Chapter 12

Hannukah

It had been a couple of months since Molly and Libby managed to escape from Jinx on Halloween night. Ever since that night, they hadn't heard anything from Jinx or the Ghost Council. Once they were sure they were safe, they decided to relax for the next couple of months.

Before long, it was winter in Brighton. To celebrate Hannukah this year, Leah decided to invite Molly and her family over to Book Marks the Spot. The McGees got comfortable as Leah started to make snacks for them.

"We really appreciate you inviting us over for Hannukah, Leah!" Sharon smiled.

"Oh, don't mention it, Sharon! Libby and I are happy to have you and your family over!" Leah replied before she got ready to make some snacks.

"I just hope we won't be much of a bother. None of us are too familiar with your Hannukah tradition." Pete admitted.

"Don't worry, Dad! I have done my fair share of research on Hannukah! Like, uh-" Molly took out her phone before looking up information on the holiday. "It unfolds over 8 subsequent night!"

"Gee! You sure are knowledgeable about the holiday, Molly!" Libby said with an amused smile.

"Okay! So, maybe I don't know everything about Hannukah, but one thing I do know is that it is also called, The Festival of-"

Before Molly could finish her sentence, all of the lights suddenly turned off, leaving everyone in pitch black darkness.

"Lights?" Molly finished her sentence, now realizing what was going on.

"Might want to double check that." Darryl spoke up.

At that moment, everyone looked outside to see that they weren't the only ones who lost power. It appeared that everyone around them suffered a blackout.

"Looks like the whole city is out." Sharon commented.

Leah soon turned on a flashlight so everyone can see. "Not to worry! I'd never be caught without a generator during a midwest winter!"

Ready to turn the power back on, Leah led everyone outside, where she attempted to activate the generator. Unfortunately, the generator didn't work as well as she hoped it would.

"Of course I forgot to stock up on fuel." Leah sighed. "Oh well. Looks like we've got enough juice to last us an hour!"

Once the generator activated, everyone returned to the bookshop to enjoy the rest of the holiday. Everyone was excited to celebrate Hannukah with Libby and her mom, with the exception of Scratch, who only agreed to stay to eat the snacks Leah made.

As Scratch was busy eating, Libby thought now would be the perfect time for her to at least make an effort to become friends with Scratch. While things didn't start off so great between them, Libby knew it would make Molly happy to see her and Scratch become friends as well. At that moment, Libby approached Scratch, ready to start a conversation with him.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm eating?" Scratch said, showing he doesn't want to talk to Libby.

Despite how rude Scratch, was being, Libby still made an attempt to be friendly. "Um, how is the food Mom made?"

"I'll admit, they are pretty good! Especially the hash brown!" Scratch commented.

"Actually, that is a latke! It is a Jewish cuisine that is traditionally made for Hannukah, and-"

"Yeah, I don't care what it's called." Scratch interrupted Libby. "What are you still doing here? I'm not here to socialize."

Libby soon let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, I've tried!"

Realizing that being friends with Scratch was not worth it, Libby angrily stomped away. Libby would never understand why Molly liked him so much.

After Libby's not so friendly conversation with Scratch, the generator was running for a couple more hours. This surprised everyone since they ended up keeping power longer than they expected. Throughout the past couple of hours, everyone played games with each other, whether it was playing a game of dreidel or participating in a Hannukah themed spelling bee.

This went on until the two families participated in a tradition that Libby and her mom do every year. Libby told the McGees to write down a miracle that happened in their lives before putting them in the Miracle Box. They would soon take out a random miracle and read it out loud. Before long, it was Libby's turn to read a miracle.

"Let's see! A ghost became my BFF. That's Molly's!" Libby giggled, as if the answer was obvious.

"You got me!" Molly laughed.

It wasn't long before Leah joined in as well. "Libby, did you tell them my miracle?"

Libby shyly looked away with an embarrassed smiled. "It's me. Every year, she says I'm her-"

"Libby's my miracle!" Leah didn't let Libby finish her sentence before she ruffled her daughter's hair..

Once everyone had most of their miracles read, Molly realized something.

"Wait a minute. Libby, we didn't get to hear what your miracle is yet!" Molly pointed out.

"That's right! What is your miracle, Libby?" Pete asked.

"Uh." Libby blushed as she didn't know how to answer. "Don't worry about it! It's not important!"

This got Scratch curious, so he floated in the Miracle Box to find Libby's miracle. He soon took notice of a piece of paper, and after reading it, he just knew it was Libby's. After opening the box slightly, Scratch got Molly's attention.

"Psst! Molly, I believe this is Libby's!" Scratch whispered, handing Molly the piece of paper.

"Oh, this must be your miracle, Libby!" Libby braced herself as Molly began to read it. "My miracle is my best friend, Molly."

Once she read, Libby's miracle, Molly put the piece of paper down, staring at Libby in surprise.

"Libby, I'm your miracle?" Molly asked with a smile.

"Um, yeah. You are really special to me, Molly!" Libby admitted with a smile.

Touched by Libby's words, Molly ran up to her and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you, Libby! You are really sweet!"

"Aww!" Leah, along with the McGees smiled at this heartwarming moment.

After everyone told each other their miracles, Libby decided to go onstage to perform for everyone. Ever since she performed with Molly during the talent show, Libby had felt more comfortable with performing in front of others. After taking a deep breath, Libby opened her mouth to begin her new poetry performance.

