Books of the Dead

by Morris Fenris

  Mrs. Nigela lovingly called her Merly, and Merly was not just fond of her stories, but of the dear lady herself. Every weekend, Merly used to look forward to Mrs. Nigela’s freshly baked cinnamon apple pies and walnut cookies; they were her favorites. Merly recalled how they used to travel to the town market to buy supplies and how much fun they had while cooking them. Mrs. Nigela was like a grandmother Merly missed having.

  Mrs. Nigela was smart, witty and funny, and taught Merly how to be brave and carefree. Then one winter, Merly and her family were out on vacation in Chicago visiting relatives. Merly was 16. When she came back home, she ran towards Mrs. Nigela’s house to greet her. However, instead of her welcoming arms right on the porch, she found five policemen standing grimly. Horrified, she ran up there, but the policemen prevented her from going in stating that it was a crime scene.

  “You can’t go in there. Someone has been murdered here,” one of the policeman said.

  Merly looked backed at her father with disbelief in her eyes. She could feel her legs melting. “But it is not possible,“ Merly cried out loud.

  “Ma’am, are you related to the victim?” the gruff-looking policeman inquired.

  Merly was too petrified to answer. She stood frozen on the ground. Her father walked up to the policemen and said, “She was our neighbor, and my daughter loved her a lot.”

  “Sir, it looks like she was murdered last night,” said the policeman. “You need to come with us to the police station for some routine questions,” he added.

  Merly was tormented from that day forward, and she became reserved and distressed. There was no theft at Mrs. Nigela’s house. Merly could not deal with Mrs. Nigela’s death. A suspected murderer was arrested, but the man was never convicted due to lack of conclusive evidence. The ensuing events distressed Merly further and she decided to take up criminology and fight against the violence and misfortunes that falls on innocent lives. Merly and her family left their house and a whole lot of memories to enable her to pursue a career in criminology in Chicago.

  Moving into a new place and getting settled was hard for Merly. She tried to adapt to her new environment and people, but her past always came back to haunt her. At times, she wished that she had never gone on that vacation and blamed herself, and even cried at night at times. Taking up criminology at the university provided some consolation, but there was never a time when she did not think back about the events of that unfortunate day. She tried to figure out why somebody would kill an innocent old woman like Mrs. Nigela; there appeared to be no apparent reason.

  Merly found some comfort in her friend, Nora, who unlike her, took up criminology for the greater good.

  The incident of her neighbor, however, shook her so badly that she became extremely cautious thereafter. Since Merly began studying criminology, she swore every day to use her knowledge and expertise to catch criminals. She became more focused and determined to read “criminal minds,” and if possible, avenge the death of someone she dearly loved.

  The phone in Merly’s sweater buzzed loudly, which jolted her out of her thoughts. She had been thinking too much lately, she told herself, and sighed before taking the phone out only to see that it was Nora calling. She answered the phone to let her know that she was coming back shortly. However, Nora was excited on the other end of the line.

  “There is a huge parcel for you. It arrived shortly after I came in. I tried to call you, but it seems you never received it,” she said.

  “Mother must have sent it, look again,” Merly replied reluctantly.

  “No, you don’t understand. The packaging is old and unique. I can’t describe it to you. It cannot be from your mother. Can you come right now?” Nora asked in one single breath.

  What is it about the parcel that is so important? Merly wondered. She then checked her cell phone to see that there were indeed several missed calls from her friend.

  Merly walked backed warily without thinking too much about the parcel or her friend, and decided to take the longer route while going back. As Merly passed one the university buildings, her eyes involuntarily went up and something made her stop. She thought she saw someone at one of the windows. Who would be up at the library at this hour? She heard another buzz on her phone and she was on her way. Merly now quickened her steps; the temperature was dipping and she decided to head back to her dorm.

  Nora came rushing out when she heard those footsteps outside her door. “Merly, you must see the parcel. It’s huge and beautiful!” she exclaimed. Merly could not comprehend the reason behind Nora’s excitement. After all, it was merely a parcel. Nora dragged her friend in and showed her the reason behind her elation.

  Merly stood in front of the parcel and looked at it for some time. Nora was right, her mother or father would not have sent her the parcel. It was unlike any present she had ever received. The package was indeed huge, the size of a small table and wrapped in old brown leather. There were also some writings embossed in gold threads all over. Merly examined the parcel. It did not show the name of the sender, but it was addressed to her. Her parents or her relatives never sent her anything even closely resembling the wonder before her eyes at that moment.

  Puzzled, Merly wondered why someone would send her something like this. It was not like she received gifts every day, and it was neither Christmas nor her birthday.

  “Merly, just open it!” Nora implored.

  Merly still debated with herself, but the urge was too much and finally got the better of her. She sat down and requested Nora to bring her a pair of scissors, and she started to unravel the gems that laid hidden in the package.

  “Hurry up,” Nora urged.

