Mr. Linden's Library

Mr. Linden’s Library

Ebeny had found it last night: the forbidden book. Now it was a matter of luck- if she would get caught. She inched towards the doorway, her curiosity getting the best of her. The whole time, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Mr. Linden had warned her about, “Beware… You will be sorry…” Ebeny’s hand slid as her sweaty palm turned the doorknob, her heart pounding. It was a chilly morning and her mother was mysteriously away.

The third floor of Mr. Linden’s manor was where the creaky library lived and for the most part so did Ebeny. Her house was across the street, but she always found herself there in her spare time. It was her favorite place in the entire world. Every morning, she would walk across the gravel driveway and tiptoe up the wooden staircase, cautious not to wake Mr. Linden. She knew she wasn’t allowed up there, but she couldn’t hold back her curiosity. Ebeny would look at all the books just waiting to be discovered. She would read and read, book after book, until there was one book left: the forbidden book. Her mother had always kept her from the book, but now her mother was gone.
Just as Ebeny squeaked the old door open, she was startled.
“Ebeny!” Mr. Linden shouted from across the long corridor, “Reading another novel I suppose? Why don’t you join me for breakfast downstairs and we can talk about why you are such a curious young child!”
Mr. Linden had a feeling that this would happen. You could hear the fear in his voice.
It was inevitable…

That night, Ebeny laid in her bed on the fourth floor waiting eagerly for Mr. Linden to turn his lights off. That would be her cue to head for the library. When he did, she swiftly made her way through one of several sitting rooms and up the winding staircase. When she got to the familiar library, she noticed something that was particularly peculiar: the forbidden book. Every other time she was in there- which was all the time- the mysterious book had been hidden away, locked up along with all of its secrets.
But now here it lay, wide open with the pages glistening in the darkness. There was a small fragment of paper that was on top of the book that read:






“Of all the stories and books you’ve read,
I bet you’ve never seen The Book of Dead.
If you decide to give it a look,
you may just end up in this book.
There is a way to avoid this creep,
all you can do is not fall asleep.”

Ebeny stood there with her face hot and her knees trembling. Before, she was a little tired, but now there was no way that she was going to fall asleep. She would stay up all night if she had to; like her life depended on it.
Ebeny rushed up the stairs with the book cradled in her arms. Her breath was short and her heart was racing. She couldn’t tell if she heard Mr. Linden approaching or if it was just her own head pounding. When she plopped into bed with the book laying next to her, the thumping in her head suddenly got louder. Thump, Thump, THUMP, THUMP…
She panicked, thinking that she had woken Mr. Linden and that he was coming to check on her. So she closed her eyes, pretending to sleep; waiting for Mr. Linden to discover her. Nothing. She waited some more, still paralyzed. Silence. By now she had taken some deep breaths and figured that she could begin reading. Ebeny was so thankful that she was safe. She was glad that she had gotten away with taking the book, and she was so glad that she had not fallen aslee…

He had warned her about the book.
Now it was too late.

***
She woke up in a panic, sweat dribbling from her cheekbones. It felt like she was sleeping for hours, but only fell asleep moments ago.
Am I dreaming? she thought. Except she wasn’t dreaming. She peered over at the book which had green leaves and vines growing out of it faster by the second. Underneath the leaves, she noticed something that wasn’t there when she drifted off- there was another eerie riddle placed precisely beneath it. She looked at the paper carefully and noticed that it was the same inky handwriting as the previous message. But this time, it read:

“I’ve noticed the level of caution you take,
considering you’ve made a fatal mistake.
Beneath the vines and leaves that grow,
you will discover what you owe.
In order to save yourself you must ask,
‘Mr. Linden, what is my task?’”


By now, it was early dawn and Ebeny was pacing around her room. She had read that little piece of paper so many times that she memorized it. What does this mean? Then it clicked.
“Under the vines and leaves! Of course! The book!” Ebeny had realized that she would find out what she had to do by looking in the book. It also said that she had to do something for Mr. Linden, like a task. So she plopped on her bed with the book- for a second time- and read what was underneath the faded pages. The book explained to her why her mother was away. She wanted her to discover the book on her own. Well she had, and now what? How was she going to get her mother back?

Ebeny could smell the fresh aroma of sizzling bacon on the griddle. That meant that Mr. Linden was awake and downstairs in the kitchen. When she got down the steps, she saw Mr. Linden with an ink mark on his hand from a pen. It couldn’t be, she thought. But she didn’t say it. She decided that right now was the perfect opportunity to ask him the burning question. She rushed downstairs, going two at a time.
“Mr. Linden, what is my task?” she froze as she eagerly waited for an answer.
“Ah, Ebeny, I see that you have discovered the consequences of the curious mind. I, myself was once in your shoes. But you shouldn’t be worried because this was all for the better of your young soul,” Ebeny sat there, listening to what he was saying.
Mr. Linden continued, “Your mother is not away, she is actually waiting for you in the fourth floor sitting room. And the book, it may be forbidden, but it is not dangerous. That old thing is my grandfather’s dictionary! It’s so outdated that it is practically gibberish!”
Ebeny felt kind of silly. She hadn’t even looked at the cover of the book long enough to notice that it said Dictionary. She then excused herself from the kitchen and spiraled her way up to the fourth floor where her mother sat patiently, expecting her young daughter.

After they reunited, Ebeny’s mother sat her down in an armchair to talk. “So I’m guessing that you’ve learned your lesson, right Eb?”
“Definately. I just can’t believe I was so silly for thinking a dictionary was a magical book!!”
“I wouldn’t say that you were silly,” her mother replied, “More like curious.”
And she knew that she was. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she was thankful for the lesson.
As the mother and daughter were heading out the door for breakfast, Ebeny paused with doubt. “Hey, mom?”
“Yeah, Eb?”
“If the book isn’t magical, how come there were leaves growing out if it?”
“Well, I guess this world has some magic after all.”


***
THE END