Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (21 page)

“That’s Mr. Thompson,” she said. “You don’t want to talk to him. He prefers silence, so I’ll just quietly take you to the section where the newspaper records are stored.”

“All right then, let’s go.”

Grace didn’t want to delay the process either. There were huge panels separating each section from the other. A few locals were standing and browsing through some books; they never looked up. The sitting arrangement was at the end of the room, and there were a few people sitting there, as well. The room was silent with only the occasional sound of pages flipping, someone coughing or tapping on the table.

“Where can I find the newspapers?” Grace asked Mrs. Aldman.

“Over there ... right over there, third from the right. Good luck finding what you are looking for,” Mrs. Aldman said politely.

Grace walked over to the section to have a closer look at the pile of books. As she predicted, there weren’t that many to choose from. Grace quickly found the one she was looking for and took the leather bound file in hand. She set it down on a nearby table to look through it.

There was usual news, news that Grace already saw and knew about. She flipped through the reports hurriedly, and never stopped at anything until she found the one she was looking for. There weren’t any parts of the news that were missing and the whole report was there. Grace started reading it and read the chunk of the report that was missing from the school’s library. Grace was trying to take it all in, and at times was at a loss. She wanted to convey everything to Emily, but didn’t know how. Then, she thought of something that would allow her to take these items as evidence. Mrs. Aldman was sitting a little distance from her. Grace waved a hand at her to get her attention.

“Ma’am, can I photocopy a few pages from here? Is that allowed?” Grace asked.

Mrs. Aldman looked up, and saw what she was holding. Then she said, “It is allowed, but the person working there is not present today. I’m not that familiar with the machine either. Perhaps you can do it yourself?”

Grace was grateful that at least she was getting what she wanted. Although she wasn’t familiar with photocopy machines, she decided to give it a try.

“Where can I find the machine?” Grace asked.

“It’s a floor below us. While we were coming up, did you notice a small door on the side, over a platform? Usually, it remains open, because Jim works there. Today, it’s closed. Here, you can take the keys, or do you want me to go with you?” Mrs. Aldman asked.

“It’s alright; I think I can manage it myself.” Grace finished her sentence, but didn’t get half way to the exit before Mrs. Aldman called her back.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why do you need these? Which parts were you going to photocopy?”

“For my work,” Grace replied without stopping. “I need a few of the articles, just for reference. Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s nothing. Carry on,” Mrs. Aldman urged.

Grace descended the stairway to find a small door, which was locked on the right side of the platform. She twisted the key to open the lock and entered the room. A photocopy machine was there with a few loose papers strewn here and there. It looked like nobody ever came there to copy anything, but Grace shrugged the thought off and switched on the machine. Initially, it was difficult for her to figure out the machine, but she followed the instructions to start it. Shortly afterwards, she was copying pages without a problem. She did two copies, but folded and hid one of the copies in her trouser pocket. When she was finished, Grace locked the doors and made her way back up to hand over the keys to Mrs. Aldman. All that was left for her to do now was head back to the city. However, before that she wanted to be clear with Mr. Kourim about her real reason for being in town.

“Are you done?” Mrs. Aldman asked, once she was handed over the keys.

“Yes, it wasn’t much.” Grace wanted to leave as soon as possible, but she was stopped again.

“Show me what copies you made,” Mrs. Aldman ordered firmly.

Grace saw it coming, so she made a few copies of random news pages. She handed them to Mrs. Aldman in a very casual manner and they were promptly snatched from her hands. She skimmed through them hurriedly and turned each paper over to inspect them properly. Grace didn’t want to lose control of the situation, but wanted to know why the town people were so skeptical of her.

“You don’t look too pleased with the result. Are you looking for something in particular?” she asked.

At that moment, Mrs. Aldman paused at the story of the Keaton sister, and Grace saw it on her face. She thought she took that page out, but didn’t pay any attention.  She tapped her fingers on the table to distract the librarian.

“What?” Mrs. Aldman asked. “What are you talking about? It’s my duty to check all the copies made. That's all,” she said, sounding surprised.

Grace felt like a fool with her over-suspicious nature the last few days. “Oh, I’m sorry; I thought I was bothering you. I am really sorry.” Grace tried to cover her mistake and Mrs. Aldman bought it.