  Merly looked up at her without saying a thing. The package was beautifully wrapped as if some treasure lay protected in it.

  Merly inspected the leather wrapping, and it was extraordinary like she has never seen before. Setting it aside, she decided to open the box after breathing deeply. Merly didn’t know what to find inside. She expected nothing and everything at the same time. Merly removed the lid as Nora sat beside her with expectant eyes.

  “Books? There are books in the box.” Nora released her breath and broke the silence.

  Merly relaxed as well. “Were you expecting something else?” They looked at each other.

  “Who would send you these books?” Nora asked.

  Merly shrugged. Each book was neatly covered and they had to open one to see what contents were inside.

  They were books of criminology from authors old and new, and books by modern writers to vintage editions dating back as far as 1939. Both the girls started turning the pages in a rhythmic manner. They checked out every book. The collection included books which Merly had only dreamed of holding in her hands since they were too expensive for her. Now all of a sudden, they were all hers. Merly looked at Nora delightfully, still bewildered and not knowing what to say.

  “Can you believe this?” Nora asked.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Merly replied. At that very moment, they found something else that astounded them. Along with books of criminology, there were books of necromancy and evocation. Now that was something the girls did not expect and there was more than one book. Several of these books were old or worn out and looked as if they were from the past; each with detailed graphic description on how to evoke spirit and souls or how to relate to them.

  “This parcel cannot be for you,” Nora logically concluded. “You don’t even believe in ghosts or spirits.”

  “But the package had my name on it.” Merly was confused, although it was true that she did not believe in life after death or spirits or ghosts. She deduced everything with science and believed there was always a logical explanation for everything. People who knew her were obviously aware of her beliefs. She was not afraid when her seniors in the first year at the university tried to scare her at the university terrace. Merly was never afraid to go anywhere alone or scared of the dark for that matter. She worked for long hours by herself in the lib
rary and went places without anyone’s company. Therefore, this turn of events perplexed her greatly.

  Merly was at her wits end and tried to figure out who the sender could be. Both the girls turned the pages of the books to find any clue that would lead them to the sender, but it was of no avail.

  Merly was looking frantically when she heard Nora say, “Spirits, hear my cry, I summon you from the other side to come to me and cross the great divide.”

  “What are you doing?” Merly was angry.

  “I was just reading a line from this book,” Nora said. She continued, “It even says that when you…” Her speech was cut off when Merly snatched the book from her hand and slammed it against the floor. “Nora, not in our room,” she said. “You don’t know how these things work and I don’t believe in them, so stop it.”

  “I did not mean to offend you, but, Merly, are you so sure that you understand everything? There are a lot of things beyond our understanding and cannot be explained by logic alone, so why negate them completely?”

  “Nora, you and I have been friends for too long, so don’t tell me this now, and what you said was extremely cliché.” Merly hated being lectured by her friend.

  “And ghosts and spirits are only good to read in stories,” Merly said to lighten the situation.

  “Let’s store these away and eat. We can ask the dean tomorrow and donate these to the library,” Merly said.

  “I am not hungry, I’ll be off for the night.” Nora passed the offer and went out of the room without looking back.

  Merly never meant to be rude to her friend and she hated herself for treating her that way. What she could not tell Nora was that even when she boldly claimed her disbelief in ghosts, at times, she felt the presence of Mrs. Nigela, who also appeared in her nightmares. Merly also didn’t tell her friend of how her dreams ended, that she was running towards the library through an endless corridor only for the door to be opened by Mrs. Nigela. Her deathly pale face shone bright against the thundering lights and skeleton hands reaching for her. She heard sounds of a grave being dug and grass being cut, and a cold stare from Mrs. Nigela looking to devour her. The feeling was unsettling and Merly purposefully avoided this part, because going back in the past made her vulnerable and upset and she didn’t want to appear like that.

  The sight of the pile of books on the corner of the room intimidated Merly and made her nauseated. She stored the food away and decided to retire for the night.

  Merly couldn’t sleep a wink that night. She tossed and turned with events from the day fully occupying her mind. She felt that the nightmares would return the moment she closed her eyes and that made her stare blankly at the ceiling.

  Her bedside clock showed 12:00 a.m. and for Merly, it was an eternity. She felt that time was playing a rude game with her. She turned to her side and closed her eyes, and could hear her friend’s heavy breathing. At times like these, she envied her friend, who was sleeping peacefully as if without a care in the world. Merly could feel her own heartbeats, and was sensitive to every little sound. Even a slight flutter of the curtain made her uneasy, and for the first time in many years, she was afraid.

  Her mind and body finally gave in, but it was not easy to fool the twisted dreams. Merly had the same nightmare. She sat exhausted and suppressed her cries. She switched on the lights, but unlike the other nights, her friend was not there to comfort her. Merly turned her head to find that her friend was missing from her bed.

