In The Fog of London

The Librarian

Introduction

In the fog of London,
something stirs
Vile and vicious
as it observes

In the fog of London,
something stalks
Its steps uneven
when it walks

In the fog of London
something growls
A low, hoarse whisper
while it prowls

In the fog of London
a woman sleeps
Inside her house,
a demon creeps

While the dreary mist hides beasts in its murk
the brute inside her dwelling does lurk
And while there hangs a haze outside,
there hunts a monster by the name of
Hyde

_____________________________

Kathrine Hughs sat up in her bed, sweat beading on her forehead despite the chill of fall settling in. Her eyes searched her room as she wondered what had woken her up so early that morning. The sun isn't even up yet, she thought to herself as her eyes flickered over to the window. Quite the haze to-night. It's thick as bread pudding. She checked the small pocket watch that rested on her nightstand. "Four in the morning," she said aloud to herself, "might as well get up and dust the shelves." She slid out of bed and shuffled lethargically toward her wardrobe, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kathrine dressed, put up her hair, and put a kettle on the stove to boil water for tea, all while repeating her list of chores for the day under her breath.

Kathrine, referred to by her middle name Lynn by family and friends, lived in a flat above her father's old bookstore on the corner of Albany and Fredrick Street. She considered herself a librarian, although the shop was hardly a library. Most of the books she kept were medical books and encyclopedias, but she had brought over some histories and fiction novellas from the country where her parents had settled. Before she moved, her father contacted an old family friend - a certain Gabriel John Utterson - to look after Kathrine while she stayed in the big city. The lawyer obliged, having known "little Lynn" since she was young, thus taking some worry off of the minds of Mr and Mrs Hughes. Utterson felt a brotherly obligation to look after Lynn, even when they were young. Having been about twenty when she was born, Utterson became somewhat of a caretaker to Mrs. Hughes as, during and after Kathrine's birth, she had taken ill. Consequently, the quiet and reserved lawyer visited often enough to watch "little Lynn" grow up.

Kathrine sat behind the counter, having finished her chores, sipping some freshly brewed tea. She sighed contently and smiled, watching the sun rise. As the light poured through the clouds and danced across the shimmering morning dew, it washed away the eerie mist of the previous night and the odd feeling she'd woken up with only hours before.