by John Stone
She was getting distracted, but it wasn’t the right time to contemplate unnecessary thoughts. She decided to ask Denise about this later. First, she needed to complete her part of the project. She also kept an eye out for anyone suspicious at the library.
Chapter 3
Emily looked at the notes she had taken down, but didn’t know where to start. The words on the page were starting to blur into nonsense. She had been sitting at the same desk for the last four hours and could tell that the assignment was going to be a tough one. She knew she was going to be here for a while.
That’s why she chose this particular desk. It was closer to the window and received more light as the sun set in the western sky. The same desk was also close to the criminology section. The desk was already filled with at least a dozen books that discussed major cases, police procedures, and laws governing crime and so on. Yet, it still wasn’t enough. She walked up to the nearby rack, and took out a few more books that she felt would help her. She sat down with the new stack and they spilled loudly to the floor. She let out a long exhalation and reordered the stack. They weren’t much help. Emily closed the book in front of her and decided to move on to the next one. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and the display told her that the call was from her friend, Denise. She had already asked her to meet at the library to study, but that was hours ago.
"Hey, Emily. I am running a little late. I’ll be there in an hour."
"Denise! We are supposed to do this assignment together,” Emily said. “Please come soon. I’m totally stuck and I need you to help me out on this.” Emily huffed and puffed, but never blamed Denise for not telling her about the assignment the other day.
"Well, I know,” Denise moaned, “and I am coming as quickly as possible. Emily, I didn’t know about this before. Sarah informed me about the assignment, so please don’t get made. Okay, bye!" Denise clarified, and the call ended.
Emily had a feeling that Denise would never join her to help with the assignment. They had been studying together at the university for the last two years and Emily knew her habits quite well. Although she would like to complain about Denise not helping, Emily actually preferred to work alone. However, today she would have liked it if Denise was here, even if only for moral support. The assignment was taking way too long to figure out. She just couldn’t concentrate and could have used some company.
Four hours in and there was no solution in sight. Emily pushed the dozen or more books to the other side of the desk and decided to grab some more from the rack. Even searching for reference material was getting a little tedious now. So far, she had only used books from the first rack. She decided to move on to the next one and kept browsing. She held up like this for a while, until she was almost at the last rack of the section. It was clear she was getting desperate and still nothing was getting done. The rays of sunlight had long since faded and so had her will to continue.
"May I help you?" said a voice from behind.
Emily turned to see who it might be. A woman, probably in her fifties was standing a little distance away from her. A librarian tag was hanging from her shirt pocket. Emily had never seen her before. She thought the shirt was a little out of style, like it was from a different time period but dismissed it as retro.
The woman was middle aged, Emily thought, and that was probably why her sense of style was light years behind the trend. Even her ID tag was outdated. Emily wondered why the librarian tag was hanging from her shirt. She’s probably here because Mr. Mitchell is absent today.
"Yes. I was looking for something that would help me with my assignment. So far, I am drawing a blank."
"Try the red book, “the soft spoken librarian suggested, “second rack to your left."
Emily did so, and quickly looked at the chapter index. It seemed to have the exact topic she was looking for. She turned back to say thanks, but the librarian was gone. Not thinking too much about it, she returned to her desk. When she got back, Denise was sitting there adjusting her makeup.
"I’m here!" said Denise triumphantly.
“You’re just in time. This lady librarian just helped me out. She looked kind of odd though," said Emily, taking the seat next to Denise.
"Wait a minute. Was she wearing a flower-patterned shirt? Kind of old?" inquired Denise.
"Yeah. How did you know?" replied Emily.
"That's the library's ghost,” Denise hissed. “I’ve only heard about her and never thought she was real. You actually met her."
"What?" exclaimed a shocked Emily?
She looked back at that row of books again, hoping to see the librarian again. Nothing was there. So it happened and Emily saw what she was not supposed to, because she never believed in it.
“You must be joking!” an angry Emily exclaimed, slamming her book down.
She realized what Jamie had told her the previous day, but didn’t want to reveal her fears to Denise. Besides, she didn’t quite believe it herself, as well. She reasoned that it was probably just a joke, and that someone was taking it too far. Emily didn’t think it was too funny, and even expected Denise was somehow in on it. Therefore, Emily excused herself and went over to the main section of the library. She looked everywhere for the odd-looking librarian who appeared out of nowhere like a miracle to help her with the assignment.
How convenient, Emily thought.
Emily went first in the direction the way she saw the librarian go, but didn’t see her. She still didn’t believe what Denise said about the ghost of the librarian. She completely expected to find some little old lady bent over a desk helping another bewildered student just like her.
“This is not true,” she said to herself again.
Then, Emily went to ask the new assistant librarian to clear her doubt. He was sitting in his usual chair looking at the computer screen when she called for him. Her voice came out a little louder than expected and Mr. Kourim’s head whipped around to face her.
He looked from what he was doing and said, “Keep your voice down, this is a library.”
Emily somehow had the feeling that the new assistant didn’t like her all that much, but she shook the feeling off. “Who is replacing Mr. Mitchell today,” she asked without delay?
