Books of the Dead

by Morris Fenris

  “He was a student of this institution!” Merly exclaimed. She stood there examining the picture to see if there was anyone else she could recognize. There were several faces she thought she knew, but could not place it. Who were they and why did their faces remind her of people she has met before. “This cannot be,” she said aloud, and just then, Mrs. Lois who was out on some business came back just in time to break-up Merly’s thoughts.

  “What do you want?” Mrs. Lois said a bit harshly.

  Merly said it would be better if they talked privately. Mrs. Lois seemed to be in foul mood. Merly contemplated if it was the right time to indulge her in the conversation. Mrs. Lois didn’t look up and ignored the presence of Merly in the room. She waited a couple of minutes, but then finally asked something which she didn’t intend to, “Mrs. Lois, what are the rumors that surrounds the fourth floor library?”

  She was taken aback by the question and clearly looked offended. “Why is this question relevant? And why am I supposed to answer that to you?” she asked.

  Merly knew she had to make up something very quickly or else she would not be able to get an answer from her. Merly needed to think up something quick, and then a brilliant idea came to her mind that would ease her purpose and make her task easy, so she said, “I am writing a story.”

  “A story?” Mrs. Lois looked unconvinced. “And what purpose does the fourth floor library rumor serve to your story?” she added.

  “It is a ghost story,” Merly said in a heartbeat, and then went on to say, “So there are rumors and they are true?” Merly asked with confidence.

  “You are asking me the questions like I am one of the criminals. You know, there is a better way of asking these questions.”

  Merly could see that Mrs. Lois was displeased by her interference at such a timely hour. Maybe this was not the right time to ask her the question, she thought, but what Mrs. Lois said next changed her opinion.

  “Well, I am only telling you this because you want to write a story, and as a writer myself, I know one needs inspiration and tales to flare up the imagination and I always encourage my students to take up creative tasks. So what I am about to tell you is a rumor, but others claim it is true. They say that there is ghost and it can be seen in the fourth floor library during this time of the year.”

  “This time of the year?” Merly asked the question with a hint of doubt in her voice.

  “Yes, some say that they have seen the ghost around this time. Now, I haven’t seen it and don’t want to anytime soon, but it can be seen in all her beauty and fierceness.”

  “It is a female spirit?” Merly didn’t know about this although she was aware of the ghost rumors in the library. “And who do they say the ghost is? Or is it related to somebody?” she asked.

  Mrs. Lois didn’t answer her back, but kept quiet. After several moments had passed, she answered, “I have heard, it is a female ghost, but I don’t know the answer to your second question,” and stopped abruptly.

  Merly knew there was nothing more Mrs. Lois was going to tell her as she saw her looking at her watch frequently. She thanked the assistant dean, then turned away and was about to leave when she was called back.

  Mrs. Lois looked at her and in a not-so-friendly tone said, “You belong to this university, and so whatever you write be careful. I don’t want the reputation of the institution to plummet”.

  Merly nodded and thanked Mrs. Lois several more times, then she left. This was not the information Merly required and she wasn’t sure how this story would help her. Ghost stories were lurking all around and Merly was never bothered by them, so this information didn’t shake her. However, what concerned her was that there was something that was connected to the library. Not the ghost, any spirit or Mr. Stevenson, but something that made a connection as all the information she gathered led to the library. So it was in the middle to which the facts revolved and Merly was sure of it. She had to find the connection and there were others she needed to ask, and she headed to question the ones who took interest in these things.

  Natalie was known to be a gossip monger. She was a junior to Merly and kept all sort of news that went around in the university. It was a known fact within the campus that nothing was ever hidden from her. Merly thought that she may hold some information that would surely help her. Natalie wasn’t her friend and Merly didn’t know where to find her. She asked Sarah and Nicholas if they had any idea of where to find her, they didn’t, but Mira directed her to the second floor balcony where she said she saw Natalie on her way up.

  Merly raced down, hoping she would still be there, and she was, standing at the edge of the balcony and talking on the phone. Merly called her from behind, but she didn’t respond and went on talking on the phone, so she called Natalie again, and this time she got her attention.

  Natalie turned back and had a look of annoyance on her face as if she didn’t wanted to be bothered. “Yes? Do I know you?” she asked.

  Merly was unfazed by the initial harsh attitude that Natalie showed. “Can I talk to you?” she asked.

  “You are already doing it” Natalie said in a mocking tone.

  “I wanted to ask you something, and it is because you keep account of things that go on in the campus.” Merly said in a tone as not to offend Natalie.

  Natalie didn’t look impressed, but decided to reply to Merly anyway. “What do you want to know?” she asked.

  “Nothing much, but do you know any teacher who is associated with the fourth floor library?” she asked.

  “Any teacher?” Natalie quoted back. “I know a ghost lives there.” she casually said.

  “I know …. heard that, but that is not what I want to know,” Merly said.

  “So, what do you want to know?” Natalie asked again.

