Mysterious library

The story is about a young kind man named Witold who was spending most of his free time in the National Library in Warsaw. Witold’s life has taken a dramatic turn since the day when his beloved grandfather died. He believed that the only thing that could help him with his loss were books. Witold also thought that they may guide him in his search for a proper path in life.

Unfortunately, the life of the young man was going to get even more challenging. His favourite building, the National Library was about to be closed in upcoming weeks because of the fact that more and more people have started to replace books with internet – the main source of information nowadays - and scarcely anyone visited libraries.

Witold was very frustrated after hearing about the decision to shut down the institution, which was the only place he could really find peace in. The library was even of more significance because it was a place of some great memories for him. His grandmother had been a librarian there before she died. Witold knew her mostly from the stories his grandfather told him about her. He admired her for how she used to put all of her energy into taking care of the library and books. Sadly, all of it has started dying slowly with her going away.

The young was infected with passion for books due to the influence of his grandparents. They were both regular visitors to the National Library. On the top of the building there was one of the biggest and most beautiful roof gardens in Europe. Because the grandfather had been a gardener before he died, he used to selflessly look after plants and flowers growing up there. It raised a question to be answered by Witold whether the grandfather had been doing this only because of a good heart.

The day before closing the building Witold went there for the last time. From the moment his grandfather died, the building had started to be slowly overgrown with ivy, which wasn’t that visible before. Sitting there and contemplating, Witold lost a sense of time and he was closed in the library for the night by accident. It turned out later that ivy covered the security cameras and guardians didn’t notice that somebody was still there. Plants wanted him to be a witness of what happened in the library after closing.

At first, Witold felt quite anxious about the situation but then he suddenly reminded himself of a book that his grandfather used to read him when he was a little boy. The young man decided to look for it. After a long search, he found it and decided to open it. What he saw there really surprised him. It was a letter from his grandfather saying that in each book there is a unique and special story of a person hidden within them and that from now on Witold was supposed to take care of these books. Otherwise, the stories would be forgotten alongside with their knowledge. He also mentioned that he liked to spend so much time in the garden because a soul of Witold’s grandmother was hidden in the plants and being there was the only way to feel her presence or talk to her. By watering the plants, he could also make her happy. Witold had no idea about this secret and it was hard for him to believe in it.

Suddenly, he heard something. He thought it was his imagination but then the noise came again. He turned around and saw something unbelievable. All of the books were thrown all over the place and it was as loud as if all of the texts from them were read out loud at the same time. Plants, which were covering the building, got inside the library, crushing the windows and making the place look like an enormous garden. The building and the nature emerged into one and everything seemed to be alive.

Guided by the plants, Witold reached the secret roof. He stood on the edge of it, looking down at the city. He saw that the building was almost fully covered with plants. Witold felt that he was at a crossroads. He didn’t know whether he should let this library die and let all of the souls trapped there go or make a protest against the demolishing the building and save the soul of his grandmother. Suddenly, he saw a little fly, which touched his arm and then flied away. In this moment Witold realised what he needed to do and his action was about to change the fate of the library forever.