Give me a book titled how. How to live, how to prosper, how to burn a soul from the inside out. I need to understand all the worlds good and its evil.

The librarian sat in his chair at the end of a long desk in the middle of the universes largest knowledge center, and he didn’t reply. I added please and he told me that he couldn’t do it, that the creator would be angry.

”I’m already confused to how you even got here but I’m definitely not gonna dig myself a deeper hole by letting you read the sacred texts. I’ve already talked to you long enough.”

“But you said humanity set the rules, that we basically wrote all of this!” My displeasure echoed in the chamber as I decided that there was no reason for me to listen to him “Fine, if you won’t get me the book then I’ll find it myself.”

He rolled his eyes as his voice dropped to mockery, “Go ahead, entertain me.”

I looked for hours and I couldn’t find a thing. When I finally gave up and picked the book nearest to me out of boredom I was shocked to find the book in Arabic. I only read in English.

“Hey! What the fuck is this?!”

He didn’t even look in my direction as he continued reading behind the large wooden table. “You can learn that language,” he said, “and the book will just present itself to you in another. It will keep doing this until you either die or give up. There are languages you humans haven’t even encountered yet, but these books have been here since the beginning of time, they know every language ever spoken and written and you will never learn all of them.”

I couldn’t even ask him why before he answered. “It’s to protect themselves from people like you.”

“like me?”

“Thieves.”

”I’m not-“

He slammed his book shut and stood up to point at me. “Knowledge. Is. Learned. You are here with all the answers of the universe and you’re trying to take them not experience them. Knowledge for your people is passed down through texts and wise elders and yes, books, but not these books, you are not ready for this knowledge and you won’t be until you experience it. Now please,” the room started to spin and I struggled to not fall back into the stars surrounding this mysterious building. I looked at him for some sense of comfort but his eyes were red with rage, “Get the hell out of my library.”

I woke up hyperventilating, looking around my studio apartment with sweat on my hands. I hadn’t left my apartment in 2 weeks, and thought that maybe he was right.

I stood and made myself some breakfast then I put on my warmest coat and boots and I opened my front door with a bowl of cereal in my hand. It was snowing outside and the city was beautiful. I sat on the stairs in front of my apartment complex and I watched the streets busy themselves with people heading to work and friends. Then I recognized my neighbor walking up with her chubby chihuahua. I knew those long brown locs anywhere and waved. She nodded at me and I pet her rude dog as I said hi to them both. She asked what I was doing up so early and I told her I couldn’t sleep. It was interesting watching her face light up as she reached into her bag and pulled out a notepad and flower pen. I could tell she had an idea and waited. A minute later she was handing me the piece of paper and i started reading it as she explained that it was a recipe for tea that she used to use for her daughter’s insomnia. I took the paper and thanked her and she patted me on the shoulder as she went upstairs. For some reason that made me feel warm inside. I always thought people were stupid and therefore learning from them was going to be of no help to me, but maybe all of our stupidity has a point. Perhaps ignorance has been the spark for every fact of the universe that we’ve figured out and I’ve simply been too cynical.

As I took another spoonful of my breakfast I realized that I didn’t need the libraries books. I could just as easily learn how to live through the old wise women who give out tea recipes on snowy Thursday mornings.