  “I want to know if there is anyone in the university, teacher, student, staff or anyone who has a secret associated with the library.” Merly tried to frame her statement differently without giving away the fact that she wanted to know something about Mr. Summers.

  “That is a strange way of putting it,” Natalie said, but didn’t answer the question she was asked.

  “Do you know anything?” Merly asked this time losing a bit of her patience.

  “You are asking me if one of the teachers from this university has got anything to do with the fourth floor library,” she said.

  “Yes, I am exactly asking you that,” Merly replied.

  “They all use it for the books,” Natalie said in a teasing manner.

  “You know that I didn’t mean that Natalie. Listen, I am writing a book and the characters are inspired by real life people and events. So please, a little information won’t hurt anybody and I know you know things.” Merly tried to sound convincing as much as possible.

  “Is your story based on the library? Or is it about people?” Natalie asked without giving out what Merly wanted to know.

  “Both, now do you know anything?” Merly was losing her cool.

  “Am I included in your story?” Natalie was persistent to get her part of the story.

  Merly felt like the tables had turned and in place of Natalie, it was she who was answering the questions. What do I say that would make her answer my questions? Merly thought.

  There was nothing that would make Natalie answer her questions and Merly came to a dead end. It was more than enough that Merly could take, and she decided it was not worth her time to ask the questions to Natalie, because it was clear that she wasn’t ready to answer any of the real questions without getting some information herself.

  Merly simply turned back without saying anything and started walking away. She decided it was time for her to be more careful if she considered getting the information out of someone to be important. Merly tripped while climbing down the stairs, and Natalie called her back. Merly turned back and she saw Natalie calling her again. She was waving her hand for Merly to come fast.

  What’s the use? She’ll tease me again. Merly didn’t pay heed to the fac
t that Natalie was calling her back at that moment and continued to climb down. Merly was stopped when Natalie pulled her back and then turned her around.

  She said “I asked you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?”

  “I did, but you weren’t saying anything that would help me with my work, so I was on my way.” Merly shrugged Natalie’s hands off her.

  “I might be able to help you. You see, legend has it that people who see the library ghost at this time of the year have dreams first,” Natalie said in a way as if she knew people who had been through the similar situation.

  This time of the year. The words rang in Merly’s head. Mrs. Louis said the same thing, too. “What kind of dreams?” Merly now asked a little unsure if she wanted hear the answer.

  Natalie got closer to her and said, “There is this student two years back, I don’t remember the name, but I heard how he had weird dreams of running towards the library through an unending corridor and the door of the library was opened by someone he knew, but who was dead a long time ago.” Natalie stopped and looked for a reaction from Merly, but she didn’t find any and continued to say, “…and shortly after that, he started seeing spirits and ghosts.” Natalie widened her eyes and said, “Spooky, right?”

  Merly stood transfixed. This was not what she hoped to hear; it was too much for her. She was going through the same things and hearing about it paralyzed her.

  “Merly! Merly!” Natalie called. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, yes, It’s nothing,” Merly assured her.

  “But Natalie, that is not what I wanted to know, is there any teacher who has any sort of connection with this?”

  “I am not finished, and yes there is. I heard Mr. Stevenson saw the ghosts. He has been the librarian for so many years, so he was bound to see them.”

  “There is more than one ghost?” Merly asked in disbelief.

  “Well, yes. Some say they have seen the old librarian in the history section of the library.”

  “The old librarian? Who is that?” Merly questioned.

  “You don’t know who the old librarian was?” Natalie asked a little surprised.

  Merly gestured that she was not aware of what Natalie was talking about.

  “There is a story that the old librarian, the one before Mr. Stevenson joined, still lurks in the library, but …” Natalie contemplated something then said, “It is not just her; there are some spirits that some claim to have come across.”

  Merly was feeling a little dizzy in her head and didn’t know how to relate them to her missing books, her friend going off or Nora’s encounter with Mr. Summers in the library.

  “Anything about Mr. Summers?” With a little courage, Merly finally asked, because she had to know.

  “You are asking me about a teacher. This doesn’t seem to be about a book, does it?” Natalie looked at Merly sharply.

  Of all the things, Merly wasn’t going to tell Natalie her motives unless she wanted it to be the topic of the campus and people labeling crazy or stupid. Merly wanted to avoid it at all cost. She didn’t want to indulge Natalie with any other information and insisted it was in fact for the book that she was collecting the information for.

  Natalie looked at her, but it was obvious that she didn’t believe what Merly said, so she waited for her to answer her question in more detail.

  Merly weighed the option that was more important to her. Indulging Natalie would call for trouble, but then she needed to know the truth and was fairly confident that Natalie knew something.

  Everyone in and around the campus knew about Natalie, her ways and her love for knowing things beyond. Merly thought she could be her ally and be of some help to her, but then she didn’t want to get someone into trouble because of her nor did she know if the girl was trustworthy.

  Natalie seemed to notice the dilemma on Merly’s face, and Merly knew that she had to take a decision fast. It was worth a shot, she thought, so she finally said, “Okay, I’ll tell you, but only if you promise to help me.”

