In the busy harbor city of Beysolun, a little girl named Neir Arlethe was carefully pedaling her bicycle. She carried a basket of fresh fish, securely tied to the back of her bike. The sea breeze gently blew through her red hair, which looked as tousled as if the wind itself had just combed it. She was only ten years old, but her small frame was already accustomed to hard work.
The city was bustling that morning. Merchants called out to customers with loud voices, while small children played in the gaps between the crowds. The cobblestone streets, slippery from seawater, forced Neir to be extra careful. "Just one more turn," she murmured, pedaling faster towards her destination: the home of Mr. Gharrick, the keeper of the old library at the end of the street.
In Neir's basket were five sea catfish, known locally as kahlun. These fish were famous for their tender flavor and were often used in soups in Beysolun. Her mother sold them for two glein each, so Mr. Gharrick's order that morning came to ten glein. In the local currency, one glein was equivalent to about five thousand rupiah, making the total price of the fish fifty thousand rupiah—a significant sum for a simple family like Neir's.
Arriving in front of Mr. Gharrick's large wooden door, Neir knocked several times. But, as usual, there was no answer. A neighbor hanging laundry peeked out. "He must be at the library. You know, he prefers the company of books to people."
Neir fell silent for a moment, her eyes squinting in confusion. Books? What are books? she thought. The word felt foreign. But she didn't dare ask, afraid of seeming strange. She just smiled slightly and nodded before getting back on her bike and pedaling towards the mentioned library.
When she arrived at the library, the large, carved wooden door required both her hands to open. Cool air and the distinct scent of old paper greeted her. Sunlight streaming through the large windows illuminated tall shelves filled with dusty books.
In the corner of the room, a large man with a curled mustache that resembled a shrimp's tail sat relaxed. In his hands was an open book, and he looked so engrossed in reading that he didn't notice Neir's presence.
"Mr. Gharrick!" Neir called out, trying to get his attention.
The old man looked up, and a broad smile immediately appeared. "Neir! My favorite little fish girl! You've brought my order?"
Neir gave a small laugh as she lowered the fish basket from her bike. However, she couldn't contain her curiosity when she saw the object in Mr. Gharrick's hands. She pointed at it and asked, "Sir, what is that you're holding?"
Mr. Gharrick closed the book with a soft thump and looked at Neir as if he were telling a story to a child. "This, Neir, is a window to another world. You know, like when you open your window at home, but this one doesn't show you the streets. This book shows you adventures, mysteries, even miracles."
Neir's eyes widened. "A window to another world?" she asked innocently. "How?"
Mr. Gharrick chuckled and patted Neir's head gently. "This book is like a fish in the sea, child. If you don't know how to catch it, you'll never know how delicious its contents are."
Neir frowned, trying to understand the metaphor. "So, I have to learn to 'catch' a book?"
"Exactly!" said Mr. Gharrick cheerfully. "You catch on quick. It seems your brain isn't as small as an anchovy's! Books are like friends. If you want to know them, you have to open your heart... or at the very least, their pages."
Neir laughed, though she was a little confused. "But I've never read before. Mom only taught me how to count."
Mr. Gharrick looked at Neir with an attentive gaze. "That's alright. Reading is like learning to ride a bike. At first you fall, but after that, you never forget."
"Really, Sir?"
"Of course!" Mr. Gharrick leaned back in his chair with a confident expression. "Come, visit me here sometime. I'll teach you how to read. For free, like a bonus small fish when you buy ten at the market!"
Neir smiled broadly. However, her smile slowly turned to confusion as she noticed the atmosphere in the library. "Sir, why is this place so quiet? If books are as magical as you say, why doesn't anyone come?"
Mr. Gharrick scratched his head. "Ah, that's a good question. Maybe it's because people here are busy catching real fish, not story-fish."
Neir rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hold back a laugh. "Sir, you're so funny."
Mr. Gharrick shrugged. "Well, humor is like salt, Neir. Without it, life is bland."
After handing over several glein coins for the fish payment, Mr. Gharrick returned to his chair. Meanwhile, Neir got on her bike and rode home with a small smile on her face. That day, for the first time, she felt as if she had discovered a new world waiting to be explored—a world hidden behind the words of old books.
