Nobody Says It's Easy

37

"This is incredible," Hadley whispered.

The library was a small brick building. Inside were heavy crown moldings and numerous floor-to-ceiling windows. Shelves of books ran along the walls between the windows. As far as she could make out, there were no computers anywhere.

Probably too poor to include WIFI in the municipal budget, she thought.

The golden sunlight cast rich shadows on the spines of the books. Still, there was a dusty, closed smell in the room. Not a heavily trafficked place, she mused.

"Hello," said a middle-aged lady.

Her bone structure was fine, and Hadley could tell that in her younger years, this lady had been beautiful. She was striking now, but there was a worn look that shadowed her eyes. Her fine hair was streaked with gray and neatly combed into a little bun. The quintessential, stereotypical small-town librarian. Her movements reminded Hadley of a small bird – quick and frightened.

"Don't mind me. I'm just nosing around," said Hadley. "On vacation with time on my hands. I thought I might research a little bit of the history of your town."

"Wonderful," she said. "Stay as long as you like. I've got to check on things back home. If I'm not back here when you leave, just leave the door open. We never lock it. It would seem unfriendly."

"Unfriendly?"

"Oh, yes," she said. "Libraries are like churches. The doors of learning should always remain open."

With that, she quietly left.

Hadley looked around. It really was a neat library. Small and not loaded with the latest, well, of anything. But neat just the same. She was reading the titles on a far shelf when across the room, she heard the crash of books hitting the floor.

"Oh, my," she said. "She must have left some teetering on a shelf. Wouldn't do to let her think I'd ransacked the place."

She wandered over and replaced the book. Beside this shelf was a table full of old newspapers.

One headline caught her eye.