by John Stone
Then, she took out the one year book which she guessed would have the pictures she was looking for. She was hoping to find the Keaton siblings or Mr. Gallagher and his sister. After a few pages, she found them all. Just like the rusted old photograph she had found inside the book of the two young siblings, the pictures were an exact match. The same face and eyes, and every detail in the yearbook photo screamed that it was indeed Mr. Gallagher and his sister. Grace quickly took out her phone and snapped a few photographs of the pages before she saw Miss Gable walking up to her.
“You need anything, Miss June?” she asked.
“No, I am almost done here, but where are the newspaper clippings?”
“Right over there,” Miss Gable said, pointing her towards the rack that held all the newspaper clippings.
Grace took one of them down from the rack and scrutinized it further. She noticed that there were several thin, brown hard-cover books on the rack, but there weren’t any dates mentioned on the covers. As a result, she had to take down several of them to find the one she was looking for. There were films of dust on the ones that were kept at the last row, but Grace couldn’t avoid them. She brushed off the dust layer from one of the books and opened it to go through the pages. There were old newspaper cuttings of feats and achievements by pupils of the school. Grace read the news of one student who was holding a shiny trophy. It marked a win at a racing competition. Then, one little girl held a square certificate indicating her triumphant win at a spelling competition. Several other clippings informed Grace about how a student saved an injured cat from the tree. There was another about a boy's extraordinary collection of stamps. Grace was getting frustrated because none of these were what she was looking for.
She didn’t find anything significant in the first book, so she took down the next one and started looking through it. She flipped through it page by page, but there was no information that could be useful to her. Her eyes were starting to burn.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?’’ Miss Gable asked politely, trying to save Grace some of the trouble.
“Have you been standing here all this time,” Grace asked in surprise? She was too engrossed in her search and didn’t notice the librarian standing behind her.
“Yes, I thought you might need my help,” Miss Gable said.
“Well, do you know if this student and this one,” Grace said, pointing to the photograph she brought with her, “were ever in the news for anything important?”
“Not that I know of,” Miss Gable slowly answered. “You see, there are so many students coming in out…”
Grace interrupted her, “But here I was under the impression that they were a couple of the brightest and intelligent pupils of this school, and lived in this town, in fact, Mr. Kourim told me so.”
“Mr. Kourim said so?” the librarian asked.
“So, it’s unlikely that none of you people here are aware of that fact,” Grace said, and then lowered her voice, “or are you trying to hide something?”
This time, Miss Gable looked mildly offended. “Hide something,” she repeated? “Why would I hide anything?” She put her hands on her hips defensively.
‘‘No one in here seems to tell me anything about them. Yet, Mr. Kourim told me something different.” Grace defended what she said earlier. “He told me that he recognized these people and they were star students at this school.”
“Miss June, I think that you’re reading too much into this. I was hired here only a year ago and I don't know much about former students. The former librarian, Mr. Carmen, and the ones before him: Mrs. Philip, Mrs. Alter and Mr. Joseph, might have known something about the students you are talking about, but not me.” She paused to square her eyes on Grace. “Mr. Carmen left town recently for good. Mrs. Philip had a heart attack last year and died. Mrs. Alter is not well. She retired almost ten years back, because her memory was failing. Mr. Joseph is the oldest, and if anyone would know something about former students, then my guess is it would be him.”
Grace let out a deep breath. She considered for a moment that anyone who would remotely know anything about the Keaton siblings was already dead, ailing or had failing memories. She cursed her luck and almost had no hope left about finding out anything about them.
Perhaps my search is futile, she said to herself, and there’s nothing more I can do.
Grace closed the last newspaper clipping, but just then, something caught her eye. She put up a hand to ask Miss Gable for some more time. There was one article by the local newspaper which featured the Keaton sister, but oddly enough, it was just her initials mentioned and not her full name. The article mentioned an incident that happened when she was about twelve years old. The girl claimed to see ghosts and there was evidence of it as well. It said that she had learned the art of conjuring spirits. The article continued on the inside page, but that section was not part of the school collection. It was missing from the record.
“What is this about?” Grace asked Miss Gable.
“Oh, this I heard from my uncles,” Miss Gable said dismissively. “This young girl, Miss Keaton, claimed to have seen ghosts, and supposedly she learned some witchcraft or spell casting or something like that.”
“But why is this news in a primary school library,” asked Grace? She was surprised, but encouraged by this latest discovery. Finally, she was getting somewhere.
“I heard this incident put us on the map,” the librarian explained. “The girl got pretty famous and her brother, too. I think that is what Mr. Kourim must have meant when he said they were well-known. But if you ask me, I’d say that this was the news that made them famous as individuals more than being good students of this school. That’s just my opinion, but others might think differently.”
“A young girl sees ghosts and that makes news,” Grace said, shaking her head. “I guess I don’t understand what journalism is all about,” Grace said aloud. It was just an attempt at baiting Miss Gable.