"Their temple was dark, destroyed by the fight. All they had were a few drops of oil to light. But the flame kept burning all through the night. 'Look.' They said. 'Still lit!' The next day, the third day, the fourth day again, as they rebuilt the sacred spaces within. Their temples, menorahs, stood up to the wind. 'Look.' They said. 'Still lit.'"

In the middle of Libby's performance, Molly gave Libby a loving look. She couldn't help but admire how amazing Libby was onstage. After all the months that had passed, Libby has gotten a lot better with her poetry.

Before long, Libby's poetry act came to an end, and everyone in the room snapped their fingers in an applause. As everyone cheered for her, Libby stood tall onstage, feeling pretty proud of herself.

A couple of hours later, everyone continued to socialize with each other, all of them having a good time. It was a surprise to Leah that the generator managed to last this long.

"Wow! What a great Hannukah, huh? I can't believe our generator lasted 8 hours!" Leah exclaimed.

Libby let out an excited gasp. "8 hours? It's a Hannukah miracle!" Right as Libby said that, the power suddenly went out, much to Libby's disappointment. "Oh, why must I jinx everything?"

Just when everyone thought they won't have anymore power the rest of the night, the lights turned back on in the bookshop as everyone else in the neighborhood had their power restored.

"Hey! The power's back on!" said Darryl.

"Oh, yes! It is a Hannukah Miracle!" Libby exclaimed.

"Now our Festival of Lights has actual light!" Molly smiled.

With the power restored, everyone got to enjoy the rest of Hannukah together. It wasn't long before Molly took notice of Libby, who was admiring the menorah. Molly soon stood next to Libby, admiring the menorah as well.

At that moment, Libby looked to her side before noticing her best friend. "Oh, hi, Molly! I was just taking the time to admire our menorah!"

"It looks so beautiful!" Molly replied, not taking her eyes off the menorah.

Libby giggled. "It is! It holds a lot of memories for my family! It was one of the few things my ancestors were able to bring as they left their home."

"I can see why your family values the menorah so much!" Molly commented. "It is a wonderful item to pass down through generations!"

For the next couple of moments, Molly and Libby stood next to each other, admiring the menorah, along with the snow through the window. Before long, Libby noticed that Molly was holding her hand. She smiled before she made another attempt to tell Molly how she felt.

"Molly?"

"Yes, Libby?" Molly asked.

As much as Libby wanted to confess her love for Molly, she was still too scared to do so. That was when Libby thought of another idea.

"Ani ohevet otach." Libby suddenly spoke to Molly in a different language as she blushed.

"Huh?" Molly raised a confused eyebrow, not understanding a word Libby just said.

Before Molly could question what Libby just said, Libby simply walked away without another word. As Molly was left wondering what Libby just said to her, Leah took notice of Molly and decided to talk to her.

"Hello, Molly! Can I have a word with you real quick?" Leah asked.

"Um, sure, Mrs. Stein-Torres! What do you want to talk about?" Molly asked, wondering what Leah wanted.

At that moment, Molly and Leah sat down in a couple of chairs before Leah began to speak.

"So, you and Libby have been pretty close lately, haven't you?"

"Your daughter and I have always been close, Mrs. Stein-Torres! We have been best friends since we were children!" Molly pointed out.

Leah nodded. "Yes, but I meant closer than just friends. You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Libby, would you?"

"Wh-What? N-N-No! It's not like that!" Molly stuttered. "Libby and I are just good friends!"

"Just good friends? Are you sure? Many of your interactions together might say otherwise!" Leah said with an amused grin. "Don't think I didn't notice the loving way you looked at her when she was performing on stage!"

"Uh, I was just being supportive of her. That's all!" Molly lied. "Libby could really use some encouragement, and-"

"Okay! Okay! I believe you!" Leah interrupted, not wanting to seem too pushy. "Still, if you and Libby ever do get together, I'm sure that you would end up being the perfect partner for Libby!"

With nothing left to say to Molly, Leah stood up from her seat to get back to work. Before Leah left, Molly decided to ask her a question that has been on her mind for awhile.

"Mrs. Stein-Torres?" Molly called out for Leah.

"Please, just call me Leah!" Leah insisted, allowing Molly to call her by her first name.

"Oh. Okay, Leah." Molly replied, not used to calling a parent by their first name. "I was just wondering. What does ani ohevet otach mean?"

Leah smiled as she had an idea of what was going on. "Libby said it to you, didn't she?" Leah asked, to which Molly nodded in response. "Ani ohevet otach is how you say, 'I love you' in Hebrew!"

Realization hit Molly the moment she understood what Libby told her. Her mind was filled with questions. Did Libby have feelings for her, or did Libby meant love as in, she loved Molly as a sister? Seeing that Molly had a lot to think about, Leah decided to leave her to her thoughts.

"Well, I'd better get back to work! Just let me know if you ever want to talk about anything at all!"

"I will. Thank you, Leah!" Molly thanked before Leah left.

For the rest of the night, Molly thought about the last thing Libby said to her. Even as she tried to go to sleep, there was one question that lingered in her mind. Could it be possible that Libby feels the same way about her?"

AN: Well, that's the end of the new chapter of the story! Since the actual episode didn't go into detail on what Libby's miracle would be, I thought this chapter was the perfect opportunity to explain how Molly is Libby's miracle, while also including a Mollibby moment as well! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and I hope to publish the next chapter soon!