Twist

A bottle washed ashore, retrieved by @ivury_tower, allegedly,

Opened with a twist.

Miskatonic Occult Literature Library & Unusually Special Collections Department

“Serenity is the absence of filth.”

Mind not my loss of color, the blisters are testament to a job well done! Leaving unscathed would be leaving half-finished. That’s a cardinal sin for any custodian worth their salt. The tiled floors in particular are of top priority when scrubbing, they show such a marvelous reflection! Curse be to the louses that filthy them so. Countless hours I’ve spent mopping porcelain shrapnel and toxic innards. Yet when I can drag a finger across the floor and taste not a single dab of filth or grime, the bliss I feel muffles all complaint!

I have an inkling to the cause for the hemorrhages that pimple the Library, but I have no interest in playing the Inquisition. All I see is an opportunity to make another room shine. A taste of the delectable Himalayan brings me to my hands and knees, primed for attack. Bandaged fingers brace the floor as my chemical-laden body is lifted vertical. My saliva is pine-scented today.

These dear durable digits dawdle daintily down dusty doorways d'weards decadent deep-sea diorama. Alas, the Sanzu Aquarium Wing has gone to the dogs. Floors polka-dotted with circular prints, shelves laden with mites, and tanks with an overabundance of roe. Such careless bookkeepers will forever stay bookkeepers, if they still remain as bookkeepers. 

The Aquatics lie dormant. Blanketed by their shells, tendrils tenderly swishing as they relish in dreams nary a soul could comprehend. A twist of the tank’s heat valve makes for a lively show, a far cry from their brothers of Time’s past. “Your ancestors are rolling,” I’d tease. If only I could be so articulate. Amidst their fevered movements, I noticed a disturbing wealth of algae deposits plaguing their habitat. The greedy minks were costing us the workforce! I nearly had them boiled for that, though I later showed mercy upon finding a few scattered IDs belonging to various diminutive assistants. The loss was then easier to swallow.

Eating is such a mortal act. That for the birds befits only birdbrains, and I do not intend to stain my innards with gruel or any other waste-producing substances. Rather, I polish my temple with only the most refined alkalis. That and a frugal lick of the Himalayan wreathed round my neck gifts me all the vim needed to ensure dear Eldra’s Library will forever stay rid of the stains of Time! A swish of my toe within the tanks’ murky waters is all that’s needed to have rid of its forest of algae and scattered impurities. Though the inhabitants seemed less than charmed by the duration of my presence, I took their continued existence as testament to my success. The hemorrhage, however, showed more adversity.

Another copy of the Horror Nightmarica, it was. Books unloved turn most easily. The culprit laid next to it, page in hand, dressed in some ink of their own. I’d take any opportunity to make colorful a lowly bookkeeper, but try as I might they did not wake. Their skin was coarse, it put an ache in the soles. That indecipherable jargon continued to ring its way round their parched form. Well, far be it from me to interrupt. I left the two love-birds to sort their quarrels, I much prefer duty in solitude. 

Dawn’s glow punctuated my stay at the Sanzu Aquarium Wing. The endless blue mirrored in tile, I trot atop clouds. The hemorrhage had sorted itself by now, with the Horror Nightmarica gaining another page yet. I feel myself a swindler! The Complaints Office gave promise of an additional saltlick for my cooperation, yet I’ve done no more than what I care to. Borrowing our communal diary on the way out, I pour into it the events of the night, sauntering over to claim my prize. My heels clicking all the way.