“That was many years back and you probably can’t imagine the impact of such stories forty years back.”
Grace smiled, more to herself than for Miss Gable. “The rest of the story is missing and I need to look into it,” she said. “Can you tell me where I can find the full story?”
“Try the local library,” Miss Gable answered eagerly. “It stores all local news from the past fifty years and you’ll get all the information you need there.”
Grace nodded her head affirmatively. This meant she had to look all over again, and in a new place this time. On the bright side, she was making some progress. She wasn’t in a position to give up, so she took some notes about the article and gathered her belongings.
She turned around and said, “Thank you, Miss Gable.” The librarian was nonplussed, so Grace grabbed her hand. “Thank you for helping me and I am very grateful. This town has a story to tell indeed,” she said sincerely.
Then, Grace made her way out of the library. Mr. Kourim was waiting outside when Grace walked out. He seemed pleased to be at the old school and wasn’t in any hurry to leave for the day.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.
“Not quite, but I did find something else,” she said, waiting for any reaction from the elderly gentleman. When none came, she said, “I came across a news article about the Keaton sister. I think you forgot to mention the details to me.” Grace waited for Mr. Kourim to answer.
“Oh, that news,” Mr. Kourim said, casting his eyes to the ceiling. “The news about the Keaton sister seeing ghosts was certainly remarkable. That story made some news, but I didn’t buy it.” He shook his head. “I never believed it could be real. I didn’t think it was important enough to mention, but they were good students and I think that is important, not some goof story.”
“And you are dismissing it like it is nothing,” Grace asked?
“Yes, because I don’t think it’s true,” Mr. Kourim said.
“But why do you think that it’s unlikely,’’ Gr
ace asked?
Somehow, Grace couldn’t believe that no one seemed to take much stock in the Keaton sister’s story. It made the news after all. Mr. Kourim’s dismissal of it amused Grace, but there was nothing she could do or say about it. Therefore, she just kept quiet about any further details she might have known. Grace understood that it was pointless arguing over this with an old man who was so set in his ways.
“Miss?” a voice called out.
Grace looked back and to her delight, it was the principal, Mrs. West. She waved a sheet of paper at Grace as she passed the administration office. Before Grace could even ask, she was handed the phone number of one the former librarians.
“This is the old librarian Mr. Joseph’s house number,” Mrs. West explained. “He might be able to tell you something about former students, but I’m afraid that he is very old and frail. It would be best if you give him a call before visiting.”
Grace took the number from her and looked at it thoughtfully. She put the paper back in her pocket before anyone could change their mind. “Thank you for your assistance and I’m very grateful,” she told the principal.
After a few empty promises to share her story when it was complete, Grace walked out of the building. She stood in the middle of the road for a moment to catch her bearing. She saw Mr. Kourim exchange a few words with the principal, and then he followed her out as well. As far as she was concerned, she was done with him. Yet, one look at his facial expression let her know that he had other intentions.
“You want to go somewhere else, Miss Lady?”
“Mr. Kourim,” she began nicely. “Thank you, but I think I have had enough for one day. I need to go back, and I hope that I was not much trouble.”
“No, nothing like that, but are you sure that you want to go on your own? This town is new to you, and it’s never stupid to be careful,” he said in a fatherly tone. Mr. Kourim showed his concern towards Grace with a tender grin.
“I think that I can handle it just fine,” she said with a tight smile.
Grace wanted to say where she was staying, but then avoided it at the last moment. Instead, she thanked Mr. Kourim again and went on her own way. While heading back to her hotel, she must have wanted to call Mr. Joseph’s number a million times. Every time she saw a public phone booth, she wanted to call. It was getting late though, and considering how old the former librarian was, Grace thought it might be better to try in the morning.
Back in her hotel, Grace was put off by a few visitors in the lounge. The moment she entered, they all turned to look at her. Grace couldn’t make up her mind as to whether they were staring at her or it was just a figment of her imagination. She shook her head and quickly headed towards her own room. The sound of laughter and conversation penetrated the closed doors, and it irritated her to a great extent. All she wanted was some peace and quiet, but it wasn’t likely on a night like this.
Just like the previous evening, Grace was hungry again, but had no intention of going back outside for food. She took to her last resort and opened her back pack for a snack bar or two. It wasn’t what she wanted and she grumbled a few choice words as she gulped them down. Then, she took to her bed.
All throughout the night, the only thing that circled her thoughts was calling the number that lay in her pocket. She took it out and decided to write it down again, just in case something happened to the original. So in her neat handwriting, Grace inscribed the number in her notebook. She didn’t want to take any chances. She was here in the middle of nowhere and had no intentions of going back without some results. She just hoped that her judgments were not ill-founded. Slowly, she shook away the anxiety of the day and drifted off to sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, the kind she wished for her best friend back on campus.
The alarm on Grace’s watch woke her up the next morning. The clock showed twelve p.m. and for a split second she was surprised. She tapped her watch twice and brought it near her ear to listen if it was working.
