Three Bells: [WRITTEN] - New Horizons in Lit Appreciation

[simplestgift]

They have everything Shakespeare ever wrote in the library.  Everything!  It's a fountain of gold.  I could spend days here.  I'd sleep here if they'd let me.  I don't think I've ever been happier.  And there's no theatre group here?  None?  Do people here not realize what they have?  What kind of a world is this?

In case anyone asks, I'll be in the library for the rest of my life.

[Or really just the rest of the day.   At some point he'll have to come up for air and grab something to eat at the 7th Heaven, where he'll be buried in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  It'll be dark before he goes home, carrying only a single book.]

Comments

[memoryboxes]

[Give her a minute, she's in some deep thought here.]

I suppose... ah... how many months are there...

[simplestgift]

Twelve months. Ma'am.

[memoryboxes]

[A soft sigh.]

Twelve. Right!

[She flips through a small notebook to her left, and proceeds to carefully write: 12 months all together]

I'm sorry, sometimes I tend to forget all the wrong sorts of things... Is there anything else about months I should know? ...What's the name of the month right now?

[simplestgift]

January, ma'am.

[He's still taking this in and trying not to look as uncomfortable as he feels. He feels some urge to either help her or make an excuse and leave. Anything besides stand awkwardly.]

Next month is February.

1/2

[memoryboxes]

[Scribbling that down now.]

Ah, thank you! That's very helpful...--

[memoryboxes]

Ah... is something wrong?

[You seem a little awkward and unsure.]

[simplestgift]

[Oh dear.]

No! Nothing at all. Is there anything else you need help with?

[Now he feels awful. The woman's not an idiot, just forgetful, perhaps. He's trying very hard not to look like he pities her, but he does, and he's making a genuine offer.]

[memoryboxes]

Oh, well... if you could, could you perhaps me the names of those months?

[A small blush crosses her face at the request, as she makes a thin timeline in her book for the information.]

That way I can always have them, in case I forget again.

[simplestgift]

[He gives her a smile--a real one--and focuses on the task at hand.]

Well, after February is March. You need me to spell any of these? Some of them aren't spelled the way they sound.

[memoryboxes]

Ah, would you? That would be appreciated a lot. [She leans away to give him room, offering the pen.] I apologize for the sloppiness! I tend to have such chicken-scratch when I'm making notes.

[simplestgift]

[He's relaxing now.]

Trust me, I'm no better. [Even though he is.] Er. F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y. Followed by March, which is the way it sounds. After that is April, A-P-R-I-L.

[memoryboxes]

[Watching oh-so-intently, because it's wise to take any teachings seriously!]

I see! Mmhmm. I wonder, why don't they just spell it like it sounds? February, I mean.

[simplestgift]

[A blank look again. Then he pronounces the word again. Being an Englishman of his time, he actually pronounces the first 'r'.]

That is the way it's pronounced. February. It's a bit awkward, isn't it?

[memoryboxes]

[She nods.]

Actually, I ran into a similar problem with Wednesday, when I was learning my days here! It's so strange, how some things work. Then again, I'm easily mystified by a lot of stuff people would find normal...

[simplestgift]

[He nods, wondering if most people shouldn't be mystified by this sort of thing. Then, realizing she must have no idea who he is, he holds out his hand.] Archie Kennedy.

1/2

[memoryboxes]

Oh—

[Giving that hand a confused staaare. And then slowly taking it with her own. Is this right? Did she forget how to do something here? 8|a]

[memoryboxes]

I'm Sayo! It's nice to meet you, Archie-san.

[simplestgift]

[He relaxes and shakes her hand gently, as if it might break.] Good to meet you, Sayo. Er. Why do some people here say my name with that word after it?

[memoryboxes]

Oh, then they must be Japanese as well! At home, in order to be polite, we use honorifics like -san. To express respect.

[simplestgift]

You're from the Japans?

[memoryboxes]

I am! You know about it?

[simplestgift]

The Japans, yes. I was in the navy, and it was considered bad form not to know generally where everything is in the world.

[memoryboxes]

The navy? What might that be, if I'm allowed to ask?

[And of course, like every single thing she doesn't know, she carries in her expression sincere and complete interest.]

[simplestgift]

It's...er, it's men who do battle at sea.

[memoryboxes]

[Luckily, she's been told the basics of battle—that is bad, actually. She frowns at that, a hand hovering at her mouth.]

Goodness—that must be a dangerous job... I had no idea people even fought in the ocean...