Books of the Dead (23 page)

Merly excused them and dragged Natalie to one side where Mr. Stevenson couldn’t hear them, and then harshly said, “Natalie, can’t you see what you are doing? You are making him nervous and you are not letting me speak or say anything that would make him help us with the answers, and you know what, at the pace that you are approaching, we will never get to the truth either.”

“Why are you being unreasonable, Merly? I am only trying to help you here, and it is obvious that he is deliberately avoiding our questions. You think that he is nervous, but I think this is all a facade, a pretense to cover up the actual happenings. Who knows if he is not a part of this? What if he is lying and you are the one sitting and suffering? So stop thinking about this so much, and stand up for yourself once,” Natalie said.

“Will you two stop arguing for a moments, and come over here” Mr. Stevenson called out and the girls obliged to what he said, he continued “I am not a part of this and I want to get out too, but for now I cannot tell you girls anything.”

“How do we know that you are not hiding anything from us? How much truth is there in what you are saying? After all this I … we doubt that you are even telling us the actual facts. We are so sorry, Mr. Stevenson, but we cannot wait any longer. You need to tell us exactly what is going on. Merly is in trouble. She fainted yesterday, and we don’t know what might happen again.” Natalie was furious at this stage and nothing Merly said or did could pursue her otherwise.

“Why is there so much commotion? What are these two arguing about, Mr. Stevenson?” the assistant librarian was back and he demanded an explanation. There was nothing for Mr. Stevenson to say, and both Merly and Natalie were reduced to silence.

“They are arguing over a book, silly isn’t it?” Mr. Stevenson made a desperate attempt to cover up the situation, but his words were not convincing enough.

“These two are fighting over a book? What is this book that is so important to both of you?” the assistant librarian turned and faced Merly and then Natalie and asked them the question individually. Merly kept her head down, but Natalie didn’t like the man playing the role of Mr. Stevenson.

“We will just leave and we will come back later. Mr. Stevenson, please keep the book aside for us,” Natalie remarked, then without looking anywhere, she walked out hoping Mr. Stevenson would be there when they came back. Natalie didn’t look back. She walked fast and didn’t turn back to see if Merly was following her.

Merly stopped her and shouted, “Why did you do that? I was working on it and you had to ruin everything. Do you think he will even tell us anything after this? You screamed and shouted and even probably scared him. Can’t you see he is going through so much?”

“I cannot go over this again and again; you know what your problem is? It is that I am trying my best to help you, but you are just refusing to take it, we discussed something last night and you ask something else, something about the green-eyed girl. Merly, you are only delaying things, but you are too blinded by your confidence and faith to see things for real,” Natalie harshly remarked and didn’t even wait to listen to what Merly had to say.

“Stop right there, Natalie! You just say what you want and you don’t even stop to rethink it. I was going to tell you everything, but out of no where you just jumped in. I met the janitor this morning before anyone was there and she was one who told me about the presence of the green-eyed girl in the library and how Mr. Stevenson is the only one to talk to her. I just realized that I met her the same way Mr. Stevenson met her. There are more than one uncanny similarity to ignore and then I thought if Mr. Stevenson saw the green-eyed ghost then he must have seen the librarian, too.” Merly tried hard to convince Natalie.

Natalie seemed to listen carefully to what Merly was saying. “Obviously, something is not right here and we might be overlooking things. Fighting amongst ourselves while someone somewhere is having the cake is not right. We are just going around and around fighting each other. I don’t want to fight you. I want to fight alongside you.”

Merly wanted to believe what Natalie was saying, but her gestures were not convincing. “We have to go back to the library again and talk to Mr. Stevenson, but, Natalie, you have to promise me that you will let me handle things this time. Please don’t say anything that will put him off.” Natalie agreed.

They didn’t go back to the class, and waited till the assistant librarian left. Mr. Stevenson usually worked around past six in the evening, and both girls waited for that moment to get a hold of him. That day, he didn’t go out. They waited outside the library, but there was no sight of him.

“Did he already leave?” Natalie was impatient. “Let’s just wait a little bit longer. He might be working,” Merly pointed out.

