The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 39: As he slipped into sleep, he began to dream.
As he slipped into sleep, he began to dream. That books featured in his dream was not a surprise. In his dreams, James found himself stepping into the main entryway of the library. The atrium was large and round. It sort of formed a vertical tunnel through the entire building. In the center of this main floor was a fountain that tinkled merrily. He thought it strange to have water so near books but there didn’t seem to be many books on this floor. This floor contained the circulation desk to check out books and another desk to return them. The rest of the rooms were office spaces and meeting rooms. He walked to the edge of the fountain. A wide walkway with a railing was on the edge of the open atrium and the rows of books branched out from them like spokes on a wheel.
James frowned and looked up. He couldn’t tell how many floors the library contained. It looked like it went up forever.
“Optical illusion,” he told himself. Leaving behind the fountain and the circulation desks, James moved to the stair case. While he wanted to take the stairs so he could view the fountain as he rose and get a better look at the statue under the rippling water, he hoped he could see an elevator and maybe duck inside to see what the highest button was and thus determine how many floors there really were. He reached the stairwell but saw no sign of an elevator. On the wall beside the stairwell he saw a brass plaque that had the words Ground Floor’ picked out in raised lettering. James shrugged and began to climb. The stair case was open with just the thin metal railing between him and the open space. James wasn’t sure how they kept kids from ducking through the open space or how they justified the safety hazard.
There was no one else in the library. He saw no librarians, no patrons, no children risking life and limb by leaning too far over the railing. It was just him and his solitary footsteps muffled by the industrial carpet. He looked over the railing as he circled around to the first floor. He could see the statue was a man, but it was no clearer than it was from below. The water flowed out of his head and down his face and body, distorting the features, making him indistinct. He could be anyone from a former president or governor to Elvis Presley.
“Although I think they always sculpt Elvis dancing, with the knees bent,” James thought. He remembered a long ago trip to Graceland and was certain he saw dancing statues but couldn’t remember.
“Seem strange for the water to cover his face,” James thought. Looking at the statue he thought there should have been jets of water around the man, shooting up around him as though celebrating his presence. For the water to run out of a fountain set in his head seemed peculiar.
“Unless it is some sort of artistic design and not a statue of someone famous after all he thought. “Maybe it has something to do with knowledge being the equalizer of men, or something like that. “ Such a statement seemed like it would fit with a library. The stairs turned and James looked away stepping onto the first floor of books.
Ten til Midnight 