A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 28: Miracles were Real

I didn't catch Finn after school. I guessed he was still avoiding me. That smile I perceived during social studies was my hallucination. When I tried to talk to him after class, he walked up to one of his teammates at the back of the room and the rest of his friends gathered around him.

I contemplated to go to him. I knew now that I had the courage, but I didn't want to force him if he didn't want to. Maybe he needed more time. Or maybe he was truly done with me.

"I can't just give up," I told myself as I walked up the front steps of the library. I had decided to come here after a disappointing day.

It was the 28th of October. In three more days, the library would be closed permanently. Despite all the effort I made to try to save it, no good news came. After Ms. Clark had told me about the possibility, I had subconsciously readied myself. It was time I said goodbye to a beloved friend.

I stopped in front of Pollyanna and sniffed the cold forming on my nose. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, jealous of her wide grin. "I tried. I really did. Even Finn helped me, but I was so stupid. I did something wrong. Now, he's angry, and I don't know how to make it better."

Standing there until the chill seeped through my jacket, I poured out all my regrets, like a failure, and wished I could have done more.

Despite being beaten down, I willed myself to get up. I could never control how I felt. Although I kept telling myself that everything would be alright, that it would all turn out fine, and I had to let go, a part of me couldn't give up until the last day. A part of me still wanted to fight.

"Maybe there's a miracle," I said to Pollyanna. "If only I could believe hard enough." Then I thought about the red leather-bound book. I hadn't seen it in days. I wondered if it had conceded too.

When I finally entered the library, I noticed it was filled with people. So many it seemed more like a shopping center than a library.

"What's going on?" I asked as I walked up to Ms. Clark. I was glad to catch her at her desk.

She looked up from her computer and blinked at me as if she had only noticed me standing there when I spoke. "Alice." A wide smile formed on her face. "It's good you're here. We received a letter from the town manager's office the other day. The library is not going to close after all."

I gaped at the librarian, my eyes widening as if I were waiting for the punchline, the reveal of the practical joke. But Ms. Clark would not do that to me.

"Really?" My heart jumped, ecstatic. I couldn't believe it. A heavy weight lifted off my shoulder, the one I had dragged around for the last twenty-eight days. My breath left my lungs in a laugh as an overwhelming sense of relief swelled in my heart.

"Really," Ms. Clark confirmed with a nod. Finally, some great news—the miracle I had hoped for.

"But how did that happen?" I asked, disbelief lingered.

"There's a man who lives in Pine Hill Park, who learned about your petition. His name is Mr. Johnson. He works in the government and brought the matter up to the governor himself," the librarian explained. Enthusiasm grew in her voice. "The governor came to visit last week and observed how many patrons we have. He made the decision not to close the library." Her voice rose with excitement but no one was shushing her. I noticed most people in the library weren't keeping quiet too.

"Mr. Johnson?" I raked my brain. It couldn't be. Finn said his uncle who lived in Pine Hill Park worked in the government. "Finn's uncle," I said without meaning to.

"You know the man?" Ms. Clark asked.

"Not really. Not in person." I shook my head. "But I've heard of him. He's an uncle of a friend." He named Finn after the beloved character from the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.