Ashes and Flames

Chapter Four

Turning the knob, I pushed the door open and revealed a room with shelves stocked high with labeled boxes. I could feel Ash placing his hand in mine and squeezing. I knew he needed reassurance. He was going to find out who he was; that's scary for anyone. Hell, I was scared for him!

I gently pulled Ash into the room with me and closed the door behind us. Last thing I needed was for someone to get nosey.

There was a table and four chairs seated in the middle of the room. A photocopier was placed in the corner. Leading Ash over to one of the chairs, I instructed him to sit down before moving along to the shelves.

There were so many boxes to look through. I didn't even have a clue as to where to start.

"How long were you at the house, Ash?" I questioned him, scanning over the years on the boxes.

"Um, maybe fifteen years. It was so long. I can barely remember," Ash stated, looking off into space.

"Okay. So I moved in when I was ten. That was nearly six years ago. That would mean that fifteen years before I moved in, there was a fire. That's the year 1995."

Ash nodded to show that he was paying attention. I moved along the shelves and checked each of the years. After a few minutes of going down the shelves, I finally found the year 1995. There was a total of 12 boxes there—one for every month. I grabbed the step ladder near the wall and set it in front of the shelf. I snatched the box labeled 'January '95' on it and climbed down the steps.

"Here Ash, you look through this one. I'll grab another one," I declared while handing the box over to Ash.

I didn't wait for him to respond before going back to the shelf and grabbing the next box in line. I brought the February box over to the table and opened the lid. It was organized pretty well. Each newspaper was under a category. Quickly finding the 'fire' category, I began to search through the contents for the 'Ruthbern' house. Apparently, that was the name of the family who built the house originally back in the 1800s. I had found that out from the online public archives.

"I've got nothing. You find anything?" I questioned Ash after not finding anything in the box.

"No. There’s nothing in here."

We took our boxes back to the shelf and replaced them in their original position before grabbing another box.

Two hours, 31 boxes, and little to no patience later, we found ourselves neck deep in a box labeled, 'July '97.' Apparently that was the month a lot of houses caught on fire, so we were both going through the box.

"Jemini Church, Cincinatti Skate Rink, forest fire..." Ash read out title after title.

"Luigi's Pizza, Cellini House Fire, Ruthbern House Fire, Captain..."

"Wait! Go back one Mae," Ash exclaimed, startling me out of my exhausted stupor.

I obeyed Ash's excited command and went back one to find the article we were looking for.

"Ruthbern House Fire," I read out loud.

Ash's eyes lit up and he immediately rushed to my side. My eyes scanned over the front page and I began to read aloud.

"The Ruthbern house caught fire sometime last night while the family inside was asleep. Fire Fighter Chief, Chris Marshall, says the cause of fire was a faulty electric socket. Witnesses say the house belonged to-"

"Continue reading, Mae!" Ash bellowed.

"I can't, Ash. The rest of the article is missing. The whole page is gone," I whispered sadly.

The look on Ash's face broke my heart. He looked so dejected and sad in that moment. Why would someone take a page from an archive? What would they get out of it? In that moment, I would've done anything to cheer Ash up. Ash dropped down into a chair and just stared off into space.

I took the newspaper and brought it over to the photocopier to make a copy. I ran it through the scanner and took the printed version before returning to Ash. After placing the newspaper back among the rest, I put everything back into the box. Ash didn't even acknowledge me. It was as though he wasn't there at all. I hefted the box back to the shelf and put it back in line with the rest.

"Let's go home," I murmured to Ash while placing the copy in my purse.

When I turned back to make sure Ash heard me, he was gone. I knew he was upset. I just didn't think he would disappear until we got home. It didn't matter though. I'd just walk home on my own.

I sighed before opening the archive door and began the trek out of the library. The girl from before was still at the desk. She wasn't even paying attention to her surroundings. She was too engrossed with whatever was on her cell phone—typical teenagers.

Half an hour later, I found myself walking into an empty and quiet house. My mother wasn't going to be home for quite a while and Ash didn't appear like usual. I locked the door before dragging my feet up the stairs to my bed room. I dropped down onto my bed and grabbed my journal to write in.

It was a week before the beginning of fifth grade and I was terrified out of my wits.

"Ash, I don't want to go to school! I don't want to be the new kid!" I cried into Ash's chest.

"Mae, you have to go to school," Ash said softly as he rubbed my head.

"No I don’t! Can't you just take me with you when you disappear? Please?" I pleaded while clenching his shirt in my fists.

"How about I go with you? I pinkie promise that I will stay with you all day. Does that sound good?" Ash compromised.

I looked up at Ash with a tear stained face and held up my pinkie. Ash wrapped his pinkie around mine and then kissed my forehead. I gave him a watery smile before cuddling my face into his chest again. I was content to stay just like that forever.

"Ash, do you know your family? Are they ghosts, too?" I asked Ash out of the blue.

"I don't know where or who they are, Mae. I wish I did, though," he alleged as he looked off into space.

“I'll help you find your family then! I pinkie promise," I swore as I held up my pinkie.

Ash smiled at me as he wrapped his finger around mine and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you."