“I can’t wait anymore. Let’s just go inside and see, shall we?” Natalie was unable to contain herself.

“I don’t think we should talk here. Someone might see us like the one who saw me speaking with Nora’s mother, either way, there are people who are suspecting us already and spreading stories and I don’t want this situation to get out of hand,” Merly remarked as she tried hard to control the situation.

“But no one is here,” Natalie said.

“There was no one the last time, too, yet word got around, and I don’t want it happening this time.” Natalie couldn’t say anything back to what Merly said.

The assistant librarian went out while the girls were speaking with each other, but he didn’t notice them as he left. Once he was out of sight, the girls made an attempt to go inside the library while making sure no one saw them. Mr. Stevenson was not there and there was the usual quietness in the library.

“He is not here, did he leave?” Natalie began.

“Wait … he must be around here somewhere. We didn’t see him leave; maybe he is around the corner,” Merly indicated.

“Are you looking for Mr. Stevenson?” A young student who was probably younger than both Merly and Natalie was standing right behind them.

“Who are you?” Natalie asked. There was an obvious irritation in her tone.

“I just came here for a book, and I am about to leave, but are you looking for Mr. Stevenson?” he asked again.

“Who else is here?” Natalie asked.

“Natalie why are you being mean to him? He was just trying to help,” Merly intervened.

“He is wasting our time,” Natalie said rudely and obviously intending the boy behind them to hear it clearly.

“I saw him there,” was the boy’s answer. There was no sign of anger or annoyance in his face in spite of Natalie’s mean behavior.

“Where did you see him?” both the girls asked him simultaneously.

“Over there,” he pointed out towards the direction where he saw Mr. Stevenson. “I saw him by the criminology section. He was talking to someone, a student, and he is still there.”

The boy went out quietly without saying anything; Merly turned towards Natalie and urged her to move forward to find Mr. Stevenson. “Go ahead.”

“I am. You’re coming, too.” Natalie once again dragged her friend along with her. The girls saw Mr. Stevenson getting up from one of the benches and coming towards them.

“You girls are already here?” he asked. All of his previous anxiety and tension were gone. He was calm and had an air of confidence about him. Merly found it hard to believe that just a few hours ago, he was shaking and acting out of character. She looked at Natalie and then back at him. Mr. Stevenson didn’t give any attention to their strange looks.

“If you girls want to know something, then follow me to the front desk.”

While Merly was unprepared for such calm and dominant reaction from the rather submissive Mr. Stevenson, Natalie didn’t seem to take it well. She seemed not only surprised, but dumfounded and didn’t know how to react.

The girls followed him and saw that he was already in his seat, noting something down in a diary, and somehow the girls dared not to say anything. They thought he would say something, but he didn’t. After a few moments of silence, Merly said, “Mr. Stevenson, we are here and we want to know what we asked you this morning. We want the answers and you have them.”

“Sure, I have them, but you can have them, too. The answers are with you. Now what I am saying is, if you want the real answers, then ask the right person and they will tell you.” There was a wicked gleam in Mr. Stevenson’s eye, something Merly has never seen before.

“What do you mean, Mr. Stevenson? Who do you want us to ask?” Merly demanded an answer.

“You are being very vague, Mr. Stevenson, and what are you trying to imply?” Natalie barked out.

Mr. Stevenson, however, remained calm. He showed no sign of anger, although he avoided Natalie and her question and she looked like she was not oblivious of the fact. “I meant that I am not the correct person to answer your questions. If you want to know what is going on, then you must ask the one who holds the answer. Because it is for sure that I don’t have the answers that you seek.”

This time Natalie decided not to say anything. It was apparent that Mr. Stevenson was avoiding her, so she let Merly speak. “Mr. Stevenson, no more riddles. Tell us what do we need to do? To whom should we go?”

“Call them, summon them and then ask them why they desire to speak to you of all the people in this university.”

“You want us to speak with the ghost?” the girls asked in chorus.

“If that is what takes to know the answers, but it all depends on if you are ready to believe them. Believe the fact that it works,” Mr. Stevenson said.

Merly tried to consider what Mr. Stevenson said. She looked at Natalie knowing that they both lived in a different dimension from where these type of things were practiced.

