She jammed the tip of the pencil into the thick clump of papers at the end of the book and worked at prying part of one page loose. Would the book yield a glimpse into her future?
The book did not want to yield. Anika was convinced it was literally clinging to the page, trying desperately to hold on to its secrets. But this time Anika had the upper hand. Literally.
With a swift yank, Anika wedged a page open.
“Aha!”
There was nothing there. No words, no text. Just a blank page.
So the book couldn’t tell her future after all.
Anika gave a slight, satisfied smile and looked up. A few of her classmates were looking in her direction, probably curious about why she had cried out, but they soon went back to what they were doing. Anika was alone again.
She looked back down at the blank page, and—
The page wasn’t blank anymore.
Anika, please stop.
No. It wasn’t possible. Anika tried to blink the words off the page, but they had appeared and would not vanish.
She would not let this book get the better of her. She jammed her pencil between another clump of pages, pried them apart and stared at the empty white surface before her.
She nodded, feeling victorious.
She blinked, and more words appeared across the page.
You don’t understand what will happen. The book cannot tell your future.
“No,” Anika said out loud. She honestly didn’t care if the book tried to tell her future or not. She wanted to know how it worked and why it was doing this to her. Again she pulled open a new spread.
Expecting to find a blank page, she was surprised to read a brief message, hastily scrawled in handwriting.
You are using up the pages!
Heart in her throat, Anika dug her fingernails deep into the last chunk of the book’s bound pages. She could feel the book resist—like a clam or a mussel holding on to its own flesh for dear life—but she was stronger and more determined.
She forced the pages open. She was nearly at the last one.
This time the writing was smeared across the page in dark, inky blotches:
When you run out of pages, you run out of…
Anika gasped and turned the page over, then realized she had reached the very last page.
The book fell from her hands.
Anika screamed, but it wasn’t a long scream.
She’d run out.
YOUR BIOGRAPHY
Dear Reader,
In your hands you are holding a most unique book. This is Your Biography, created especially for you.
This book is a living, working document. It is a professionally written biography of your own life.
You are probably wondering how such a feat can be achieved. How is it that we, the publisher, know your life story?
That is our little secret. While you may not get to know how the publishing miracle you are reading came to be, we are certain that you will enjoy it. Just turn the page and you will encounter a thoroughly detailed narrative of your own life, commencing with your birth and, of course, ending with your death.
No doubt you are asking how a mere book can know anything beyond the present moment. How can it know what the outcome of your future will be? What you will do after school? What you will do for a living? Will you get married? Are there children in your future? Most important, how could a book possibly know the date and means of your own death?
This book is, as we have already stated, a living document. It will write itself as you continue to live and grow.
Please note: it is important that you do not attempt to correlate the physical size of the book with the length of your own life.
The pages beyond the present moment have not been written yet, and many have been bonded together until the time they are ready to be read. They will be as thin or thick as they need to be, depending on the choices you make and the direction your life takes you.
It is very important that you do not attempt to separate the unwritten pages. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that they are not tampered with.
It could be very dangerous to interfere with the way Your Biography is meant to be read.
With that being said, please enjoy this most unique of books. It is not made available to everyone. You must be truly special and unique to have found it at all. Treat these pages well, and you will be rewarded with a memoir of your life to treasure for generations to come.
Sincerely,
The Publisher
WARNING
Your biography is still being written into this book. The following pages should not be tampered with on any account. Do not flip ahead.
You don’t understand what will happen. The book cannot tell your future.
You are using up the pages!
When you run out of pages, you run out of…
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Books like these are the result of a lot of help and encouragement. I have to give complete kudos to the amazing Danielle Saint-Onge, who helped foster these stories, and to Tanya Trafford, for being an editor extraordinaire (and for our great conversations about the joys of George A. Romero’s Creepshow). Finally, a tip of the hat to Steven P. Hughes, whose eerily impressionistic illustrations sum up each story in a single image.
JEFF SZPIRGLAS is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling Wild Cards and the Red Maple Award nominee You Just Can’t Help It! He has worked at CTV and was an editor at Chirp, ChickaDEE and Owl magazines. He is the father of twins and has two cats (the cats are not twins). In his spare time, he teaches second grade. Jeff lives in Toronto.
STEVEN P. HUGHES is an award-winning Canadian illustrator and horror enthusiast whose clients include ESPN, Reader’s Digest and Scientific American.
Tales From Beyond the Brain Page 12
