𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦

~𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒~

The next day, Madelyn didn’t bother looking at the note from yesterday. Aaron said it himself, the place was ruined, there’s no way the books are still in a good state. They could be wet, ripped, it could have any kind of infection on it and Madelyn wasn’t planning on getting sick because of some dumb project.

~~~

Hours went by, the note stayed, Madelyn kept researching. Around noon she was absolutely frustrated. “How are none of these books helping? They said it was an easy project, yet no progress is being made! Why is this such a bad topic, why not about... well, I don’t know, civil wars, great depression, evaluation of radios, anything?” She turned to her wall of sticky notes and read them over to herself pointlessly. Her eyes rested on the note with the address. Defeated, she ripped it off the wall with an annoyed sigh, grabbed her backpack and jacket, and left.
On her bike she used the GPS on her phone to locate the street and began peddling.

Once she reached Mollistan Street, it didn’t take long before she found the library. It was the only building there.

Aaron wasn’t kidding, the place was in terrible condition. Windows were completely shattered, the front door was hanging on one hinge, thick vines swallowing most of the building. The roof shingles were a mess, some had flown off entirely and were scattered along the front yard along with overgrown weeds and bushes, and other bits of wood and black material.

Madelyn set her bike against a tree nearby and slowly approached the three-story library. It reminded her of a haunted mansion and she almost didn’t want to explore it at all.
‘What am I? Five years old? I can take on a creepy-looking house, it isn’t even that scary, it’s just messing with my mind.’ she thought to herself and picked up her pace.

The front porch had a used-to-be white wooden bench now grey and damp from age and rain. It was covered by a big rectangular sign which Madelyn pushed off onto the porch with a thud. In faded red letters, the sign read: “ESTRELLA”.

Madelyn kept walking and squeezed between the doorframe and door into the building and examined her surroundings. She was amazed at how much more stable the inside was.

The curtains were still up, the color hadn’t faded at all, the big circular chandler with large glass crystals still on the ceiling. The carpets and couches weren’t damp or wrecked at all. But despite the organization it was incredibly dusty.

Madelyn walked further into the library and paced in and out of the book aisles. The dust on the shelves, books, basically everything was so thick Madelyn’s nose became so itchy it threatened to sneeze at any moment, and every step she took made a long creak in the silent library.

“Why would Aaron suggest this place? It’s absolutely filthy. No way could these books be useful. They must have been here for years!” She complained to herself.

Madelyn looked up at the side of a bookshelf and wiped the little sign with rusty print. “AISLE C: FANTASY” It read.

Nearby on the floor was a dusty ragged handkerchief that she picked up and shook the dirt out of. Then, she proceeded to wipe every sign on the end of the bookshelves.

Afterwards, she stuffed the cloth into her back pocket and went to find the history aisle, that was one aisle down from where she stood.

Madelyn stood on the tips of her feet and reached for the deep red colored book on the 7th shelf. When she brought it down to herself, she immediately shrieked and dropped the book on the floor, creating a fog of dust rise and a deafening thump. Across the floor ran a large, long legged spider, which was what Madelyn got so scared of.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood in complete silence, with the only thing audible are her deep long breaths. Perhaps it was seconds, or even minutes before she assured herself it was safe to keep exploring.

Maybe it was the sudden spider attack, or just the wind that made Madelyn feel overly uneasy about staying in the library. Her guts yelled at her to get out of there. She gave in and grabbed random books on the shelf and bolted out of the building, almost breaking down the door. She jumped on her bike and peddled back home without breaking her pace.

Once Madelyn got to her house and was inside, she hadn't realized how sore her legs were from peddling for twenty minutes. She collapsed on the floor, back against the wall and her backpack fell with her.

Her mother, who had arrived from her weekend trip with her husband, came down the stairs to see what the noise was about. “Maddy, dear are you alright? You look absolutely exhausted.”

Mrs. Joyce was a young-looking, caring, elegant woman with rosy cheeks, long natural eyelashes, and perfectly proportioned pink lips. Her hair was long like her daughters which was tied in a bun on her head and was brown with natural blonde highlights and curtain bangs. She was still in her vacation clothes which were an oversized sky-blue button-down shirt and grey mid-calf leggings.

“Yeah... I’m alright, I was just on my bike on my way from the library.” Madelyn assured her mother, still too tired to stand. “Anyway, how was yours and dads' trip?”

“It was wonderful!  I must admit Mexico was a lot better than I thought.” Mrs. Joyce said, offering her hand to Madelyn so she could stand. She leaned against the wall for support.

“Your dad will be home soon; he went to order us pizza.” Mrs. Joyce continued, making her way back upstairs, Madelyn close behind.

Her mom asked her about the dusty old books she had, and Madelyn explained they were for her project. Her mother was confused about why her daughter picked out such dirty old books.

~~~

That evening, Madelyn found out that despite being worn out, the books she stole were more beneficial than any other schoolbook she ever used. By the time she usually goes to sleep, her project was planned out she was ready to begin writing it. Things were really looking up for Madelyn.

~~~

Two days go by and Madelyn is back at the library regardless of getting frightened the previous time she came.

Sitting at a circular table near the middle of the library, she was flipping through a nine-inch book she found.

Of course, she wouldn’t dare sit down at the table without wiping it clean first. Madelyn promised herself she would bring lots of Lysol wipes with her and clean an area of the library each time she came back.

While reading, a breeze passed by, causing the front door to screech. The uneasy feeling returned to her, and she jerked her head left and right for anything suspicious. Madelyn shivered as something icy cold stroked the back of her neck. She peered over her shoulder. Nothing, and no one. Her heart raced, and her breathing became shallow, and fast. She wanted to believe she was alone, and that all this fear was just in her head. But no, she was certain there was something there next to her, watching her.

_______________________________________

Gosh, cliffhanger eh? Gonna have to wait until next chapter ;)

This is great, if I keep uploading one chapter a day I'll be done the book in no time and y'all are getting a decent break in between every chapter.

Anyway cya :)