Today will be the one day that changes from life. For the better or for the worse? I don't know - you tell me . . My name is Rae and here's my story.

A girl, a park bench, a sunny afternoon. I sat, my legs curled up neatly under me, an apple grasped tightly in my hand, half eaten. Most days are like this. I go to work, then lunch alone, back to work and then home. A repetitive phase. A rut. Would I ever be able to escape? I wanted something new to happen in my life. Maybe a new person - someone to wake up to every morning.

Crazy.

I sighed, letting the thought fade out of my mind and into the summer air around me. My small, wrist watch ticked, reminding me of the lunch hour that was soon about to end. Unfolding my legs from beneath me, I stood up and tossed the half eaten apple into an already overflowing trash bin. And like almost every person out there, I didn't want to go back to work. There was nothing particularly wrong with my job, it just gets lonely sometimes.

Basu Books. The name of the small book store, the one I spent most of my days in. I wouldn't particularly call it work, because no body comes into bookstores nowadays. Most peoples minds are corrupted by technology. Television, Computers and Internet, Cell phones, I pods. The things most people use to distract themselves from the crippling world around them. I had no particular interest in the use of most of that technology. Don't get me wrong or anything, I have a Television and a computer at home. Though, they are mostly turned off, never used.

I spend most of my time at the book store, day dreaming of a time when people, no matter what race or religion they were, could all get along.

"I'm back!" I shouted softly as I walked through the door of the book store, hoping to hear something in response. "Hey, gurlie. How was your lunch?" Lola smiled. She was a beautiful girl. Long brown hair, with light curls at the end witch fell at the middle of her back. And the most amazing hazel eyes I had ever seen. Perfect red lips and a body any man OR woman would kill for. I had often imagined life if I looked like her.

But me? Plain. One word - the only word needed to describe me. I had short, choppy, black hair that only came a little past my shoulders. It was usually worn in a loose ponytail. Mostly because I never had time to fix it in the morning. My eyes were a dark shade a green, and oddly shaped. Thin lips and a thin figure. Usually hidden under the turtle necks and long sleeves.

"It was .. Normal." I replied, with a small and quick smile. My bag slipped of my arm and I tossed it behind the counter. "Any new customers?" I asked. Trying to start a conversation , even though I knew there wasn't. "Not one." Lola puckered out her bottom lip, making a sort of pouty face as she would rest her elbow on the counter, resting her cheek on her hand. I gave a slight huff before making my way over to one of the recliners set beside a bookshelf.

This was my favorite place to sit. By this particular book shelf. It was filled with old books and literature from back in the Medieval times. Books from other countries of religion and races. I had read every one. I scanned over the bookshelf, looking for a such particular book. A slight shine caught my eye. It was a golden lined paged book, pushed as far back as it possibly could be. Its spine was facing inward, not allowing me to see the title. How come I had never seen this book before? I was hesitant, waiting a moment before reaching for the book.

What if it was a book, that if you pulled, it would actually be like a key to a secret door or a revolving book case. Like in the horror films?

My hands grasped around the edges of the book and I pulled it from the cluttered bookshelf. I quickly looked around, half hoping to see a random door open in a wall. There wasn't.

My gaze returned to the book. The cover was a plain, black and covered in a thick layer of dust. I gently swept my hand across the top, revealing a strange symbol. I thought nothing of it.

At my feet, the dust from the cover fell without a sound. The emblem on the cover resembled a sort of triangle with a rounded bottom. Hard to put into plain words really. I smiled to myself, at the mystifying tome, not being able to wait to open it and see what lies amongst its pages. My fingertips tenderly rounded the corners of the book, before slipping beneath the cover and flipping it open. The first page was uniform. Nothing. I turned the page, the mysterious symbol arriving again and beneath it, a list.

"T H E C R E E D"

"Hide in plain sight."

"Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent"

"Never compromise the Brother hood."

My arms cradled the book cautiously, seeing of the aged and very deficient condition the book was in. Glancing behind me, I looked at the unfolded recliner for a moment, before taking a seat, setting the tome upon my lap. I felt the excitement rise up in the pit of my stomach, just wanting to discover.

As feeling of the parchedness and stiffness of the pages, I lightly licked the tip of my thumb and index finger, turning the page once again. Petite, disorganized cursive began to envelop the pages, but was seemed to be covered by what looked like a small quantity of water damage and the fact that the book was so old. From the words and sentences that I could read came . .

". . Jerusalem, 1191 AD . ."

". .The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart . ."

". . The Piece of Eden hidden within Solomon's Temple . ."

". . A League of Assassin's . ."

". .Robert IV de Sablé, a member of the Knights Templar . ."

My slender lips rounded into a smile as I began to the read aloud the last line lingering at the foot of the page. Stuttering over the foreign expressions a bit.

" تقع لي .. كما قاتل "

Falling to me .. As an Assassin

Still smiling, in high spirits that I had taken a few language courses in college; while letting my fingers ready to turn to the next page. but I was struck by the sound of my wrist watch ticking once again. Closing time. I sighed in despondency, not wanting to leave the book behind. I could try and sneak it out, but with my misfortune - I was more than likely to get caught.

Placing the book back into its place on the bookshelf, I sighed once more. It would be there tomorrow. I had nothing to be concerned about. Its just a book. I kept telling myself, but there was .. something. Something that drew me into the tome. Just what was it?

Lola had already left the store not too long before I had.

The sun had already set and the warm, summer air had cooled. A small breeze blew, nipping lightly at my cheeks. Lets head home. My bag was placed conveniently across my shoulder, and would simultaneously hit at the back of my thighs, with every step.

My eyes darted around the vacant streets as I walked along the winding sidewalk.

No one was out. That was usually odd. These streets were usually cluttered with the busy business men and women trying to make their way home. It wasn't late, so where was everyone? I shrugged it off and continued my journey home. To my cozy, little apartment.