  “Nora! Nora!” she called, but received no answer, so she decided to check for herself. Merly walked out of the room and to her utter astonishment found her friend reading one of the books that provided an aid to conjure spirits from the dead. She also noticed that Nora was uttering the same chants she heard her say earlier in the evening.

  Merly snatched the book from her friend’s hand and threw it away in despair. With a petrified and sad look in her eyes, Merly could not believe that her friend was unwittingly adding to her misery.

  “Merly, what is wrong with you?” Nora said.

  “How could you?” was all Merly managed to say. “I asked you not to go through these books, why is it so difficult to understand?” she added.

  Merly was being abstruse and Nora could see that. For the first time since Nora had been friends with Merly, she saw her act impulsively.

  “Merly, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to read one of the books.” Nora hoped this explanation would calm her friend down.

  Merly found it hard to believe her friend. “I heard you sleeping soundly right before I drifted off, so don’t lie.”

  “No, you drifted off as soon as you hit the bed and I was wide awake. This is all in your mind.” Nora paused before adding, “And I was merely reading one of these criminology books and not the one you are referring too, so just relax.”

  “You are acting very creepy today. Are you sure you are all right?” Nora said with concern, but Merly’s behavior also obviously angered her to an extent.

  “But I saw you reading one of those chants! You can’t deny that, can you?”

  Nora looked exasperated. “No, I wasn’t!” she argued back. “It is all in your head.”

  Merly didn’t have the energy to retort back. It was only the first day of classes and she was already out of energy, and the day’s events ruined her mood.

  She wanted to say something to Nora, but knew that would just make things worse. So she merely apologized to her friend for the second time in the night, and went off to bed.

  If only sleep could come so easily. Merly noticed a beam of light peeking underneath the door. She wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn towards it. Nora was still in the sitting area reading one of those books.

  Merly knew Nora lied, but she couldn’t figure out the reason for it. This was not the friend she knew. Nora was kind and compassionate and always listened to Merly’s continual whimpering. She was also the first to befriend Merly at the university. She was grateful to Nora for being by her side almost all the time. Merly didn’t want to doubt Nora’s integrity, but there are times when the mind controls the heart and puts relationships to the test.

  Merly didn’t want to spoil her relationship with Nora, plus she already had enough for the day. The clock showed 3:30 a.m. and Merly slowly drifted off to sleep hoping that her dreams wouldn’t come back.

  Thursday morning was as usual and neither of the friends discussed anything. It was like nothing happened the previous day. The books were left in the corner of the sitting room. Although Merly decided against giving them to the library for the time being, she was determined to investigate the mystery of the sender of the package.

  As soon as Mr. Summers left after the first class, Merly excused herself and went straight to the counselor to ask about the details of the package. However, that was of no avail. Merly was directed to contact the local post office since the contents of the package were not illegal or offensive.

  Merly finally decided to keep the criminology books and donate the rest to the university library the following day. Nothing unusual happened that day, no screech in the corridor, no nervous Mr. Stevenson and the clock was working fine as well.

  On their way back to the dorm in the evening, Merly informed Nora of her decision to donate some of the books to the university library, and if it did not want them, then she would donate them to the local branch of the state library.

  Nora did not seem to be bothered or care about the news and simply nodded in agreement.

  “Do you care for a walk today as well?” Nora asked.

  “No, I’ll just head back to the dorm. Moreover, I need to pack those books for tomorrow,” Merly replied.

  There was nothing out of place when they entered their room except the books on criminology were missing from the corner leaving the books on evocation and others.

  “It can’t be!” Merly shrieked aloud and went towards the stack of books and frantically began searching for the books on criminology. However, more than the books being go
ne, she was aghast as who would have taken them. She was concerned that someone had been in their room while they were not there. Then her mind turned towards Nora. She looked her at sharply and said, “Have you taken them anywhere? I saw them stacked in the corner this morning and was going to pack them away...” then left her sentence unfinished.

  “I was with you all morning and came back with you. And where would I possibly keep them? Are you implying that I had something to do with this, Merly?” Nora queried clearly looking offended.

  And it was the third time in two days when Merly had nothing to say, but to apologize profusely.

  “Then someone must have been in our room. Are you not at least concerned about that?” Merly asked.

  “There seems to be no sign of forced entry,” Nora said with an eerie calmness that stirred an unsettling feeling in Merly. She could not put a finger as to why she was feeling like this.

  “Have you by any chance stored some of the books away and completely forgotten about them?” asked Nora. After a pause, she added, “Let’s go and ask Zoë about it. I heard she is sick and has been in the room all day. She probably heard some noises if someone came into our room.”

  Zoë’s room was next to the one shared by Merly and Nora. She was a friend. Both the girls set out to ask her if she noticed something unusual while they were gone during the day. Zoë had not left her room for a couple of days, because of sickness, hence the girls assumed that if someone had broken into their room, then she may have heard something. Nora was hesitant though, “Zoë is sick. Do you assume she’ll know if someone was in our room?” she asked.