The Library Monster

The library wasn't very busy that day. 

The librarian, a teenage girl with an intimidating nose-piercing sat bored at her desk, feet slung over the table, and had already dozed off in the evening sunlight. 

In the kids area, a group of preschoolers sat huddled around their middle-aged teacher, who was reading them nursery rhymes in an obnoxiously expressive manner. Some of the children were actually listening, but most were either roaming freely in the towering maze of bookshelves or picking their noses. 

The janitor was also not very interested in his job, which was cleaning up the accident one of the toddlers had had. Instead, his phone had distracted him, and stopped mid-mop to answer an email that really wasn't as important as he thought it to be. 

The only person who was well-aware of what was happening around her was Emma, who sat huddled away in the corner in a comfy chair with her feet tucked under her. 

Her copy of ´The Red Handbag´ lay closed on her lap, the gold letters catching the light perfectly. She remembered the lady yesterday with the red handbag who had, shall we say, contributed greatly, to the making of the book, and what an interesting book indeed! It had kept Emma on tenterhooks all the way, but now that she had finished it, she craved more, so much more, and could not have more unless another person walked into the library right this very minute. 

Come on, come on… I need more books!

Emma's gaze bore into the grand library doors, willing them to open and reveal another unsuspecting victim. She waited a few seconds. Nothing. 

She bit her lip and drummed her fingers against the hard-cover of the book. Could she use one of the little children? No, that would be too cruel, even for her. 

Emma wasn't the only one getting impatient now. She could feel her curse bubbling to the surface, demanding as ever. It blurred her vision and weighted down her limbs like a rock in water, but she knew there was only one thing to do.

Her eyes flickered away from the door and landed on a snotty little girl who was ambling innocently past her. She clutched a soggy teddy in one hand, but was distracted when she saw a sparkly book on the shelf. In her haste to get there, she unknowingly dropped the teddy, which landed right at the foot of Emma's chair. 

Well, Emma thought to herself. An innocent child it is. 

She was just about to bribe the little girl with the teddy bear when she heard the familiar groaning of heavy wood and snapped her gaze up to find a teenage boy peeking his blond head around the Mahogany doors of the library. Her heart skipped a beat when he advanced inside, and relief flooded into her like a tsunami, crushing the obsession, at least momentarily. 

I guess I won't have to use the child in the end. 

Without a second thought, she tossed the teddy in any direction and snatched up her book, flipping to a random page. 

Emma watched, eyes narrowed to slits from behind the book as the unsuspecting boy made his way over to the Historical- Fiction section of the library, the one closest to her. He ran his finger along the spine of each novel, taking his time to study the title of each individual one. 

Emma observed with suppressed excitement. Any moment now, it would happen, and her curse would be delayed for another 24 hours. Any moment now…

Suddenly, with a grumble that only Emma could hear, it began. 

Emma's eyes danced as the wooden shelf began to split and splinter deliciously into two, revealing a gaping hole that resembled a terrifying mouth. The boy barely noticed the sound, for he had been consumed by a particularly interesting book, and stood to his back to the blood-curdling scene. 

It was happening.

The petrifying monster that now snarled and spat behind the boy was alive, and it wanted fresh meat. 

A tongue made from semi-transparent paper snaked its way out of the creature's mouth, slithering onto the carpeted floor and up the boy's leg. He barely noticed, but Emma did. She dug her nails into her chair to stop herself from falling out of it with excitement. A suppressed giggle escaped from her mouth, and though she tried to smother it into a cough, the boy snapped his gaze up at her. 

She stood paralyzed for a moment, but could no longer hide the crazed grin on her face. She managed to wave a silent goodbye to the boy as the tongue slid up his torso. Emma giggled again as the boy's eyes grew wide with horror as he realized what was happening, and barely had time to scream before the monster roared and sucked him into the hollow abyss that the boy would never come out of. 

Emma could see the shape of the wood as the monster mauled off the boy's limbs and rolled them around in its mouth, and fancied that she could hear his mangled scream

Before long though, the screams died out, and she out-right laughed as the bookshelf spat out what the boy had now become. 

A book. 

Emma scuttled over to the novel as fast as she could, clutching it to her chest. She held it under her nose, smelling what she thought was cologne, pine cones… and a hint of… dreams. Oh, this boy had been a big dreamer, he would have made it very far in life, yes. What a pity. 

Bringing the book away from her nose, Emma held it back, examining the cover. In silver bold letters, a single word stood alone on the cover, contrasting with the dark background. 

Oblivious. 

Emma laughed at this, remembering the last moments of his death. I couldn't have put it better myself.

She looked up to the monster, which was now slowly smoothing back into the bookshelf. 

¨"Thank you very much.¨" She said brightly, stroking the wood. It gargled in response, and then vanished back into the bookshelf as if nothing had ever happened.

"And thank you," Emma said to the book. ¨"Thank you very much for your, shall we say, contribution. ¨"

With one last laugh, she skipped over to her chair and grabbed her rucksack, stuffing in her new book, along with ´'The Red Handbag.´ and ran out of the library.

I´ll be back again tomorrow for more.