"I Highly Recomend It. Works Better Than Any Melatonin Or Sleeping Pill I've Tried." Admittedly Reading

It had been one of those days. Zahra had stared at computer screen until her eyes ached, had fetched her blue light glasses, and had continued staring, the word count mocking her mercilessly as she wrote and then deleted sentences. Tempted to throw her laptop from a window, she had decided to leave her apartment for a few hours before causing any serious damage to her electronics. The lounge wouldn't normally have been her spot of choice, but Zahra had been desperate for a distraction. Someplace loud with a bunch of people she didn't know had seemed like the best option. Something to drown her thoughts.

She had stood in front of the free seat for a while, seemingly unable to just ask whether she could sit down. "Yes. Is this seat taken?" she asked with a nod.

Muse | Open starter | @bhqextras

It was late in the afternoon and Rhiannon had spent most of her day pent up in her home with her daughter. It was summer break for the almost nine year old and she'd normally be at camp but she wasn't feeling well today. Just because Willow is sick doesn't mean that Rhiannon's deadline will extend. After calling for a sitter for a few hours, she found herself at a lounge with a drink in one hand and a pen in the other, scribbling away in her notebook. The music and the alcohol had her creativity flowing. She was so into her work that she hadn't noticed someone approach her table. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there," she said, looking up at them with a smile. "Were you looking to sit?"

"Nothing better than a good character study, especially if absolutely nothing happens. Sometimes it's real nice to read about nothing. Although I guess I'm somewhat partial to literature that's not always super, um, happy. That being said, I've enjoyed my fair share of fluffy romances and feel-good classics. There's definitely a time and place for them." Literature had been one of her favorite forms of escapism ever since she was a kid listening to her parents' read to her at night. She had delighted in being able to pick up a book for bedtime, always eager to learn where the story had left off the night before. She found herself missing that childhood wonder and reading solely for fun. Laughing when the other defended her opinion, Zahra nodded along. "Sure. It's good to have strong opinions."

She shook her head vigorously. "Not at all, I appreciate it. Otherwise I would have been stuck here for ages, unable to decide. There are so many good books I would've never picked up if someone hadn't recommended to me."

"i agree. i'm personally a character development person. i prefer a good character arc and relationship building over plot. honestly it could be a 'no plot just vibes' type of book and i'd be happy. frankly, i wish there were more books where nothing happens and everything is just, sorta, happy. i know most people wouldn't really like that, but sometimes i just want to be in a world full of happiness even just for a little while. just to enjoy the temporary lack of stress, you know?" she explained, eyes drifting upward in thought. she cringed slightly at the other's words, not because she disapproved of them. no. she believed everyone was entitled to their own opinions and they were all valid. it never changed the way she thought of a person. but she just had hated the book that much. she shivered a bit. "oh i don't think it has any merit. if i never see that book again it would be too soon," she laughed.

she placed a flattered hand against her chest and smiled broadly. "well thank you! that means a lot to me, honestly. it's good to know i'm not just some annoying person coming to bug people into buying their favorite book," she laughed. "i understand that. never enough time to read all the books in the world."

While tall and wiry, Zahra had never been the athletic or muscular sort. If anything, her height was of the lanky type, all long limbs and sharp edges. Evidently that was not the case with this stranger who seemed to have no problem carrying the mammoth bag. "Just inside, thank you. I need to return them."

The woman looked down at the bag and picked it up with a perfect ease, the weight not at all a bother for the huge woman. Hazel looked down at the bag and then to the smaller woman before her "Sure, so where do you want it?" she asked casually with a little shrug.

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (1922)

Despite her stubborn streak and tendency to insist on doing things by herself no matter how difficult, Zahra could not hide her relief. Besides, a slipped disc didn't necessarily appeal to her. "Oh, hardly. It's definitely no more than a quarter of my size. And it's lighter than it looks." That was a bold-faced lie and Zahra was definitely grateful Ryan had offered to help her with the books. "That'd be nice, thank you. Can't say I've been doing much of heavy lifting lately." She shook her head slowly. "You're working? Nothing serious, I hope."

—dressed in a casual uniform, black pants and standard FD t-shirt, he walked up the stairs leading to the library meaning to check on a call; they did claim it was a false alarm, but two of them had been sent anyway to ensure there were no issues. a standard procedure for such a call, they needed to do an inspection of the building; this was a library after all, a fire break out in this place would be a pain, for many reasons. “what are you doing?” he laughed as he noticed Zahra —first he had noticed the bag, to be fair. looking at the massive blue bag she was carrying, he arched an eyebrow. “this is twice your size, Zahra,” he teased, laughing. “may I?” he inquired, gesturing towards the bag.

Zahra remembered the first time she had been told she needed to ask for help when she needed it. She had been six and stuck in a tree for most of a family cookout, too stubborn to admit she was indeed stuck and not simply enjoying the solitude. She could now feel the same pride as an acid in her throat, tempted to lie and say she had everything under control. She might have just done it if her arms and back werent's quite so achey. "Yeah? Okay, that would be appreciated. It is pretty heavy," she admitted with a careful nod of her head. "And it is hot."

