An-EXIT

CHAPTER 9 (REALISATION)

MITANSH

"Mitansh, wake up. It's 8:00 pm, you need to get back to your hostel." I know this voice, but wake up? For how long am I sleeping?

I pushed back my hands and tried to open my eyes. A sharp, bright, white light entered like a beam, and I forced shut my eyes. Where am I?

"Mitansh?" I could feel someone shaking me by my shoulder. I pulled back myself and sat straight on the chair. I was still in the library. A sharp sting of severe pain ran across my spine area. Can someone please tell me how long I was sleeping in this posture??

"Are you alright?" There was no need to look for the source, as I already know who the person was.

"Fine ma'am." The voice was of our university's librarian, Mrs. Mathur's. I have known her from the start of my degree, a sweet and caring lady, probably in her late 50s, but this image of her being 'sweet' only developed when I started to know her a few months ago.

The lamp shade kept in front of me was left as the only source of light in the whole library, and also as my present source of irritation. I just wanted to stop those white rays from entering my eyes. "Sorry for the chaos, ma'am. I believe that I should leave now. Goodnight ma'am." I said while managing my eyes to stay open.

"Goodnight Mitansh." She patted on my back.

"Wait, listen Mitansh, is this Inayat's book?" She asked as I raised from my seat, while adjusting her spectacles. Book? Inayat? Wasn't I alone here?

"What ma'am?" I was confused.

She handed me an Electrical Engineering book, 'Microprocessor & Microcontroller?' "Ma'am, maybe you're mistaken. I was all alone at this ta-"

"Oh yes, then it might be that girl's book with whom you were sitting. Oh yes, now I remember, she issued this book." "You never share that table with anyone new, is she family?" She kept her hand over my shoulder while I just stared at the book.

"Family?" My throat ached.

"Okay, you tell me about her any other day. But today, we have to leave the library as it's getting really late. Also, remember to hand it to her, okay?" She pointed to the book and turned back to reach her desk.

"Oh dear God, who broke the Library's property? I seriously thought that this glass bottle was hard to break." I whipped my head in her direction, and kept the book over the table. I looked at her, shocked and moved close to watch the broken glass bottle. "I was out for an hour and the kids started to disobey the rules!" She was continuously looking at those small, sharp pieces of glass. "Do you know who did this?" She stood there with hands folded, arched eyebrows and anger going up and down with respect to her breathing.

"Umm-"

"The sound of the bottle would have surely woken you up. Or if you're trying to save one of your friends, then it's not a good thing. At least, you should not take your friend's side when they're wrong!" Her not suspecting me was making me feel....

"But-"

"I need to call the sweeper first thing in the morning!" She ignored me and went towards her desk.

Was making me feel, ugh, what's this loud ringing voice in my ear? I pressed my palm over my ear and a blurry vision ran through my eyes. What was that? "Medicine?"

'No-No-No-No, what have I done?' I cupped my hands and buried my face into them as I slid on the chair with a rough jerk. The glass bottle. Broken. I.... I was the one who threw it on the floor. Did it break because of that? But I failed to hear anything..... How could I?