SWEET DREAMS (ON HOLD)

Fourteen... Let There Be Light

  The air was cold and quiet the next morning as I got out of my car and begin to walk further down into the city. I listened to the sound of my boots kicking and crushing the snow beneath them as I rubbed at my sleep deprived eyes that were red and burned subtly at my touch. It felt as though I was dying , but I knew that I needed to get answers while I still could and there was only one place I figured I could find them.

As I passed countless stores and boutiques, my feet came to a stop in front of the ancient library; the only place I could fathom having any information that would be useful to me. I took a deep breath and glanced at my phone before I walked in. I'd texted Troy about an hour ago, pleading for him to talk to me — to give me any explanation about what happened the other day — but he hadn't responded. A tiny part of me knew that yesterday was probably the last time I would talked to him, but I just wanted to keep some hope that it wasn't. So I put my phone back into my purse and promised myself that I would ignore the urge to look at it every five seconds. With this I continued inside the library, where I was greeted by the librarian at the front desk.

" Good morning, Miss Lester!" Mrs.Berkley smiled at me. She looked both overjoyed and surprised to see me, considering I haven't been here since grade 11. I was astounded that she still remembered me, although I still looked the same, so that was perhaps how she did.

She still looked the same, too. I studied her face that was tight with wrinkles and freckles, her hair that was a washed-out crimson color, and her eyes that were incredibly youthful; golden and hidden behind big glasses. She had to be at least fifty years old, yet had the youth in her eyes of a seven year old. I smiled back at her as I approached the desk.

" Good morning, Mrs. Berkley." I sat my purse on the desk and began taking off my coat and scarf.

" My, my, have you grown." She said, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched me. I noticed how her eyes lingered on me and I knew she wanted to know why I looked like I was at least twenty years older than my actual age, but being from the time she's from she suppressed any kind of questions regarding my appearance. Instead she reached for my belongs and I gave them to her, where she waddled to settle them on a coat rack.

" A lot has changed since High School, hasn't it?"She asked with her back to me and I felt as though she was trying to pry, inconspicuously.

" Yes it has." I replied honestly and then ran a hand through my unruly hair, muttering under my breath, " You don't even know the half of it. "

" A lot of great things? I hope."

I didn't respond.

She turned back to me, defeated, still looking as gleeful as ever. "So what would you be needing today?"

" I need any information you have on Incubi..." I answered nervously, taking in her golden gaze that made me even more anxious.

At the mention of the word 'Incubi', Mrs. Berkley froze and her eyebrows pulled in with concern. The smile was wiped off her face and her eyes begin to study my restless state even more. Before she would try to interrogate me I straighten up and blurted, " It's for one of my college classes. We're studying them in mythology."

"Ah," Her expression turned apprehensible and the smile came back to her lips." Of course."

She directed me to the aisle the books would be in and also told me to check the computers for more information. I thanked her and walked away, feeling her gaze burning a hole into my back. Moments later I was thinking about how she had reacted to my words. The look on her face clearly inquired something, but before I could actually think further about it, my attention was gathered to the books before me.