Fable

Chapter Three

Ella managed to make it out of the house before anyone else had come crawling out of their bedrooms in search of food. The rain had let up since the day before, but still fell in small sprinkles against her face as she walked to her car. With her hair pulled into a braid and her face free of makeup for the day, she lifted her eyes to the sky and relished in the feeling of the drops against her skin. She drove with the windows down, letting the breeze cool her completely before she entered the warm library for the day.

Mrs. Bondelie had given Ella her own set of library keys last year, when she made it clear Ella was to take over the library when the time came. She had been thrilled, and to this day, still felt a tingle of excitement when she used her set of keys to unlock the glass front doors.

The lights had turned themselves on, and the fireplace (though having burnt to embers the night before) was burning fully when Ella entered the directory.

The library was shaped like a broken wagon wheel, with the main doors inhabiting a side of their own, and two spokes branching out on either side; one for children, one for young adult, one for adult, and one for nonfiction. On the far side of the main doors, was the checkout desk and the back offices, which was where she settled in.

Ella tossed her things under the counter and logged onto the computer so she could begin to check in the books that had been dropped into the return box that morning. When she went to retrieve the morning's returns, she noticed, under the stack of mail Mrs. Bondelie had left out the night before, was the dark, leather bound book that had attacked her the day before. Her chest tightened, and Ella could feel the panic rising in her body. She had to repeat a mantra in her head about Mrs. Bondelie (probably) picking it out of the garbage after she had left the day before and setting it on the counter several times before she could breathe properly and the panic receded. As soon as Ella heard Mrs. Bondelie's quiet humming, the world around her melted and the malicious book was gone from her mind. As long as she wasn't alone, she would be just fine. Ella ruffled up the small amount of courage she had and swiped away the mail that was covering the book.

"Mrs. Bondelie?"

"Yes. Good morning, dear."

"Could you come here for a second?" when the little old lady appeared behind Ella, she pointed, and prayed, that the book wouldn't fly at her. "Have you ever seen this book before?" She asked.

"No, never." Ella watched as the woman's eyes lit up at the discovery of something new and cringed as Mrs. Bondelie hoisted the heavy book into her own arms. "It's lovely, though. The illustrations are beautiful." Ella watched over her tiny shoulder as Mrs. Bondelie leafed slowly through the pages; painting after painting of the wolf and the princess and their adventures drawing them both into a trance.

"We should put it away so the children don't ruin it today," Mrs. Bondelie murmured after too many long seconds. Ella agreed and took it, doing her best to ignore the book's hum as she touched the cover.

I'm sorry I was mean to you, she thought brushing the book lightly as she set it down on one of the desks in the back office. The book seemed to hum quietly once again, only this time it was as if it were accepting her apology. To test the waters, she opened the cover and skimmed through a few of the pages. Mrs. Bondelie had been right, whoever had illustrated the book was a master. The watercolor paintings were delicately detailed and incredibly lifelike. She stroked one of the pages and swore she saw the leaves on the tree in the painting sway as if a breeze had blown through them.

The sound of children's laughter brought Ella back to her world, the wispy daydreams of princesses and wolves and adventure left behind in the back office as she went to help Mrs. Bondelie settle the kids in for the next few hours.

Ella stood in the back of the room, eating a handful of cheese fish crackers and sipping a bottle of apple juice as she watched her mentor interact with a dozen or so children. She remembered when she was a child, the same age as the ones in the library for the day. Ella used to love spending time here. Especially during the trips when they would read from some of the most popular children's books available to check out. Sometimes, she remembered, the library would receive packages from publishing companies that held free books to be handed out to her and the other kids. Those had been the best days.

She could see her old excitement mirrored on the children's faces.

"Ella, would you like to read today?" Mrs. Bondelie asked. Ella smiled, downed her apple juice and crackers, and looked at the kids.

"I don't know, what do you guys think?" The kids, who had known her for years as the "little library lady" because of Ella's height, all cheered - and Ella's heart squeezed at the warm thought of being looked up to by even the smallest group of children. She grabbed her favorite book from her own childhood off of a nearby shelf, and moved to sit at the front of the reading carpet. She shoved down her fear of public speaking - they're only kids after all - and began to read.

"How can we feel so different and be so alike?" She recited, making the little boy grin before he ran to greet his parents and recite the quote to them. As the last of the kids filed out with their parents, Ella mentally patted herself on the back for reading the day's story.

"I'm proud of you." Mrs. Bondelie told her as they picked up the leftover food and garbage left behind.

"I think I'm proud of me, too," she murmured.

"Would you be upset if I left you to finish up for the day?" she asked. "I've got to start getting you ready to take over." Mrs. Bondelie winked at her and Ella's pride swelled even more.

"Get out of here then!" She ushered her mentor into her coat and out the door, eager to prove her right and make her proud.

"Everything better be perfect in the morning, Ella... if I see one thing out of place or incorrect-"

"It won't be, I promise!" With that, she was gone, and Ella was alone and completely in charge of something for the first time in a very, very long time. There weren't anymore new donations to log, so Ella got to work cleaning up and organizing shelves, and replacing returned books.

It wasn't long though before her mind began to drift. She wondered if the children had truly enjoyed her story. She wondered if Mrs. Bondelie was serious about wanting her to take over the library, and about being proud of her. Mostly though, she wondered about the book again. The second the wolf on the cover appeared in Ella's mind, she began to hear a tune twinkle through the silent library. Her heart dropped. She knew she was alone, and yet the music hadn't been playing when anyone else was there. The opening scene for every scary movie she had ever seen ran through her head as she stepped off one of the ladders that connected to the library shelves and spun, slowly scanning the library for signs that someone else was there.

There were none. Of course. She was totally alone.

So where is the music coming from?

Ella followed the noise across the empty library, the music growing louder as she got closer to the front desk and offices. The louder it got, the more hypnotic it became. No longer was Ella searching for the source of the music, but instead being pulled closer and closer against her will. There, in the back office in the same spot where she had left it closed earlier, was the open picture book.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she stepped closer, inch by inch, the music growing to a deafening level. On the very last page were the words "We begin at the end".

We begin at the end... She thought, reaching out to touch the page.

As her fingers met the paper, the wall lurched forward, the world spun, and she fell, her vision going blank before she hit the floor.