“Are you serious about this? Are you actually asking us to contact spirits? but how are we supposed to do that? We have never practiced this before and it is dangerous,” Merly inquired in disbelief.

“I said what I know, and I cannot divulge anything beyond this. You have the means and know the way. I told you what to do, but how you do it is entirely up to you. No task is easy, but take it if you must. This is my warning to you.” Mr. Stevenson checked his watch.

Natalie and Merly were both at a loss for words to say anything in return. Mr. Stevenson’s words seemed absurd and phony, but Merly couldn’t throw them away completely. “But Mr. Stevenson, I do not believe in ghosts and spirits, and you are asking me to summon one and ask them why they even are bothering me. I don’t believe that is possible for me,” Merly said.

“You don’t have to believe me, I just said what I had to, now the rest you have to decide for yourself. Whether you want to walk that path or not is up to you. Now if you will excuse me, I have to work.” Mr. Stevenson was firm when he gestured them to move out and leave him. The girls once again obediently complied.

They walked out of the library, and Merly had the scenarios running through her head. They found the suggestions bizarre.

“Is that possible? I know there are some people who say that it is possible, but why did he even suggest it to us? He could have told us himself, but instead he directed us towards something that we are not even sure of. Now how do we just go and ask the ghost? The old man has gone completely senile.” Natalie said.

“Don’t say it out so loud, someone might hear us. Was he completely senile? Something was definitely different about him this time. He never spoke with such confidence before, and something changed in him. Just let’s get out of here first. Nora is still not back, so why don’t we head back to my dorm?” Merly suggested.

The corridor to Merly’s room was half-lit. One of the lights flickered, the one that was in front of Merly’s room. It seemed to be malfunctioning. The rest of the lights were on. “What is wrong with the light now?” Natalie commented irritably. “Leave it as it is. I will complain about it tomorrow morning. Let’s go inside quickly,” Merly took Natalie inside.

“It is so cold today,” Natalie remarked. “Do you care for some coffee? I could do with some, too,” Merly said.

Merly left her bag on the table and went ahead to prepare the coffee while Natalie relaxed on one of the chairs. She tried to closed her eyes to relax. She curled herself up and drifted off for a few seconds before opening her eyes. “What is that buzzing sound?” she asked. “Oh, Merly, it’s your phone.”

Merly called from the kitchen, “It is in the front of my bag, please answer it for me, will you? I am getting the coffee.”

Natalie searched Merly’s bag and took the phone out to see who was calling, “Merly, it’s Sandra, your classmate, I guess. Should I answer it for you?”

Merly didn’t say anything but came out of her room, “No, I will answer it myself. Give me the phone,” she said. She remembered what happened in the class earlier that day and didn’t want her friend to be concerned for her again. “Sandra, why are you calling me now? Do you need something from me?” she asked.

“How far you are with the assignment? You didn’t come back to class so I called to find out,” Sandra asked.

“I was busy, Sandra, I told you that. I couldn’t get back the class, and also, I might not attend tomorrow’s class as well. There are things I need to take care of,” Merly said, but all the while she kept glancing towards Natalie to see her reaction.

“But, tomorrow we have to…” Sandra was about to say, but Merly didn’t let her.

“Tomorrow, I cannot attend the class, and you don’t have to tell anyone about this. I will make an excuse, submit the assignment, and maybe the professor will grant me some extra time. I just need some extra time and then I can manage it. Sandra, I know that you are concerned, but don’t be. What I am doing is equally important and this is for myself, so I also ask for a little time from you.”

“If are so sure about this, then go ahead. I have no right to stop you, and I won’t tell anything to anyone, but … but I hope you can come back soon.” Sandra hung up. The tone of disconnection went on for a few moments, and Merly finally let go of it.

“It was Sandra. She was talking about an assignment that I have to submit and…” Merly offered an explanation.

“I know it was Sandra. I said that to you and I heard why she called. But what I don’t understand is why are you offering explanation? Why are you answering anybody who asks you about your actions? You do what you want, Merly. You are doing this for yourself; therefore, you are not answerable to anyone ... just remember that.” Natalie tried to ease some of the awkwardness that the phone call caused.