The Journey of the Overdue Library Book

Brooke rushed into the library, panting. She ran over to the front desk and put the book down next to the librarian. "Take it, take it," she urged. The librarian eyed her suspiciously but sure enough, picked it up.

                              *       *         *

It was summer, vacation time. Brooke leaned back in a beach chair off the coast of Australia. She opened her book, thumbing through the first few pages. That is when Brooke noticed something peculiar. To make sure her eyes were not deceiving her, she looked back. “No,” Brooke cried. Sure enough, she saw right; her library book was due the next day. 

Brooke scrambled up off the chair and ran for her hotel room, clutching her library book tightly. She pushed her way through a crowd of people as she made her way to the elevator. As if matters could not get worse, there was a sign in big letters that glared across the hall at her. "ALL ELEVATORS ARE OUT OF SERVICE. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.” She grunted and found the entrance to the staircase. Brooke sprinted up ten flights of stairs and breathlessly tried to heave open the door. She pulled and pulled, but it would not budge. This setback did cause her to give up. Instead, Brooke tried to push the door, and to her disbelief, it worked. As she rushed to her room, she got on the phone with Australian Airlines. They told her that they had just gone out of business and not to bother trying any other airline. No one was flying in or out of Australia any time soon. Just then, she had arrived at her room and decided that there she would find a way, any way, to get home. This one library book would not get the best of her perfect record. Brooke quickly packed and ran back downstairs to check out of the hotel. 

A long line loomed ahead of her when she reached the lobby. She anxiously waited until it was her turn. “I am checking out. Here is my key,” Brooke said hastily. The concierge looked at her in disbelief. “You do not need to do this,” he replied, “All you have to do is leave.” She thanked him through clenched teeth and hurried out the door. 

Once Brooke stepped outside, the sky turned dark, the heavens opened up, and it began to pour rain. She saw lightning flash before her eyes and heard thunder in the distance. Brooke then noticed a cab close by and made a run for it. She hopped in and asked the driver to take her to the nearest dock. The driver looked back at her with a creepy grin. He then said, “You are not going anywhere near there on my watch.” 

Brooke shrieked and tried to open the door to the taxi to find that he had already locked it. She tried to think of another way out as the car went speeding through the gloomy streets. An idea suddenly sprung into her head. Brooke went on every social media she could think of to ask someone, anyone in Australia, to save her. Before she had a chance to post anything, she felt the car come to a screeching halt. The driver walked out, and Brooke took this as her chance to escape. She ever so slowly opened the door and covertly got out of the car. “Come with me,” she heard a voice whisper. Without hesitation, Brooke followed this figure until she was out of sight of the cab. “Thank you,” she said, “How could I ever repay you?” Only now did she see her saver. A tall, handsome man stepped out of the darkness into the sliver of light originating from a small street lamp. “Promise me you will stay safe,” he answered in a soft tone, “There is a terrible storm coming.” And just like that, without another word, he disappeared. 

Brooke stood dumbfounded until she finally remembered what she had to do. “I should probably go,” she said out loud and started to search for the nearest dock. It felt like it had been hours when she finally came upon a small tarnished boat. Brooke ran down the dock to check if there was anyone inside. “Isn’t it a beauty?” called a voice from behind. She turned around abruptly to find a short bearded man who looked to be in his late sixties. “Well.. um, it sure is,” she stuttered trying to sound enthusiastic. “I was hoping I.. someone could take me for a little trip in it,” Brooke continued. “Not in this weather… I’d be surprised if it survives five minutes,” the man grunted. “But it is an emergency.. you see I have this,” she stammered holding up her book. “Say no more,” the old man hopped onto the boat. “What are you waiting for,” he questioned, “Get in!” Brooke took a leap and landed inside just in time; the boat started to float away from the dock. “And in case you were wondering, the name is Bob,” the man remarked, “Where was it you needed to go?” “The British Library, “ she said. Bob looked at it with wide eyes. “It is worth the shot if it means that much to you,” he uttered, shaking disapprovingly. And off they went!  

Soon they arrived in London happily ever after. 

Wait? Did you think Brooke would get off that easy? She still has a long journey ahead. 

It had been not but twenty minutes since they left the dock, and they were moving pretty quickly. Brooke did not think that a boat could move so fast. It sped so close to the speed of light that she felt like they were flying. She looked at Bob and noticed that he was getting very weak from driving. At that moment, it occurred to her that maybe it was he who had some magical power that was propelling the boat through the storm. A second later, Bob fell to the ground, and they came to an immediate stop. Brooke ran over to him. “Bob, are you alright?” she asked. When he did not answer, she looked up at the foggy sky. “After all, you put me through you could not give up for just a minute to make it easy, could you?” she complained, waves crashing over the boat. As if to answer Bob’s eyes fluttered as he let out his last words, “Beware this boat can not function without me. Stay safe.” 

Brooke’s yells were drowned out by the many noises the storm was creating. She sauntered across the boat, holding on for dear life. She finally reached the steering wheel and tried to move the boat forward. Nothing happened… Bob was right. Brooke slouched on the floor of the boat and sighed; maybe it is about time I give up, she contemplated. 

Minutes later, when Brooke thought she was done for, a cruise ship appeared. She waved her hands back and forth, “Help, help!” Surprisingly she saw that someone had noticed her and was sending down a rowboat. A young coast guard paddled towards her. “Hop in,” he said, “My name is Josh. I am here to take ashore. What is your name? And how did you get out here in this storm?” “Thank you for your help. My name is Brooke” she said hazily as she stepped into the rowboat, “And I am not entirely sure how I got here myself.” Suddenly everything went black. 

Brooke woke up on a huge ship, unaware of where she was. She lifted her head, looking at the dark rainy sky, “I was wondering when you would wake up,” a voice said from above. “Where am I? What happened?” Brooke questioned. “You passed out just as you walked onto the rowboat.

You are on the Illustrious,” said the coast guard. “Josh?” she asked. “Yes, that is me. It seems your memory is starting to come back, which is a good sign,” he mentioned, “And you had this book with you. Is it important?” Brooke grabbed it out of his hands, recovering all her memories, “Yes,” she told him. “I better get going. See you around,” Josh remarked. “Wait where is this boat taking us? And when will we get there?” Brooke stammered. “We should be reaching London in about two hours,” the coast guard observed. “Thank you,” she called. Brooke took a sigh of relief for the first time all day. 

It was early morning of the next day when they docked London. She ran off the boat and headed straight for The British Library. Brooke rushed through the library doors, panting. She ran over to the front desk and put the book down next to the librarian. "Take it, take it," she urged. The librarian eyed her suspiciously but sure enough, picked it up. "It is due tomorrow, are you sure you want to give it back just yet?" the librarian asked. Brooke looked at her dumbfounded and said, "No it's okay, I am done with it." She walked out of the library and sighed. Was that really worth the journey?