Hidden World

Chapter IV - The Second Riddle

The previous night she was exhausted more mentally than physically. After she read the riddle, she tried to get rid of it more than once. She set it on fire only for that damned paper to appear in one peace back on her pillow. She then tried to soak it in water and threw it in the bin outside only for it to reappear on the side of the bathroom sink. Even flushing it down the toilet did not help, the letter just spawned back on her desk. After losing all her ideas she just gave up and went to sleep not wanting to deal with all that madness.

When the morning came, she woke up with the worst headache she had in years. Her dreams were hunted by nightmares. A wolf with glowing red eyes growling at her while screams and fire surrounded them.

She got up from the bed and walked downstairs with the quest of finding some painkillers. Once she found them, she took one and started to make herself coffee. She was not surprised when she found the same already opened envelope relaxing in her favorite coffee mug.

She took the envelope out, poured herself coffee and walked with both in the dining room. Again, it was quiet. The morning just made its presence, but it seemed like everything was frozen in time, asleep even and she was the only one awake.

She lit a cigarette and looked at the riddle with little to no desire to see what happened once she found out the answer. "What runs but never walks?" just 5 words. She shook her head and looked at the table. She closed her eyes and opened them back again. The book was in the middle, and somehow in her sleepy zombie mode she did not even realize that it was there. "What?! You are following me now?" she asked and then she started laughing at her own stupidness. "I am talking with a book..." she said and started laughing even louder.

She took a sip of her coffee once she calmed down a bit and read the riddle twice more before realizing that she already knew the answer. She sighed and braced herself of what might happen. "Water..." she mumbles and closed her eyes shut but... nothing happened. "Maybe is not...water?" she questioned her answer but once she opened her eyes the book opened as well. Before she could even react, out of nowhere, a wave of water fell on her head making her soaked wet, her coffee diluted and her almost over cigarette good for nothing. The interesting part was that anything else around her was as dry as a desert.

She got up and growled frustrated. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW???" she yelled at the book that was already starting to display a new chapter. Just as before words slowly started to show one buy one with a symbol throning on the paper, a triangle with the point facing down.

"I am so done already!" she shouted again before putting her mug on the table. She closed the book shut and went into the kitchen only to come back minutes later with duct tape, scissors, and a rope. If anyone were around her could see how mad she was. Soaking wet, tired and on the verge of losing her last bits of sanity.

She grabbed the book and wrapped it with duct tape first, using the entire thing before taking the rope. She used the rope to tie the book to one of the chairs. She smiled proudly once she was done admitting to herself that it was truly a work of art, but her smile dropped when she realized that her vendetta was against something made from paper and leather.

As now she was wide awake, she decided to just dry her hair and get dressed. She did not want to be any more in the presence of that hellish book. She knew she needed a morning shower but what happened was not how she imagined it.

.............1 hour later.............

She was ready to walk out the door when she decided to glance one more towards her art piece but surprisingly, or not, it was not there anymore. She shook her head deciding to not even try to make sense anymore as first she was hit with a wave of wind and now, she had taken a free, cold shower in the middle of the dining room. She just got out and decided to walk to the bookstore.