Between the Pages and Lines

Chapter 1- Sucked In

Chapter 1

The words seemed to come alive on the paper. Skating along the surface of each page left and right, before making the leap up to her eyes. Dancing an elegant waltz only a seasoned reader like herself could interpret. The old timey language whispered it's mysteries of past romances and fight scenes, long since been told, to her awaiting eyes. Evelyn loved historical fiction. Especially when it had a tall, dark, and handsome leading man like this one did. Curling further into her reading chair Evelyn pulled the book closer to her. Wrapping herself around its cover, lovingly protecting it from the outside elements, like a human book jacket.

Turning the page she devoured the next few lines with her eyes. Eagerly awaiting the long sought after proposal. Her right hand held the remaining pages firmly. Her left struggled to hold onto the large bulk of pages she had already deciphered earlier that week. She was so close to the ending; could feel everybody would get what they deserved. Somehow Earnest would escape his Mother's firm grip on her idea of his future. He would soon find himself running towards a future of his own making. A future that had to involve the stunning wallflower, Clarisse, that had caught his eye at the beginning of the novel.

Their many secret midnight rendezvous were scandalous in their time. Risking both their reputations each time they ventured into a maze or a quiet music hall. Or her favorite; whispered conversations during a ball on a hidden balcony. It was almost perfect, the only thing missing was that proposal.

Closing her eyes Evelyn held the book close to her chest she felt for Clarisse. A shy but strong individual. Someone who just wanted to be with the one she loved more than anything else in the world. Of course the world didn't work out that way. The real world that was. Sighing she turned back to the book. That was another thing great about escaping her world through literature. Everything would work out in this fictional world that Janet Arbernary had spun herself. She loved Janet's books; they had a discount store Austen type quality to them. With the regency romances, great balls that seemed to happen far too often for anybody to fully recover from all the dancing and feasts.

Evelyn laughed; she couldn't imagine herself in the same situation going from ball to ball. If she was a character in this book she would of course do things differently. Speaking her mind would be one thing for sure. These women were too silent about what they wanted. Evelyn shook her head and turned her eyes back to the book. Smiling as it captured her attention once again.

"Careful there dear one, a good book is said to have the ability to swallow one up whole," a voice filled the room.

Evelyn startled and looked around; surprised to hear someone else in her room. With her room mate at a family reunion she was supposed to be alone all weekend.

"Hello?" Evelyn asked. The room echoed back her questioned greeting. She tried to put the eerie feeling of being watched out of her wind and turned back to her book.

"Hello," the voice seemed to be on the verge of a light laugh that she was trying to keep contained. As if she was in on a secret that she wished could be divulged immediately.

"Yeah that's going to be a nope for me," Evelyn's voice wavered as she slowly put her book down, spine up to save her place and made her way to the door.

"Oh but my dear. It's a yes for me," the voice laughed, this time a fairy like laugh that filled the room. The laugh, making a noise like wind chimes in a storm, grew louder by the second.

A powerful wind seemed to whistle around the room shoving Evelyn to the floor, interrupting her planned escape. She started to crawl to the door but the wind picked up again pushing her further and further from her safe destination. It pulled her closer to the chair she had abandoned minutes before. Her book was caught up in the wind and thrown to the floor. The cover hit the hardwood floor with a crack that sounded like thunder. A sound that seemed to blend into the storm that appeared to be brewing in her room already. The wind picked up around the book throwing it open and turning the pages as if determined to find the ending she was searching for herself. The sound of pages furiously turning this way and that grew louder. Becoming so loud it began to even overpower the wind screaming in her ears to be heard. A flash of lightning above her made her look up; her light was flickering on and off. Evelyn swore she saw an impish face near the light grinning at her before it all went dark. Quickly closing her eyes Evelyn tried to huddle into herself. Between the wind and the sound of the pages furiously turning she couldn't think straight.