It always gave her a shiver as she walked in. It was something about the atmosphere that she couldn't quite pinpoint. It was partly the history; the thought of the thousands of people who had preceded her. Partly it was the appearance, a throwback to a time past when things were different, and her window to another world. The smell was unmistakable, row upon row of books bound by leather, mixed with the varying scent of people as they passed in narrow corridors. The air didn't circulate well, leaving the residue of each person over a century. And then there was the learning. New light cast on old problems, personal enlightenment and for every bright idea a thousand flaws. So many people, so many ideas, yet somehow a place so personal. For her it was the place she came to be alone. To be lost in her own world, where her ideas could develop, however fantastical they may be. No one would hear most of them, no one would comment, or criticise, or chuckle cynically. Her place.
Her exact place was a small desk near the back of the entire complex. As she wound around the narrow page filled corridors she hoped as she always did, that the desk would be free. Why did she worry? It was always free. For a start, there weren't many interested in her topic. Who would venture to the depths of the archives to explore a world nearly one thousand years before the birth of Christ? She often reflected on this. Her world had to be individual, for finding a shared mind, a shared intellect and interest, was difficult. She had bright friends, friends with whom she could relax and enjoy a good time, so it wasn't loneliness she defined. More it was a lack of intrigue and challenge.
The desk was, of course, free. Tucked away in an enclave behind the final row of books. Someone would have to know of its whereabouts to find it; such was its obscurity in the place. It was made of solid wood, with a high back leather chair, reflecting the quality and austerity of the period in which it was constructed. There was a small desk lamp, which, when the new motion sensitive lighting went out, would be her only light source. Sometime she would turn the light off and sit in utter darkness and silence, the lack of sound reflected all about her.
She sat down, and switched the lamp on. She was sure that no one had opened this particular volume for years; such was the stiffness of the paper and the musty smell it produced. For an hour she applied herself to her learning, the light and last signs of human activity long since passed. But her mind wasn't playing today. Her thoughts filled with memories, and try as she did, she couldn't shake them. She tried to remember the field trip that had just past, to apply her visual memories of the latest site of exploration on the south-western coast. She hoped to find relevance in something actual rather than another academic theory, but all that came to mind was the other characters in the group, eccentrics from across the country.
She remembered the party on the last night, full of technical speak and none of it revolutionary or stimulating. She hated being away, being told where to go, at what time. She had craved her own time and space. She remembered particularly the attractive couple at the bar towards the end of the night. Obviously holiday makers, care-free and not tied to a routine or schedule.