@ofzahras

Isabelle sucked on her lollipop slowly, watching her with a little look of amusement. It was too hot; the kind of hot where the air sticks to your skin like a hand, stifling and white-hot, scorching. Her neck was kind of red and there was the faint outline of her bikini straps on her bare shoulders. She had her hair gathered-up in a messy bun, and her sunglasses atop her head. She said, not really giving it much thought either. "I've nothing to do... I am just killing time, waiting around for my girlfriend to get off work, so I could help you." she offered, sticking her lollipop into her mouth again, shrugging one shoulder.

"I guess you're partially right. I just wish I had actually read these instead of just hauling them home and now bringing them right back." Obviously no one knew - or cared - that she hadn't even cracked open most of the books, but the shame was palpable nonetheless. The shame seemed to be her constant companion, increasingly so ever since her brain had decided it no longer wanted to partake in any additional reading or writing. The feeling only grew as she thought about future deadlines and word counts, the threat of falling behind making her sick to her stomach. "I am sure it's just a writer's block," she muttered, mostly to herself, before snorting in amusement. "See, I like where your head's at. I could smuggle Circe everywhere and become the ultimate cat lady."

A realisation lit up Zahra's face as Julia admitted she was only heading in. She laughed, shaking her head softly. "Ah, there you go. It's good to know some things don't change. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Julia didn’t comment on her helping because if the roles were reversed the last thing she’d want was another person drilling down on how they’d had to lend a hand. Too many people took pride in their independence for her to risk saying the wrong thing. Instead she just gave her a small smile with an incline of her head, picking up the handle nearest to her. 

“I don’t know if this can be considered a walk of shame, I mean what part of being well read is meant to be shameful?” If that was the case then maybe she should just bury her head in the sand right now because she’d much rather spend time with a stack of books than another human most of the time. “Or you could get one of those ones that old people take to the grocery store, the old lady shopper bags. Then no one would even know what was in it.” A shrug of her shoulders as they headed into the library, realising that Zahra didn’t realise that she was arriving rather than leaving. “Oh you know me better than that, I’m on my way in to pick up a couple I’ve had set aside for me. Don’t worry - I’ve not been replaced by an alien.” Julia joked softly. @ofzahras

"I get that," she replied, deep in thought as she watched the puppies go about their business. While more of a cat person, Zahra hadn't been able to resist the chance of seeing a bunch of puppies competing in fun little competitions. She might have looked just a little intimidating in her all-black outfit and a rather stern look on her face, but there were very few things she adored more than baby animals. Besides, it was a good excuse to get out of her apartment during the daytime. "Have you already picked your favorite to win?"

status: open starter location: bark park, manhattan

excited about the puppy olympics, quinn was equipped with her water bottle at hand, standing right outside the fence to admire all the cute puppies that are partaking in the puppy olympics. "you'd think i'd be more excited for the actual olympics, but here i am more interested in cute puppies doing their own right by my house, i'd take the puppy olympics over the real olympics any day. although i will say from what i have seen on tv for the real olympics, quite impressed, but again, more interested in these cute puppers." she smiled and chuckled while looking out at all the puppies running around while participating in the events they were enrolled in. @bhqextras

It was a relief how Julia seemed to understand exactly what she was going through and didn't ask any awkward follow up questions. Their careers were evidently very different but there were similarities as well. The constant need to learn more and keep researching even when that was the last thing you wanted to do. Zahra truly appreciated Julia's company in that moment, glad she had ran into her.

"Oh yeah. I thought it would be useful if I had to take her to the vet or something. She's not the smallest of cats so carrying her isn't exactly fun," she explained. Her face seemed to lit up as she talked about Circe and the corners of the mouth twitched towards a smile. "But I've been too embarrassed to use it. She's real loud, too, so I'm sure no one would think I had an actual baby in there." That being said, Zahra would undoubtedly change her mind the moment she saw someone else prancing around with their cat in a stroller.

She nodded eagerly, clearly delighted by the prospect of accomplishing something small yet meaningful. "Absolutely. Sounds good," she agreed, already heading towards the returns. "It's ideal, really. I doubt I will be too tempted to pick up any medical books. Wouldn't understand most of it. The Latin and Greek I studied wouldn't get me very far with those terms."

Julia smiled softly, understanding the issue being described because she’d been there herself - more times than she’d care to admit because you’d think she’d have learnt her session after the first. “We’ve all been there.” As they headed into the vast library Julia was relieved to feel the familiar wash of calm the old building brought with it. A place that housed so much knowledge with no expectations on it apart from that you feasted to your hearts content, she could slip away in here for hours on end. Reading while the outside pressures melted away until it was time to walk back out the doors again. “You have a cat stroller for her? Oh my goodness, I’ve only ever actually seen those used on television. Is it common for people to take their cats out for walks? I thought they were more inside pets. Especially in the city.” Not that she’d ever had one, though they were very cute and occasionally the thought had crossed her mind to keep her company in the times she wasn’t at the hospital, before she remembered that those hours were extensive and it wasn’t really conducive to looking after a pet. 

The offer of help was one she’d happy accept though, enjoying Zahra’s presence because it felt like they had a lot in common, even if the information they’d shared with each other was limited. It was just a sense the doctor got. “I’d love that, thank you. Why don’t we put yours all back in for return and then we can head up to the medical section?” Her voice lowering as they were now in the confines of the library. @ofzahras

me trying to comprehend anything anyone says to me