The pitter patter of the rain falling against the building was the only sound audible after the school of people left the room. The stagnant air felt and tasted stale but bore a certain scent, probably from the multitude of works in the building. The rest of the crowd left, but only one lady remained. She, with her earbuds inserted firmly in her ears, intently gazed at a group of paintings hanging up.
"Huh. I don't know how she does it." The lady sighed in frustration. After about three minutes of unsuccessful staring, she gave in and raced to catch up to the rest of the people, her shoes clacking against the solid and cold floor.
-
"Mommy, you're home!" Squeaked a young auburn haired child, busily drawing away on a large pad of paper. She had abandoned her crayons and pounced on the lady stepping inside and shutting the door.
"Woah, calm down there." The woman ruffled the girl's locks with one hand and had her other sort of pushing the child away slightly. She happened to spot the messy drawing station. "You've been drawing again?"
"Uh huh. Isn't it cute?" The girl asked eagerly, running over to her latest masterpiece and holding it up to the lady for her to see.
"What is it, a cow?" She squinted in an effort to identify the sloppy creation.
"Close. It's a Mooh." The girl copied the deep bellow the farm animal makes.
"Ah. That's lovely." The woman complimented, pressing on passed her daughter. "Are you hungry now or?"
"Yes. Chicken nuggets?" The girl cocked her head, setting down her drawing.
"Not toni-"
"Chicken nuggets?"
"No, I can't m-"
"Please? Please? Please?"
"Oh fine."
"Yaaay!"
-
Finally satisfied for the day, the girl had gotten ready for bed and was now tucked under a mountain of blankets. At the corner of her pitch dark room, her favorite bear sat in his rocking chair. While outside her window beside her bed, shadows of trees danced to the beat and rhythm of wind. Suddenly, the girl wasn't so tired. She dug herself out of the mound of sheets and trotted over to her blond, four foot tall, red bow tie donning bear idly occupying the squeaky old wooden seat. With all her strength, she hoisted him up and sat in his place, finally pulling him on her tiny lap.
"You couldn't sleep either?" She whispered to the bear much larger than she.
Silence.
"It's too early for bed time. How about a story?" The girl babbled on.
"How about you go to sleep?" Her mother asked from the doorway. The child nodded and galloped back to her bed.
"You went out today. Tell me about that."
"Okay. So I went to the art museum before the rain started."
"And then?"
"And then that was it. I saw many, many pictures. Some you could make one day if you keep it up. And the guy, the tour guide, he said something about a new item on exhibit. A book or something."
"Wow."
"Yeah. You can come with me tomorrow. Then we can stop for some food for lunch."
"That sounds great!"
"But you have to stay asleep until tomorrow."
"I will."
"Alright." The mother stood up from her kneeling position and prepared to leave the bedroom. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, mommy."
-
The time had come for the young girl and her mother to enter the massive building. The strong smell of citrus caught their noses.
"Be careful. The floor may be slippery." The mother had said, holding on to her daughter's small, gloved hand. The pair made their way to the brand new exhibit, which was basically an outstretched hall full of bookshelves leading to a podium with only one book. That book was kept under a heavy glass case and appeared more aged and tattered than anything else there.
"I wanna see it!"
"Okay." The mother released her hold of her daughter and watched closely as the girl charged at the podium.
"I didn't think I'd find you here." The sophisticated voice of an elderly male made the girl's mother spin on her short heels.
"Mr. Tobin? What a coincidence."
"Indeed. I didn't take you as the artsy type."
"I'm not. She is." She said with a nod to her child in the background. "She eats the stuff right up."
"How is little Jenny doing? She's grown since last time I've seen her."
"She's doing great, besides a few quirks. But she really loves this art stuff."
"Quirks?"
"Well, she does strange things. Some of it I get. I mean, the girl lost her father, her siblings moved away, her friends changed, all that. But the rest of it is just plain odd."
"You do spend time with her, though, right? Got her on a proper diet?" The man narrowed his eyes but put up a small concerned smile.
"Of course I do! I spent more time with her than 'he' did."
"The divorce may be an obstacle for her. And you too. If either of you need help in a pinch, call me."
"We're fine, thanks. But I'll keep that in mind."
"Mommy, can we go eat now?" The girl appeared beside her mother, startling her.
"Sure." She replied, hand over her beating heart.
"Oh, hello mister Tobin." The girl greeted happily, coming out from behind her parent wall. Tobin had bent down to scuffle her hair and get in eye level.
"Jenny, you've gotten bigger. How have you been?"
"Good. You?"
"Well. I've recently donated that book over there to this museum. It was in with my daughter's things."
"I like that book. It's old."
"Yeah. But it's full of good stuff."
"We're going for lunch. Want to come too?"
"If it's alright, I would." Tobin looked to the mother.
"Why not? Let's go."
The three of them started their stride out. Though the case gleamed with light, the content from within was gone.
YOU ARE READING
B.o.O
Random"The Book of October is not a toy. It's not a thing you want to play around with." "It has an affect on people, and it's not usually a good one." "I'd never use it myself, but since I can't stop you, I wish you good luck. You'll need it." Thirty day...