She hoped that it would be the odd-looking lady librarian. Mr. Kourim would confirm her beliefs and that would be the end of it. Then, she could dismiss the story of the ghost and get back to her assignment.
Now, he looked at her directly and said, “I can help you with any book you need.”
“This is not about the books. I want to know who is replacing Mr. Mitchell today,” Emily questioned again firmly.
“No one,” the new assistant answered with an air of annoyance.
“But…” Emily blurted out, trailing off at the end.
She was cut off when Mr. Kourim firmly said, “I am the only one here. Mr. Mitchell had some problems, so he is talking the day off.”
Then who was the lady I saw earlier?
Emily opened her mouth to repeat the question aloud, but then thought against it. Emily didn’t want to believe Denise for a second, but Jamie’s words from a day before rung in her head. The assistant dean also mentioned something about ghosts in the Fletcher building library.
Many strange and unusual thoughts crept in her mind. What if the rumors were true, and what if the stories about the ghost were real? What if someone knew about this or even the actual sender of the anonymous letter? Emily's head felt heavy and dizzy at the same time.
She wandered away from Mr. Kourim’s desk in a daze. She paced about for a few seconds and then sat down on the nearest bench. She clutched her forehead between the palms of her hands. When Emily lifted her head again, she found a young girl with green, bright eyes looking at her intently from across the room. The girl looked about Emily’s age, but didn’t have any books in hand. Her empty stare seemed to penetrate to Emily’s core, and made her a little shaky. Emily looked away from the piercing green eyes and made a funny face.
People just can’t mind their own business nowadays, she thought with a hint of irritation.
In the midst of all these things, she realized that she had left Denise in her seat. Plus, the project was going nowhere and Jamie didn’t contact her either. She took out the phone from her pocket, but there was no call from Jamie. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.
But she asked me meet her here today…
Annoyed, she shook her head and saw the girl with the green eyes still looking at her. Emily didn’t pay attention to her, and assumed she would lose interest eventually and go back to her studies. She stood up and without looking back walked over to where Denise was waiting.
“So who was the lady librarian?” Denise mocked.
Emily didn’t like it. Denise was mocking her and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do about it. They needed to complete the project together and it was already getting late. She decided to ignore the question and opened the nearest book instead. Denise didn’t say anything either, but Emily had an irritating feeling in the back of her mind. Denise’s behavior seemed to be different for the past couple of days. Maybe she was just imagining things, but Denise seemed to know more than what she was letting on. Emily hated being paranoid. Truly, she was an antisocial, suspicious girl, but that’s where it stopped. It was unlike her to be so mistrustful of everyone, even her friends. So to get her mind off of it, Emily turned her attention to the red book, which seemed to have the answers to her assignment questions. She started reading it earnestly, concentrating on every word.
Denise looked reluctant to do her share of the work and just sat in front of Emily staring out the window. Emily passed her the notebook where she had taken down the notes and asked Denise to go through them.
“We need to complete this fast,” Emily then quickly added.
Both the girls redoubled their efforts. No one uttered a thing before a pair of footstep broke the silence. Emily didn’t turn back or look to see who it was. She was too immersed in her work, but Denise was keen to any distraction. She turned around to trace who was approaching from the library entrance.
“You?” a familiar voice said.
Emily still didn’t bother to look up, assuming that Denise might be talking on the phone. Yet, the voice was absolutely familiar. It was Jamie, who was now standing close to Emily. She patted her on the back to get the blonde-haired girl’s attention. This time, she turned around and was a little taken aback upon finally seeing Jamie. She had almost given up on Jamie arriving or bringing any news to her, but there she was standing with a quaint smile on her pink lips. Emily noticed her friend’s foxy eyes glowing like they held an answer, and there was an odd impatience in her touch.
Denise didn’t know about Emily’s secret meeting with Jamie, so she looked at them both suspiciously. Denise seemed bothered by the unlikely bond between them. It seemed to come out of nowhere and both girls were complete opposites. Emily was intellectual and standoffish, while Natalie was light-hearted and social. Denise was obviously not very fond of Jamie, and didn’t seem particularly happy about her presence at that moment.
She said condescendingly, “You two are friends?” And a second later added, “...now?”
Emily didn’t want to divulge anything nor did she feel compelled to. She had a hard time trusting Jamie already and telling Denise every detail was a mammoth task. She knew Denise wasn’t always truthful with her as well. It was none of her business, but Denise was clever and intelligent. She turned on Emily.
“Are you just trying to get information from her about Grace or your missing books?” Denise asked.
Emily said, “Denise, it’s unrelated so you don’t have to bother.”
“It’s not unrelated Emily, and you know that.” She looked back and forth between the two girls. “Otherwise, what business do you have with someone who is known to be the gossip queen of the university?”
“Denise, you’re supposed to be helping me with the assignment and what I need Jamie for is none of your business,” Emily said, her voice rising a bit.