Did I really sleep for this long?
Instinctively, she reached for her cell phone, but she forgot that it was still in the dorm room. Then her eye went towards the wall clock hanging in her room and she read the time was a little past ten a.m. Grace didn’t know which one to believe and the only thing that was left for her to do was to go outside and see what the real time was indeed. Like the wall clock in her room, the giant grandfather clock in the lounge struck something past ten a.m. and Grace huffed at the inconvenience that her non-functioning watch had caused.
“Are there any internet cafes in town?’’ Grace asked the lady behind the counter.
“You don’t need breakfast this morning, girl?” the lady asked her instead.
“I’m not hungry,” Grace lied although her stomach said otherwise.
Grace loved food and never skipped any of her meals, but here she was going against her routine. That displeased her in certain ways, but she was utterly focused on her purpose in this town. Indulging in breakfast meant getting delayed, and she didn’t even know if she would get an appointment with the former librarian. So, having breakfast seemed unnecessary to her at that moment.
“Are you all right?” the lady asked her again.
“Yes, I am fine,” Grace assured her. “Can you please tell me if there are any internet cafés nearby?” Grace asked for the second time.
“Yes, there is,” the lady answered, with the type of smirk that implied a disdain for such things. “Do you want me to write down the address for you?’’
Grace found the lady unusually helpful. She thought that maybe she was being rude for not having breakfast here at the inn. However, she nodded and said, “If it’s not too much trouble for you, but I need to know the directions, as well.”
“Just walk straight out of here and go four blocks. You will see a souvenir shop, turn left and walk two more blocks and there you will find an Internet café, but you can use ours if it’s an emergency.” The lady pointed Grace towards the white desktop computer that sat on top of the table.
”I am really thankful for all your assistance,” Grace replied politely. “But I will need long hours at the computer, and I don’t think working here is convenient.” She took the piece of paper on which the name of the café and the address was written, placing it carefully in her pocket. She also hoped that she would find a phone there so she could call Emily. She just wanted to give her a little information on what she had found so far.
Grace’s stomach protested in demand of breakfast, but she ignored it. She followed the directions that she was given, but it wasn’t far before her hunger gave in. She started looking at both sides of the street to see if there was a diner that she could find. She soon spotted one. It was already past eleven a.m. and it was foolish to call a meal breakfast at that hour. Grace laughed at the thought of that and went with it anyway.
The place was not at all crowded. Grace thought it was probably because it was already past the breakfast hours. A small lady whom Grace recognized as the waitress was waiting at the counter, and there were two other elderly couples sitting at another table going about their own business. Yet, Grace let her eyes linger on them and called the waitress over to her table.
Grace noticed the waitress' name was Kimberly and she looked a little distracted. Considering that it was none of her business, Grace tried to ignore. She asked for the menu that day and after a little deliberation, she ordered a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee to satisfy her hunger. Grace waited for her food to arrive, but she couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation the old couple were having at the other table. She strained her ears to listen in on them. Like a bolt from out of the blue, she was stunned when she heard her own name. Well, it was her false name, the one she had given at the school. One of the couples mentioned it to another couple sitting at the opposite table.
The daily gossip spread like wild fire in this otherwise quiet town, she thought. These ladies are worse than the gossip girls on campus.
Grace tried to li
sten more about what they were discussing. The fact that they mentioned her name piqued her curiosity even more. She heard the old man say that there was this girl in town asking questions. The woman beside him said that the girl’s name was June. They even expressed their curiosity about what could have sparked the reporter’s interest about the town.
The waitress arrived shortly with the food Grace ordered. Before Grace could hear more of the conversation that the old couple at the other table was having, she had to pay attention to what the waitress was saying. The waitress was asking Grace if she wanted anything else. After hearing the gossip about her, Grace wasn’t that hungry anymore.
She sipped on the coffee and it tasted bitter. Grace sat there wondering if the coffee was indeed bitter or was it just the situation that she was currently in. There were a few more times that Grace heard her name uttered before the couple at one of the tables paid their bill and left.
The fact that she was sitting in an unknown town surrounded by complete strangers who were talking about her made Grace feel somewhat uncomfortable. The sweet pancakes seemed to form a lump in her throat. Grace wanted to investigate discreetly, but somehow the word was out about her. What surprised her was that no one at the diner recognized her as the girl they were talking about. Grace decided to be more careful. The pancakes in front of her sat cold and she pushed them away. The waitress saw the unfinished and neglected food lying on Grace’s plate. She walked up to her and made a weird face.
“Miss, is anything wrong with the food?”
Grace realized that some time has passed and she hadn't really touched the food yet. She felt a little embarrassed and annoyed with herself. The last thing she wanted to do was grab attention, and with this act she was doing just that. She noticed that as the waitress was speaking, the elderly couple at the other table was already looking at her with anonymity. The waitress repeated her question, but Grace was too busy looking towards the couple so she missed the question this time as well.