---
The Theft
On her way home, Neir thought about her conversation with Mr. Gharrick in his small library. The old man had said cheerfully, "Neir, books are like friends. If you want to know them, you have to open your heart... or at the very least, their pages."
Those words kept echoing in Neir's mind. She didn't understand. Friends? Aren't friends supposed to be people? How could a book be a friend? Her mind grew more crowded. She also began to question why her mother, Mariela, had never taught her to read.
"Why did Mom only teach me to count? Is reading not important?" Neir murmured to herself.
Without realizing it, Neir's small steps led her back to the market, to the place where her mother sold fish. As soon as she arrived, Mariela greeted her with a warm smile, though she looked tired. "Did you get the money from Mr. Gharrick?" Mariela asked, wiping sweat from her brow.
Neir nodded and handed over the small bag containing the glein. Actually, she wanted to ask her mother if she could learn to read with Mr. Gharrick. But, seeing her mother busy serving customers, she held back her intention.
The market's commotion suddenly turned tense when a middle-aged woman, who seemed twice her mother's age, started arguing with Mariela. The woman was haggling over a large red bass, but at a very low price—far below the market rate.
"A fish like this isn't worth twenty-five glein! Ten glein at most!" the woman shrieked, drawing attention from those nearby.
Mariela remained calm, though her tone was firm. "Ma'am, this is fresh fish, caught this morning. The market price is twenty-five glein, and that's fair."
The woman grew louder, causing people to crowd around them. "Twenty-five glein? You think I don't know how fishmongers like you inflate prices arbitrarily?"
Amid the commotion, Neir started to feel something was amiss. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy, perhaps her age, approaching her mother's stall. With a quick movement, the boy opened the cash drawer and stuffed its contents into his shirt.
Neir's eyes widened. When the boy realized he'd been caught, he immediately sprinted away into the crowd.
"MOTHERRRR!!!!" Neir screamed, trying to warn her, but her voice was swallowed by the uproar.
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman grabbed something from her bag—a packet of a spicy powder like black pepper. With a swift motion, she threw the powder right into Mariela's face.
Mariela coughed violently, her eyes turning red and watery. She tried to cover her face with her hands, but it was too late. "Mother!" Neir exclaimed, rushing to avoid the attack herself.
The woman and the boy fled in different directions. People nearby tried to chase the woman, but Neir decided to chase the boy. She couldn't let the thief get away just like that!
On her bicycle, Neir tailed the boy. They engaged in a fierce chase through the market's narrow streets. Neir didn't give up, even though the boy ran with incredible speed.
The boy finally ducked into a narrow alley too tight for the bicycle. Fortunately, Neir knew a shortcut through the area. She left her bike and took the shortcut to cut him off.
As the boy emerged from the alley, he crashed into a mysterious woman wearing a white robe. From the collision, a green pendant fell from the woman's robe.
Neir arrived at the spot a few seconds later, panting heavily. The boy panicked, offered a quick apology to the woman, and then skillfully scaled the wall of a nearby house, disappearing onto the roof like a seasoned thief.
Neir could only stare in astonishment. She was both impressed and confused by how the boy had escaped. She approached the woman in white to help her up, but the woman instead pushed Neir, causing her to stumble and fall.
"I-I have to..... do it, I ha-have to do it!!" the woman stammered before she herself fled in the opposite direction.
A few people from the crowd finally arrived at the scene, finding Neir still on the ground with a cut on her elbow. One of them was a young woman named Kaela, who immediately tried to help Neir up.
"Neir, are you okay?" Kaela asked worriedly, but Neir refused to be carried. "I'm fine," she said, holding her bleeding elbow.
However, Neir's attention was soon drawn to something on the ground. She saw the green pendant the woman had dropped. She quickly picked it up and hid it inside her apron without anyone else noticing.
Kaela and a few others ran off to chase the thief, while Neir tried to shout and tell them the boy's actual escape route over the rooftops. But Neir's voice was too weak to reach them, already too far away.
Neir stood there, staring at the pendant in her hand. Her mind was full of questions. "What exactly is this thing?" she whispered.