“You came to me and Keisha and involved us,” Denise reminded her, “and Grace is our friend, too. So don’t say it’s not my business.” Denise was getting louder as well, and she had anger laced in her voice.
Natalie just stood there and seemed to enjoy the little spat between the girls. She chewed her gum and bounced on her toes. They were also starting to draw attention from the other students in the library.
“You are being unreasonable, Denise. Yes, I talked to you and Keisha the other day, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you what business I have with Jamie now.”
“Of course, go ahead, but this won’t end well,’ she warned.
“What is wrong with you today? Minutes ago you were fine, but now you’re threatening me.” Emily was not used to such behavior and especially from Denise. It was true that she was taking interest in different things lately, but that didn’t explain the harsh way she spoke to her. “Denise!” Emily pleaded, but she didn’t answer her.
Emily looked back at Jamie who was a mere spectator. She was content to let the entire situation play out in front of her eyes. She didn’t even care that it was taking place in the library. She just patiently waited for the argument to end, as if she had more important things to tell.
Emily didn’t want to create a scene, but it was already too late. She motioned with her head for Jamie to go and wait for her at the other end of the library. There were less people there and perhaps they could find some more privacy. “Wait for me near the archive,” she told her softly, but Denise didn’t miss that.
“Now you can’t even say things in front of me. You have changed, Emily,” Denise said in an unfriendly tone.
Emily wanted to tell her that something had changed, but it was the other way around. It was Denise who was acting differently and was not herself lately. However, Emily held her tongue. Arguing with her at that moment would be futile. Emily knew that they would never come to a mutual understanding, especially not at that moment. Besides, they had to finish the assignment together and a fight would only complicate their task. So she suppressed her true thoughts and instead said, “Denise, let’s at least not fight in here while we are working on this assignment and …..”
“Leave it there,” Denise interrupted. “You won’t hear a thing from me. I’ll do my part, the only part that is required of me.’’ That was the last thing Denise said.
“I’ll come and work with you once I am done speaking with Jamie, so wait for me, okay?” Emily said, in a much softer tone of voice.
Emily waited for Denise to answer, but as expected, Denise didn’t say a thing. Instead, she kept her head low and went on writing something vehemently on her notepad. Emily shook her head and regretted what just happened.
She walked over to where Jamie was supposed to be waiting for her, and on the way she met the same girl with odd green eyes. She was sitting in the exact same position that she was sitting earlier, staring blankly into space. Emily walked past her, giving just a fleeting glance.
“Hey,” Jamie called out, “... over here.”
“Sorry about Denise,” Emily said to apologize, but Jamie stopped her midway.
“Save it, you don’t have to apologize to me because of her; I know why she’s not so fond of me.”
Emily wanted to ask why, but decided against it at the last moment. After Denise’s cold behavior, she thought it best not to provoke the situation any further. Denise had a bad temper and the last thing Emily wanted to do was fan the flames.
“I thought you weren't coming,” Emily told Natalie, “and I must admit that I’m relieved.”
“Of course, I had to come. I have news to give you and also I wanted to see the letter that you received yesterday. Did you bring it?” Jamie inquired.
“Yes, I did. I’ll show it to you.”
She started taking out the folded piece of paper from her pocket and then handed it over to Jamie. The young girl loo
ked at it with precise detailing, and Emily saw the concentration in her eyes.
“So what do you think?” Emily asked after a few minutes had passed.
“I talked with a few people,” she began, “but I didn’t hear of anyone who had received anonymous packages or letters before, not even the one who saw the ghost,” Jamie stated.
“Today, a few hours ago, when I was stuck with my assignment, I saw an old librarian. She was dressed quite differently and looked shabby, but she helped me out with an assignment book. I thought she was today’s replacement for Mr. Mitchell. When I told Denise about it, she said that she was the spirit of the old librarian. What is going on? Please tell me!” Emily begged.
“You saw her? I told you about her spirit lurking in the nooks and corners of the library, but you actually saw her. This is real!” Jamie exclaimed, sounding enthusiastic.
”You believe it?” balked Emily. “Jamie, you are supposed to help me so please don’t say it is real. Denise must be teasing me.” Emily sounded frail.
“I’m sorry, Emily, but it’s true. Denise didn’t lie. I told you about it the other day, don’t you remember? And if I’m not mistaken, the student who saw her only did for a brief moment, not like you.” Jamie sounded convincing.
“This cannot be real,” Emily kept telling herself. She didn’t believe Jamie the first time, and didn’t believe what her own eyes either. She certainly didn’t believe what Denise told her, and she didn’t want to believe what she was hearing Jamie say this very moment. Am I just in denial about all this, she asked herself? “Who else saw her? Other than the person you told me about, was there someone else? Tell me Jamie.”
“It was Mia—she saw her,” Natalie explained. “I heard this from a friend. At that time nobody quite believed her, although the rumor of the old student always existed. Some people say that Mia was different back then, but she started taking interest in witchcraft and spells after she saw what she claims was a ghost in the library,” Jamie said, letting out what she knew in a single breath.
