Unmarked Grave

276 words

Ericka drank her second cup of morning coffee before reluctantly entering the Gonnado Library.

“Morning Birtha,” she greets the Librarian.

“Morning Eureka.”

Ericka ignores her forever friend. She is often confused.

“You need another cup of coffee,” she suggests as she heads for the stacks marked Lists. Birtha follows her.

“It’s already 10 am Eureka. Two hours of your stack has already been Lost to Time,” chides Birtha.

“Story of my life. Stop Nagging.”

Ericka finds the section with her name on it and is discouraged immediately by the length. It has grown overnight.

“Whose been adding to my list?”

Birtha ducks and rans back to her desk.

Ericka mutters, “I’ve got to get rid of her. She’s obsessed with these lists.”

Birtha used to play and laugh and enjoy herself. She used to feed the chickens with Ericka in between the morning coffees. Then she discovered this blasted Gonnado Library and she never thinks of anything else.

Ericka leaves the library and checks her emails. They have grown overnight too. Must be some kind of conspiracy. She deletes them all and takes a shower.

She meditates on the slippery feel of the soap over her skin. The fragrance of the lilac body wash she buys special at the grocery store. Grocery Store !!

No, no she scolds herself. Let that damn Gonnado Library Thought wash right down the drain. “Birtha ! Get out of my head, Now !”

All better and smelling Devine, she pats her skin dry, focusing on each pat-pat, ruffling her freshly shampooed hair, feeling the humidity of the damp air.

Birtha and the Gonnado Library relegated to a secret; buried somewhere… unknown and undone.