One Week in June | ONC2020

June 8th 4:08 PM

"Here you are Miss Marlow." Archie, the gangly librarian that's probably been here since the stone age, places a stack of leather-bound books onto one of the archives tables I've taken over with my piles of journals and loose leaf articles. "If there is anything else that you need help finding, please look for yourself. This isn't a hotel service." He says dryly in his monotone voice. There are a few cobwebs clinging to Archie's frizzy hair and I hold back a giggle. I don't know how far back he had to go into the archives of the Library, but now he looks like he's been decorated with a spooky Halloween decoration.

"Thank you Archie," I say, I'm about to mention the mess in his hair but he cuts me off.

"Again, please go looking before asking me, Miss Marlow. You've been here plenty of times to know exactly where everything is." And with that, Archie turns on his heels and heads out of the archive room. He's right, I have been here every summer and at one point I worked as the Librarian Assistant for the summer of my junior year of high school. So I could technically collect all the material I need to look through, but Archie is so much faster at finding archived logs and centuries old journals.

"Thank you!" I shout after Archie, he flinches at my raised voice but doesn't turn around as I wave him farewell. I always enjoyed Archie's companionship, even if he treated me as if I was an imbecile, he just did it in the sweetest, most Archie way possible. I'll be the first to admit, it's a weird but amusing relationship.

The Library holds records dating back to before the founding families even arrived at the Lake, not that many people go looking into that sort of information when everything we need is on our phones. Even if I did have my phone, which I don't because Mom took it last night, I'd still venture to the archives room to look for potential clues. Especially after working so closely with Archie I realized that technology is not always the answer.

I've spent hours sifting through the archives that Archie's pulled and I've only come up with a handful of loose leaf papers that must have been a part of a larger journal at one point in time. These journal entries are scrawled in an almost illegible chicken scratch, but luckily the entries are short and to the point. While I've been deciphering what the text actually says, I've also been transferring the journal entries into my own writing in my notebook for future reference.

Journal Entry from Herald Miller

June 5th, 1815

The crops are growing well, we might be able to see some harvest earlier than expected.

The Petrov's came over for dinner last night and it felt nice to have the six of us sharing a meal again. Igor has unfortunately had to keep Vera in the house for the last few weeks since she's been unwell. I could tell from her demeanor and the bags under her eyes that she, in fact, was ill (and might still be). The Petrov boys have had to double up on their chores since their mother has been under the weather. It was good to give the family a break for the evening. Lily is planning on making a second meal this evening to bring over to the Petrov's so they have something in the kitchen to eat.

Though his first entry feels a bit mundane, not that the research I'm doing is going to hand me the information I need on a silver platter, but surprisingly Herald has given me some vital insight into the life of the Petrov family. I thought that Vera Petrov wasn't ever in Kepner and that she had died long before the founders settled on the land, but this clearly proves that assumption wrong. As I continue to read more and more of his entries it becomes apparent that Igor Petrov was hiding dark secrets from the rest of the founders.

June 6th, 1815

The crops are growing well. The soil is full of amazing nutrients that are going to help with the harvest in the upcoming months. This mountain will be our savior during this winter.

Lily brought a wonderful summer stew to the Petrov's yesterday afternoon, but no one was there. Their cabin was dark and Lily said that it looked like no one had been in for a while. I, of course, had to see for myself, and after a bit of investigating it turns out that she was right. Later in the day, I found Igor wandering through the forest and he seemed extremely tense. When I asked about Vera he yelled at me to mind my own business. Completely unlike Igor Petrov to raise his voice at me like that. His boys were nowhere near him when he blew up at me, but when I came back home Lily said she saw the pair near the lake. She said they were looking into the water for over an hour.

The next entry is a complete one-eighty and it throws me for a loop. Herald barely talks about Vera and he didn't even mention the fact that she wasn't feeling well, in fact, it's as though Herald forgot who Vera was all together. No discussion about what happened with Igor's blow up. Nothing.

June 8th, 1815

The crops have shown a significant decline this morning. I'm worried that there might be some mineral in the soil that is causing the plant's roots to stunt. We might lose this batch and have to restart again. This is not ideal. I'm worried there isn't going to be enough time to grow a whole new harvest crop to make it through the colder months. Winter is just around the corner.

Lily is watching Igor's boys this morning. Igor says that since their mother passed away on their journey to the new world, the boys have been more down than usual. I wish we would have met her, she sounded like an exemplary mother. I hope that Lily and I will soon be able to bring a child into this beautiful mountain life.

Life is normal around the village, everyone is tending to their tasks as we near the summer solstice in twelve days time. Hopefully the harvest is healthy by then.

I stare at the text in confusion. This can't be it. This can't be all the information I've got to go on. I lean back into my chair and rub my tired eyes as I let out a defeated groan. I'm wracking my brain for anything, any kind of lead that I can follow that might bring me to more information about the events leading up to Anna's deal two hundred years ago. All of the information I have from Anna and her point of view come from the journal that she left in our family's possession and care.

I jump out of my chair in excitement and quickly pack my belongings into my backpack as I race out of the Library. Archie yells after me about cleaning up my table, but I'm already out the door and down the front steps of the Library. I pull out of my parking spot and tear down Main Street of Downtown Kepner. The same thought continuously pounding in my head as I stomp on the gas: If my family kept our ancestor's journal, then who's to say the Miller family didn't keep theirs?