Frozen in Time (Haku)

Chapter 35- The Journal

I'm sorry, that this is late.

Thanks for reading and ENJOY!

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ANNE

I walked into my library. It was a vast place, almost as big as a small house. Books were everywhere; they lined the walls, there were rows of shelves, they even were suspended from the roof. I sighed, and ran my fingers on the spine of my favorite book, The Ice Queen. I don't know why, but I absolutely loved the book when I was still a little girl.

Pulling the book from the shelf, a small puff of dust flew from the shelf, causing me to sneeze and stumble back into one of the shelves. Al I could do was look as the shelf leaned over, making a creaking sound. My eyes widened as the shelf met the floor, leaving a scattered mess of papers, books, but most of all, a huge cloud of dust.

I started to cough uncontrollably, and me still being under one of my spells wasn't helping. I waited for the dust to clear a bit before I went in to clean the mess. With all my strength, I was able to pull the fallen bookshelf down. I let out a huff and began my work.

Halfway through the animal encyclopedias and animal guides, I saw a beaten up leather book. I picked it up and surveyed it. It was as big as an accounts ledger and it was about as thick as a daily planner. I opened it and saw the numbers 2-5 years.

"Huh?" I asked myself. I flipped through the pages and saw that it was a journal, but that wasn't all, it was my father's. Leaving the rest of the books scattered on the floor, I absentmindedly walked over to my reading chair. I plopped down and opened it.

December 21, 1986

This is our first day with her. Nothing is weird with her. THEY asked me to write a journal everyday to report back to them, to make sure nothing is going wrong. So far, she is a rather pretty little girl. She mirrors my wife in everyway. She would be sure to replace our little Anne.

My heart gave a large thump and I began to sweat. What the hell is this? I flipped through the pages.

January 17, 1987

The girl wouldn't stop sweating in the middle of one of the worst blizzards we have seen in over a decade. We are afraid that she might contract pneumonia if we take the blankets off of her. She keeps on sweating like we are at the peak of summer, and we don't know what to do.

I gasped, I use to sweat like that. I was always hot, even when it was cold. What is this journal? Some sick prank? I flipped through some more pages.

June 4, 1986

It is over 100 degrees outside. We have to keep the child in air-conditioning at all times, or she will start to cry and have fits. The air-conditioning has to be at its coldest settings, which is running us into some high bills.

Today, however, Adeline tried playing with the child. She is still hesitant towards us, so she just sat in the corner. A few hours later, a sack of flour fell on Adeline's head, causing her to be ghostly pale, with white hair. She came in search of me, who was with the child. As soon as Adeline entered the room, the child's eyes lit up and she said, "Mama."

I guess that her original parents had white hair.

This book... If it's true, then I was adopted? I decided to keep on reading.