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The library was an astounding place. Books were stunningly stacked on each shelf, fitting perfectly with one another. I loved how no matter how different each book was from the other, they all were beautifully aligned. They belonged with each other despite their differences. I dropped my books in the return slot you see when you walked in. One was about star signs, one was a book about the sun and the moon, and one was a mermaid-vampire drama. Trine peeked into the slot to spy on the people in there. She said it was fun to see everyone working and they didn't even know she was there, haha. But I'm sure if I peeked they would see me in an instant on account of my head being a giant bright yellow eye. We walked over the rainbow, alphabet letter-patterned carpet and to the front desk. A man with the head of a lamp and plaid clothing was sitting there, scrolling on the computer in front of him. He saw us and then his head brightened. 

"Ah, hello! What can I do for you two ladies?" 

"We were wondering if you have ever heard or seen books here with information on- um...," I stopped. Wondering if I should tell him what we were looking for. I then pressed on, we shouldn't be ashamed. 

"The paradise for people who have forgotten?" I asked, looking down at the table, not wanting to see the man's surprised looks. I didn't want people to be surprised, I just wanted people to understand. Trine looked around nervously too. 

"I... Well, y-yes. Only two books though. I'll get them for you." He said.

"Thank you, sir," Trine replied.

The man got up and led us upstairs to the dusty third floor. Books on the third floor were the runner-up books. Not as known as the other floors. He went into a corner and we waited for him. He picked the two books from a shelf and came back with them. He placed one in each of our hands. 

"May I ask why you want these books?"

We both stood there silent for a moment. I knew I shouldn't be ashamed, but not being ashamed was so hard. Trine covered for me.

"Just curious." She said,

The man nodded and twinkled a bye with his lamp light and he left us alone by the tables up there. This was the most peaceful and quiet floor of the library, albeit desolate. Trine and I sat down in the hard wood chairs and opened the books flat on the table. I skimmed the blurbs. Trine's triangular head tilted curiously.

"What should we look for first?" 

An hour and a half later, we found some new information and some of it made us even more confused. 

"It's with the ocean? What does that mean?" I said with uncertainty.

"Maybe that means it's on an island? Or boat?.. Or in the ocean?" Trine offered.

"Hmph. And what about all this talk about how, whatever it is, every inch of it is covered in breathtaking flowers! Is itself a garden? And it says nothing inhabits it other than its wonderful people and everything is amazing and "wowza". Nothing can be that perfect.. can it?"

"Exe, they said that you can find a new life there. They don't judge you for who you were, they accept you for who you are! Just imagine, not having to be embarrassed, not having to worry about those questions." She said passionately. "And everyone from all walks of life live there! Imagine how much everyone can learn from each other! We wouldn't have to hide anymore. We could feel free."

"... It does sound wonderful." I sighed. "I'll think about it. And you should too! How about we give it a couple of days."

"Righto, mate!" Trine exclaimed. 

I looked at her awkwardly and then she looked down at the table awkwardly.

"Sorry, it sounded cooler in my head" She giggled.

We headed home and arrived back at our apartment. It was almost dark so I said goodnight to her and we headed our separate ways. I layed in my bed and wrote some more in my journal. I decided to write some hints about the amazing twist-villain Trine mentioned. I stayed up for a while watching the television, mostly nature documentaries and then some Star Trek. Then I felt my eye become heavy, so I closed it. 

I was in a dream. The room was pitch black and shining yellow eyes were watching me. They looked like my eye, but they had regular pupils, not like an x. Then spikes formed around me and they grew and impaled each of the eyes around me. I panicked and I felt myself becoming lightheaded. Blood poured onto me and then I screamed. I woke up in horror and my heart was beating as fast as a drum. I looked around the room and everything was normal again. I lifted myself from my bed and I took a deep breath. It's okay. It's just a dream. Wait- dream? I never have those. Why is it happening now? I got into my head for a while, frantically trying to think of an explanation or something to calm my nerves. I glanced at the clock in my room and it said 10:30. Oh god, I slept later than I usually do! Then I relaxed a bit, didn't have anything to get to... until I heard the talking of people outside my door. 

I opened the door, still in my pajamas, and I saw that Erodius and Euclid's party must have started already! I watched all of the people chatting outside of their condo and I peered inside their home and the mingling of people almost blew me away. So many people, I almost got nervous just standing there, but who would I be if I didn't explore everything? I ran to Trine's door excitedly to tell her of the party, it would be great to go there with her! I knocked on her door and she opened it, while slurping the protein shake she had in her hand. She finished and smiled. 

"I saw what was going on out there and was waiting to see if you would want to go!"

"Looks fun. Let's get ready!" I replied.

I trotted back to my home and took a fresh shower. I studied my skin while the warm water hit my back. My skin was a light indigo color, it almost looked sickly, like my whole body was being choked blue constantly, but it had a majestic look to it too, like a mermaid from a sea full of stars. I decided to focus on something else and I remembered how much I liked singing in the shower. No one could hear me, that was my favorite part. Today I sung the lyrics from a song I love from one of my favorite movies: The Wizard of Oz.

"Hold onto your breath, hold onto your heart, hold onto your hope, 

March up to that gate and bid it open." 

This braced me for the new adventure that awaited me today. I put on a nice-looking black short-sleeve dress with blue faux jewels on the top and I put on my favorite black fancy boots with fluff at the top. I never put on necklaces or bracelets because they always pinched my arm and neck hairs. I looked at myself in the mirror again. I was pleased with my appearance. I went out of my condo, locked my door, and came to see Trine. She had a good getup. A bright red dress with a cream-white leather coat and white cowboy boots. 

