Chapter Twelve
I picked up the nearest book in the teen section and sat down in the nook; this time without my blanket. I looked at the front cover of the vampire novel that sent young girls into a tizzy, including myself. Who wouldn't want to be the apple of this vampire's eye? Who wouldn't want to be able to put themselves into the book and see him for real?
This was the true test to see if I could really travel into these books or if it was only the other books buried beneath the floorboards. Was it my family heritage that helped me with this talent or merely the library itself?
Gram did say the library was special. Time and time again she would tell anyone who would listen how important this building was; I just never paid any attention until now. Now, it was too late.
I opened the book, my heart pounding, and read the first line of the book. I read about a girl who was moving from her home in Arizona and nothing happened. I was feeling like this was all a waste of time and almost tossed the book down when I felt that familiar feeling.
I was standing in a forest of trees watching cars drive by me and a girl, the girl from the book, driving with her dad to their home. I was inside this book!
I followed them as easily as walking, but I wasn't doing that. I was floating alongside them and as each word of the story was read, it played out in front of me more up close and personal than any movie could. I was really in it.
I watched as she met the vampire boy with the dark eyes and the fabulous hair. But there was such a difference this time; I could not talk to these characters. They didn't see me like Lisa did. I realized that it was because this was a work of fiction. These characters, while they looked real to me, were not.
It didn't mean that I wasn't happy about being inside the book like this, but it was not the same.
I felt a pulling on my arm, and I looked around me as I stood once again in a beautiful forest full of trees. I looked around and saw nothing. But dang it, there was that pulling again.
Out of nowhere a hand reached through the trees and pulled me right out. I was sitting in my nook staring at Tarryn's worried face.
"What happened to you?" she asked, barely a whisper. "It was like you were asleep, but with your eyes open."
Her face was pale, and she looked terrified. I felt awful for scaring her like that, and I didn't do it intentionally. How could I explain what I was doing without sounding like a liar?
"I'm so sorry if I frightened you, Tarryn."
She shook her head and stood fast. Now anger was fully displayed on her face.
"You're hiding something from me; I know it."
I began fumbling for words. My mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, except I wasn't gasping for air, I was trying to find an excuse. Tarryn deserved more than lies and cover ups, but I couldn't give them to her right now. I didn't know anything myself. I had no idea how I could enter these books or what power I possessed that gave me this gift.
Dammit, Gram! How dare you do this to me?
How could Gram go all this year without me and never, not once, tell me about this? We lived in this library together and not once did it come up. Why did she wait until the last possible second to inform me about this rare gift?
"I can't tell you what happened because I don't know," I explained. "I found out that my Gram needed my help on her death bed, Tarryn. She made me promise to stay here because she said the library held magic. She gave me this ring and a whole speech." I told her as I held up my finger to show her the ring. "She also told me to watch over a set of books. So maybe that's what I'm hiding."
I skidded to a halt and said no more as I remembered what else she said. Gram told me that no one else could touch the books.
"I get it, Jennie. It's your family duty to own this library. Why do you think my sister runs the coffee shop? My mom practically made her do it."
"I can understand how she must feel," I said sadly. I did understand, but this was way different. This duty of mine was more than running the library, but I couldn't find the words to explain this to Tarryn.
"Let's go to sleep. We have an early day tomorrow. I will tell you all you want to know, but it can't be tonight. Okay?"
"Okay." She nodded and I put the book back on the shelf.
She didn't ask more questions or intrude. She simply gave up. I just had to hope that she wouldn't bring it up again. I wouldn't leave Tarryn in the dark forever. She needed to know, and no matter how scared I was, I would tell her the truth. Eventually.
The library's grand opening was a success. All the children who came for story time were eager if not desperate for more stories. Tarryn ran the counter as I helped Mr. Gentry find a good stack of western novels that he could read. Most people told me how badly they missed my Gram and all of the books. Most of them were trapped in their homes for weeks on end due to the ice and snow. They needed their stories to help them escape from the harsh Maine winter. The children needed the story time and the indoor playground that Tarryn and I had put together.
I used some of the extra funds, that somehow my Gram had set aside, to order plastic slides and foam mats. We set them up inside the largest room in the library. It was previously used for studying, but I decided that the kids needed it more. Those who wished to study could do so in the smaller room.
Watching the kids play put a smile on my face. If Gram could be here now and see this, I think that she would have been proud.
I looked at the many gifts the library patrons brought in to me as they visited and felt that they really missed Gram. I was confident that Tarryn and I were doing a pretty good job helping them enjoy the library once more. The money was not an issue and funds were coming in steadily from all over the place. It was like Gram either had a money tree at one time, or she was helping me as a ghost. I was getting checks from a library in Rhode Island on a weekly basis and it was all in Gram's name. I didn't ask questions; I just cashed the checks and put it into the library. Who was I to tell someone to stop paying Gram? I surely wasn't stupid. We needed the money, and it came.
We closed the doors at five 'o clock on the dot. I locked it and flipped the sign, and Tarryn drew the curtains.
"Well, I am going to just say that was pretty successful," Tarryn exclaimed after she was finished stocking the last book.
"I agree."
I shut down the last computer and flopped down in Gram's chair. Exhaustion was not the word for how tired I was.
"I'm going to run upstairs and take a shower. Then I'm going to bed. I never knew a day at work would be so exhausting," Tarryn told me after she shut off the reading lamps. "Coming?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to clean up the play room and read for a little while."
She smiled and nodded slightly.
Our awkward exchange from last night was never brought up again. She seemed to have forgotten all about it, and I wasn't bringing it up.
"Good night," I called as she left.
I leaned back in the chair and stared outside the window. The snow was starting to fall slowly, and I wondered when spring would arrive again. Would we be stuck in an eternal winter?
I tried to ignore the nagging feeling of the books below my feet. They were almost calling to me, begging for me to travel within them.
My skin longed to feel the sunshine of Lisa's English home. I couldn't resist the temptation, so I clumsily dug them out of the floorboard. Instead of sitting in my nook, I entered the secret room.
I pulled the book open so fast I didn't have time to see if the title had changed since the last time I traveled. I began the chapter and felt the familiar feeling.
When I found myself staring at, not Lisa, but a beautiful woman with the same eyes as me, I knew I had grabbed the wrong book.
