed was a case. Something had happened to Tove, and it had something to do with this, and Alaia needed to find out what it was. A part of her tried to calm herself down, telling her she was jumping into conclusions and there was no reason to think there was something wrong and even if there was that it had anything to do with this, and maybe she was just sick and that's why she hadn't been in the office and she hadn't happened to talk to any of the people who know who the people are who are out sick. That was the reasonable position to take on this, after all. She ignored that part of her and kept her eyes tight on the cork board.
There was something here. There had to be. But she couldn't see it. She didn't know the case nearly well enough. She didn't even know what the relevant things were. What things could connect to what other thing.
Her eyes passed over a sheet of paper she had first seen stained illegible with coffee. She barely had the patience to not rip it off its tack.
"Hey!!" Ronja appeared at the door. "You just ran off on me?"
"Yeah, sorry," Alaia said, but she was distracted, looking at the paper that was now in her hand. She looked up at Ronja. "I'm going to go and pay a visit to old Mr. Marqués. You want to come with me?"
Ronja looked from Alaia's face to the paper in her hand and back to her face. She sighed.
"I can't believe I'm about to be the sensible one, but I suppose someone has to make sure you don't do anything too stupid?"
~X~
Marqués opened the door the third time Ronja knocked (Alaia had wanted to, but Ronja told her she was too worked up and that no one would open the door to someone who sounded like they were trying to knock it down), looking confused. As he saw who was behind the door, something flashed across his face. Alaia couldn't quite catch what it was before it was gone and replaced by a polite smile.
"Well, good day," he said, carefully. "Did we agree to talk again? Can I help you with more tips on the city?"
"What you can help me with," Alaia said as she dug the sheet of paper with dates and places and names, written in Marqués' handwriting, from her pocket and stuffed it in the face of the man standing at the door. "Is telling me where Tove is."
She heard more venom in her voice than she had ever heard before and frankly it scared her.
_______________________________________________________
Weird, usually when one of our characters ends up in a different reality it's in part one. Or four or something in the case of Doors. And now we're already past halfway through.
The topic for tomorrow is Filter.
~matu
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