The Library’s Guardian

Low chirps of the field crickets filled my ears as I rested my head against the pillow. It’s 2:34 am and I haven’t had an ounce of sleep. I blamed it on the mysterious and unexplainable noises of the countryside, but deep down I know that there is something else tormenting me. I shut my eyes for what feels like a second when suddenly I was awoken by the earsplitting buzzing of my 7 o’clock alarm.

“First day on the new job,” I softly murmur to myself while rolling out of bed.

The job is nothing special, just something to keep my mind busy while I’m not in school. It was a recommendation that my mom happened to see while she was researching the town I moved to. I stepped out the door when suddenly I tripped over my own untied shoe. What a great way to start the day.

I arrived at the cozy library downtown. As I walked into the building, it reeked of mothballs and perfume that seemed to be popular in the 1950s. Classical music danced around me as I quickly scrunched my nose and continued in. I was greeted by the owner, who, upon noticing me, moved her glasses that were perched on her nose to the top of her head and looked at me with a warm, comforting smile. She was wearing a brown knit cardigan that seemed she had made herself, with a burgundy skirt that reached her ankles and some brown loafers with red stitching that appeared to be coming undone on the side. She reached her leathery hand out and shook mine; her hands were ice cold, sending an uneasy shudder down my spine.

“You must be Lydia. I’m Charlotte. It’s nice to meet you,” she said in a quivering, yet welcoming voice while handing me a key and library card.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I say while making profound eye contact with her piercing emerald green eyes. I want to look away, but it’s almost like I can’t—as if I’m stuck in a trance or something.

She lets go of my hand, and I snap back to reality. She makes a forward gesture, leading to the back of the library, and I hurry behind her.

She’s explaining the job to me, but I can’t keep my focus. This library is full of ancient artifacts and books that I have only heard about. It’s as if it’s copied and pasted right out of a fancy novel, from witches’ brooms, gargoyles, and unicorn horns. My 10-year-old dreams had finally come true. My attention is redirected to Ms. Charlotte, and she looks at me with a furrowed brow. “Do you have any questions?”

I blink a few times, realizing what felt like a few seconds was really 30 minutes, and I finally shake my head. “No, ma’am,” I say in a muffled tone. “How hard can working the front desk at a library be, am I right?”

Hours go by, and I’m at the front desk flipping through a fashion magazine. I throw it down and put my head in my hands, rolling my head to where my eyes meet the grandfather clock in the corner of the store. I walk over to the clock, admiring the unique handcrafted grooves when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure pass behind me in the reflection of the glass.

I whip my head around while I start breathing heavily. Nothing. I see nothing. I think to myself, am I just going crazy? I walk back to the desk when I notice a few books must’ve fallen off the shelf in the far side of the library next to the back where I once was with Ms. Charlotte. I begin to put the books back up and check the time on my phone.

"This has been the longest first day ever. Thankfully, I only have one more hour left,” I whisper to myself.

While I'm tidying the library up, getting ready to close for the day, all at once I hear what sounds like awful scraping or something grinding together. Startled, I catch a glance of this large, stone-like creature. I feel the color drain from my face as I inch closer to the winged beast. Out came a voice in the same quivering tone, “Gone so soon?” The beast turned to look at me, and the same emerald green eyes captivated me as once before.

“Ms-Ms. Charlotte?” I stuttered.

The gargoyle walks closer to me as I back out the library door. I turn, push the door open, and sprint out. I’m running what feels like 100 miles per hour when I trip once again over my shoelace and land face-first on the concrete. I pick myself back up and utter in an angry tone, “I have got to get some different shoes.” I limp back to my apartment, which felt a lot farther than it really was. I lock the door and begin to question my sanity.

“What is going on… I must be hallucinating.” By the time I get home, it’s already 10 PM, and I start getting ready for bed, questioning if I’m going to go back to the library. I close my eyes, but all I can see are the green eyes looking back at me. I gather under my blanket, shivering with fear.

Morning comes, I wake up groggy and missed my 7 o’clock alarm. I rub my eyes and stare at the ceiling, soon recalling what happened at the library the previous day. “There is no way I will ever go back there—not even in the library’s vicinity,” I choke out while shivering.

I grab the library key and the library card that was given to me, and I take them to the fireplace. While the fire is blazing with red and yellow tones, I toss both the key and the card in. I watch the flames tiptoe around the objects, eventually devouring them like they were never there. Surprisingly, the front door swings open, breaking the locks, with a forceful gust of cold air, making the fire completely go out. I turn around in disbelief when I see her standing there. It’s Ms. Charlotte.

“Hello, Lydia,” she croaked with a devious smirk.