  The temptation of knowing what was going through Merly’s head was too much for Natalie. She knew that Merly was hiding something, and it could be the biggest news that she has heard so far, so she decided to help and said slyly, “I will.”

  “You have to promise me that you won’t tell this to anybody,” Merly pleaded.

  “This seems to be very important to you. You can trust me,” Natalie said.

  Merly didn’t know how much she could trust her, but she still took the chance. “I am having those same dreams,” Merly said in one single breath and waited for Natalie to react, but she didn’t. Natalie stood there silently waiting for Merly to finish what she was saying. “Say something,” Merly implored.

  “But you never finished what you were saying,” Natalie casually said.

  Merly hesitated a little before saying, “There is nothing much to say. I am just having the same dreams like that student you just mentioned. The dream just kept coming back every night; it is horrible,” she stuttered while saying the lines.

  “That means you saw the ghost?” Natalie asked.

  “No, I didn’t, and I don’t want to either,” Merly said.

  “Then what about the teachers? Why are you inquiring about them?” Natalie asked to get a clear answer from her.

  “I think one of the teacher’s from this university is involved in this whole situation,” Merly confessed.

  “Who do you think it is?” Natalie questioned.

  “I think it’s Mr. Summers” Merly said without thinking. She was unsure that Natalie could be trusted with the information, but it was too late to think about that anyway. “I am not sure about this, but strange things are happening to me since the last few days, and I don’t think that they are simply coincidence.” Merly waited to catch her breath, then continued saying, “I was sent some books on criminology along with some on invocation, spirits and ghosts from an unknown sender. I tried to give them away, but a day later, the books on criminology were stolen. Nora went missing and without telling me where she was going. I questioned Mr. Stevenson, and he informed me that day, he heard Mr. Summers and Nora arguing over something, and two of the college year books are missing. These dreams keep coming back.” Merly paused for a second then added “And I am tired.”

  Natalie looked sympathetic this time and laid a hand on Merly’s shoulders.

  “What do you want me to do?” Natalie asked.

  Merly shook her head and felt a bit dejected, “Can you find where Nora is?” looking at Natalie desperately.

  Natalie was not Merly’s friend, Merly thought. She didn’t even know her before this meeting and now she was ready to help her?

  “What about your next door roommates? Do they know anything about this?”

  “It is all so confusing, I tried talking to Zoë and Kelly, but they were not much help. I heard that Camille, who is Zoë’s friend, is interested in the evocation of spirit and souls, but she is not the one who sent me those books, and yesterday someone sent me a new batch of books again,’’ Merly said.

  “A lot is going on with you lately,” Natalie said softly.

  Merly decided that it was in fact true. Within a week, her life took turns beyond her imagination. She tried to solve the case of the missing books, but problems kept clogging the outcome and seeking help from Natalie on this situation seemed to be her last resort.

  “I’ll see what I can do. Meet me at the library around 12:00 noon tomorrow, and it would be better if you didn’t say anything about this to anyone. The walls have ears,” she said and then left.

  Merly stood there and multiple things crossed her mind. She hoped that putting her trust in Natalie wouldn’t cost her anything. With that thought, she walked to her class and waited for Mr. Summers to arrive. There was nothing unusual about his appearance. He was his usual calm self, spoke softly, addressed his students when necessary, and there was silence except for his voice and the occasional scratching of the marker on the board.

&nbs
p; Merly didn’t understand what to make of it. She was helpless and she knew it. She wondered what information Natalie could gather in a day or why she agreed to help her, but she came to no conclusion. Mr. Summers continued with his lecture, but nothing penetrated Merly’s mind. She continued looking at him blankly and then she heard someone calling her name, once, twice, three times, and then a fourth time. Merly didn’t respond until someone shook her from behind. “Merly, Mr. Summers is calling out your name. Respond,” her classmate said.

  “Merly, you seem to be distracted a lot lately. Mind sharing with us your troubles?” Mr. Summers asked.

  Merly stood up from her seat and looked him in the eye and he reminded her of someone, someone she has seen. Her mind raced back and forth to remember who he exactly looked like and in doing so, forgot the question she was asked in the first place.

  “You are lost again,” Mr. Summers intervened.

  Merly saw the look on the faces of her classmates, and for a fleeting second, wished that she could read their minds. What are they thinking? She soon remembered that she was asked a question, Merly fumbled for quite a bit not knowing what to say. She was indeed unmindful and Mr. Summers has noticed that over the week.

  “It’s nothing, Mr. Summers,” she said in an almost inaudible tone.

  “Don’t be shy. You can share it with us,” Mr. Summers insisted.

  It was impossible for Merly to share the information with anyone. She kept quiet as the class looked at her, no one said anything for a whole minute.

  “I am a little unwell,” she finally said.

  “Do you want to take a break?” he asked and Merly noticed a tinge of worry in his eyes.

  Merly considered if she should, but that would mean she would have to stay away from her classes and that would stop her from knowing what she was looking for, and she already promised to meet Natalie.