Grandiose, the echoing library seemed to stretch into oblivion. Pearly white walls the colour of an angel’s wings made the room feel like a gateway to heaven. Halos of chandeliers emanating a soft, golden glow made the seemingly endless space feel calm, homely even. Swathes of rose-tinted clouds soothed from above, peering over the shoulders of readers with their noses buried in books. Framing them, ornate frescoes told stories of their own, intricately crafted narratives made from fine spun gold. Flanking the hall, oakwood shelves housed every genre known to man: fantasy, romance, science-fiction. The jewel-like hues of leather-bound volumes made the library feel like a treasure trove, perpetual stretch of knowledge and craft. Filling the air, the pleasant scent of dusted covers carried traces of the stories they held. Upon the breeze, the salty sting of ocean air carrying pirate ships from far off lands seeped from the pages of an admiral blue book, the tale of the world’s fiercest pirate. Below deck, Asian spices being transported across azure crested waves took me to verdant tea leaf farms and the sunny acres of turmeric fields in Eastern India. Laced between the fiery notes of spice, the musk of kaleidoscopic Sari dyes weaved its way into the aroma. The eye watering violets and astonishing oranges of sun-dried fabrics told the story of an Indian tailor, a destitute dreamer. Returning from a trance-like state, the thud and pained groans of a fallen book startled me, drawing my ear to the freshly pierced silence. The silence here was not the malicious kind, the kind which makes you peer around corners and scan for eyes in the gloom. Rather, the ethereal space had the kind of silence you find in a meadow, unassuming to the untrained ear yet, once noticed, hums with life. Here, deft fingers flutter pages like butterfly wings settling after flight, floorboards shudder like the bray of a horse in a neighbouring field and the warm breath of readers sings quietly like the breeze. Omnipotent, divine and sanctimonious the library sits in wait like the gates of heaven. Waiting for you to come and notice all that is when you least expect it…