"You look great!" I said gazing at her dress.

"Thanks! You look great too! Let's go!"

She grabbed my hand and we rushed into the party. We glimpsed at some of the people. A dragon, a jack-in-the-box, a robot, and a person with a cupcake for a head were speaking to each other on the dark orange couches. A manatee was blathering with an elephant and many object heads were gabbing in the center of the home with glasses of wine between their fingers. Erodius saw us from the end of the room and brought Euclid with him. "Welcome to our party. We're glad you could make it!" Euclid nodded briskly after Erodius's greeting. 

"Sure, thank you." I said, knowing that they probably didn't care that we showed. Trine squeaked a little thank you too as we squeezed through the crowd. Some of the people gave us a quiet nod or a hello as we found our seats. We chatted with a few people while we sat at one of the tables, each had an interesting story about their past life. We felt a bit left out, but nonetheless it was fascinating hearing the tales. Trine told them of her job and I didn't say much, I just listened and watched. A man with the head of a hill landscape painting sat down with us and he was jolly and spoke of his adventures too, being a painter like me. This man was handsome too, and I couldn't help but be enthralled by his charming body and looks. The way he moves his hands when he talks. The way he dressed, a long-sleeved white shirt with a collar and black jeans and a tight, nice looking leather belt. The way he talked smoothly. Everyone else was enthralled by him too by the looks of it, but after not too long Trine stood up. 

"I'm going to see what there is for a snack! You'll be alright here?"

"Yes, I'll be fine! Just don't take too long!"

Still, I didn't want to be all alone the whole time.

I kept listening to the man, his name was Bryn. He painted the world like he saw it. I understood him so well. I smiled to myself. Then I caught his eye. He got up and sat down closer to me.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing here?" His breath smelled of alcohol. 

I blushed. (The red mixing with the atmosphere, as what happened with most creatures in this world that had no cheeks.)

"Just visiting with a friend. I live down the hall."

"Oh, maybe I should visit you sometime." He said.

At first I felt a bit of uncertainty of my feelings when he said that but I dismissed it. I'm just not used to people flirting with me, I reassured myself.

"I'm a painter too. I could show you my works someti-" 

"Will, can you get me another drink?" He interrupted, asking his friend. I didn't think much of this, he just has a lot of friends and probably a lot on his mind. He received his drink and swished the glass in his palm. I talked about a bit of my life but he didn't seem to be interested in much of it. He just drank and then looked deeply in my eye over and over again. I felt like my words were going in one ear and out the other. But I kept telling myself the same thing, he probably just has a lot of things on his mind. 

"Cool. Well let's dip out of this dumb party, eh?" He said as he put his hand on mine. "Would you like to go to my condo? It's not too far from here. I'll get you a drink before we leave." 

He lifted me up and I went with him. This is okay. This is fine.

"No, sorry. I don't drink." I said, feeling some churning feeling inside of me. 

He somehow led me to the bar, enchanted by Bryn, I forgot about Trine. 

"Why don't you just try it today? It won't hurt." He pushed.

Then he ordered me a drink. 

I held the drink in my hands, staring at it for a long while. Then I took a tiny sip. It zipped through my body and then I looked back at Bryn. He smiled, however a painting could smile. He led me towards the door out of the party and then into the hallway. We walked for a bit and I kept noticing him eyeing me. This is fine. This is okay. He's nice. He's good looking. He stopped by his door and then gripped his hands on my shoulders and pressed his face closer to mine. This didn't feel fine. This didn't feel okay. I wasn't going into his home to chat with him and listen to his stories, he was going to...

I tilted my head back quickly. 

"U-um. I forgot that my friend is probably waiting for me." 

He became annoyed.

"But we're here. Why don't you just come in? We'll have a good time." He objected, anger rising in his voice.

I panicked.

"No!"

I didn't know what else to say and then I just ran. I ran back to the party. My heart was pounding and I was scared. The music blared, and the lights blazed. I became dizzy. I tried to calm down and then I sat. Trine wasn't back yet. It's okay. I'll just wait. I listened to the others talking and I started to get into the conversation, just about our lives right now and our favorite animals and crap. Then I heard the question, 

"How did you die?"

There's the uncomfortable feeling again rising in me. I stuttered for a bit and then I said it. 

"I don't remember."

They all stared. One stopped sipping their drink. Then they all lowered their eyebrows. Pity. I felt tears in my eye and my cheeks flushed red. I wanted to crawl away. I just wanted to be shut in my home. Please. Help. Then I felt my heart pound again, my head pounding, the air becoming harder to breathe. 

"Excuse me," I murmured, as I hurried to the bathroom. Luckily no one was in there. I shut the door and then started crying. Sobbing. I sat on the floor, my back resting on the door. My head was spinning and I felt sick. Why did this have to... I was excited... What happened... I'm so dumb… help. Then I heard a knock on the door.

"Exe? It's Trine! You okay? Sorry I took so long, I got all mixed up in a conversation and then I had to grab a quick thing from my room that I forgot and then I couldn't find my keys!" She sighed exhausted. "I'll stay with you the rest of the day okay?"

I opened the door for her, tears strolling down my neck. Trine's expression changed quickly. Worried, she went inside and shut the door behind us.

"What happened?" She asked, drying my tears with the bottom of her dress. 

I explained to her what happened, taking deep breaths and stammering. She listened to me through all of it. Then once I was done, she hugged me. 

"What do you want to do now?" She asked, still hugging me.

I thought for a long moment. And then I realized what I wanted more than ever now. 

"I want to leave for Paradise."