In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 19: At Least She'd Found the Light

The library was almost empty now. The evening was turning orange outside of the building, the sky deep and colorful. In a far corner of the library, he was nestled away at his favorite table. Across the table, several books laid open to various pages. A notebook sat open, some scribbled notes visible. At the table, Isaac stared, for a moment, out of the window, out at the deep orange sky. He rested his hands on an open book and the words of the pages he'd been reading ran through his mind. Lost to his thoughts, he heard almost nothing of the sleepy library around him.

"Busy!" Isaac heard directly behind his ear, as someone clasped their hands firmly on his shoulders.

He flew around, almost coming out of his seat onto the ground, gasping. "Why...!" he started, loudly, and Natalie put her finger out to him, shushing him.

"Not so loud," she said playfully. "Hello... this is a library. Try to have a little respect," she said, smiling slyly.

Isaac breathed out loudly, running his hand over his eyes and through his hair and then resting his elbows on the table in front of him. Taking a moment, he laughed, quietly. "I'm gonna get you back for that," he said, pointing his finger at her.

Natalie looked at him and shook her head. "That's a dangerous game," she said. She looked around, side to side, peering between the rows of books behind them. She leaned in closely. "I've got all the time in the world to keep this up," she said, grinning.

"Fair enough," he answered, knowing she was playfully telling the truth. "Anyway, of all the books you could have scared me reading, why'd you have to wait for this one?" he asked her.

Natalie looked down at the book opened on the table in front of him. She read the title of the chapter on the top of the page. "Poltergeists: Playful Spirits or Powerful Devils?" she read. "That's quite a topic," she said. "Some light Wednesday reading?" she asked, amused.

He laughed. "Some of the stuff in the history of Allbrook books made me more curious about different types of ghosts or spirits or whatever you'd call it," he answered.

"What's the book called?" she asked him.

"You haven't cataloged every book in your mind by chapter titles?" he asked, joking. "A Compendium of Spirits," he answered, turning the book over to show its cover. "I've learned a lot..." he paused, "if any of this is right."

Natalie reached out and took the book, flipping to its back cover and scanning the introduction there. Handing it back to him, she said, "So does that mean you're done with the books on Allbrook, or just taking a break?"

"I'm definitely not done," Isaac answered. "Those books are huge. I'm not even really taking a break. They just bring up a ton of stuff that I want to research in other books." He stopped and pointed at the table in front of him, with all the opened books there. "All of these have been to help me with about two chapters," he said.

"Well good luck with all that," she said. "I'm happy to help you find these books all you want," she paused, "but I just can't get into all this," she added.

"No?" Isaac asked, surprised. "Don't believe in this stuff?"

She didn't answer at first, thinking. "No," she started, taking a moment. "No, it's not about believing," she said. "It's more... more like I've heard enough about all this to last me, I don't know how long."

"Oh yeah?" Isaac asked, interested. "From who?"

She took a breath and laughed, a small laugh. "Another time," she said. "Ask me again another time. Plus," she started, looking at the clock on the wall above him, "you've got about 3 minutes until I have to kick you out of the library. And believe me," she continued, "I will happily oblige," she said grinning.