She handed the papers back to Grace. “There you go. Anyway, when are you leaving town?” she asked Grace.

“In a day or two, or I might leave today. I haven’t decided. I like this town,” Grace added with a knowing smile.

“Then I hope that you have a happy time staying here. Take care!” Mrs. Aldman wished her luck.

Grace made her way downstairs, completed the formalities at the desk and left the library in her scooter rearview. She wanted to head back to the inn to gather her things right away, but she decided to wrap up things with Mr. Kourim first. She went to meet with Mr. Kourim for one last time. He was not at the house when Grace got there. She banged against the door a couple of times before noticing that the front door was locked. She couldn’t understand where they would go in such short notice. She looked around, but no one was there. She had to return the scooter keys and tell him about the meetings. Most importantly, she needed to confess her true identity. Grace was feeling unusual that day; she wasn’t sure why she was acting the way she was. She was not obligated to Mr. Kourim. She didn’t owe him any explanation, yet she couldn’t leave. She stood there looking around with hands on her hips. She decided to wait at the door a little while longer before going back to the hotel. It was only mid-day and she felt like there was plenty of time to kill.

Sitting at the front door, Grace thought of all the things she had to say to Emily. It was a jumble that desperately needed to be sorted. She pondered in her head just how she would present her findings to her roommate.
Will they be accepted, rejected, or countered?
Grace didn’t know the answers to those questions and they filled her with an overwhelming sense of dismay and anxiousness. Grace waited at the doors for more than an hour, but still there was no sign of Mr. Kourim. She kept checking her watch.

She yawned loudly and leaned against one of the brick foundations of the porch. Grace must have dozed off because she was awakened some time later by Mrs. Kourim. The Kourims were standing in front of her looking surprised.

Mr. Kourim spoke first, “What are you doing here, June, sleeping on our porch?”

The sun was almost down and it was starting to get dark. Grace had dozed off heavily and she didn’t even take notice of the time that passed. She was disoriented and felt foggy.

She sat up rubbing her eyes. “I … I just came to return your scooter, Mr. Kourim,’’ Grace explained.

Mr. Kourim looked at the night sky. “You still have to take one more ride on this,” Mr. Kourim said in an affectionate tone. “It’s already dark, and you shouldn’t walk back to your hotel this late at night.”

The look on his family’s face conveyed the same thing. They were quite helpful and generous. Grace wanted to say so many things and she didn’t want to go back to the inn unfulfilled. She wanted Mr. Kourim to invite her in and offer to hear her story.

Her pleading eyes must have conveyed that, because Mr. Kourim said, “You’re coming back tomorrow to return my scooter. I’ll hear what you have to say then.”

Grace had nothing else to add so she got up to leave.  She saw Mrs. Kourim lean into whisper something into her husband’s ears. She couldn’t hear what it was, but the old man only shook his head.

“Well, thank you,” Grace offered one last time. “I must go, and I’ll be coming back tomorrow to return your scooter, Mr. Kourim.”

She waved goodbye to them, and hopped back onto the scooter. The ride back to the hotel was tedious, and Grace had a nagging headache. She shook her head to wave it away, but it wouldn’t clear. The headlights from cars coming from the opposite direction increased her headache by a notch and Grace desperately wished to be back at her room.

The hotel lobby was empty when Grace set foot inside. The front desk lady was the only one who smiled at her. Grace acknowledged her weakly and tried to duck past. She noticed that it was the first night that she wasn’t asked if she wanted dinner. Yet, thinking that it was the last night left for her to spend in this town, Grace ordered dinner.

The lady at the front desk was polite enough to comply and said, “Wait here, while I go and make arrangements.” Then, she disappeared behind the counter.

Grace saw a stray mobile phone on the counter. She didn’t think. She just picked it up, typed a message and entered Emily’s number. She sent the message and tried to put the phone back in the exact place she found it. Grace saw the desk lady coming, so she promptly deleted the message and the number. She kept the mobile in place and pretended as though nothing ever happened. The lady didn’t suspect anything either.

“Do you want your food to be sent to your room, or do you want to eat it here? We have a special menu tonight and since you are ordering dinner for the first time, it’s on the house.”

Grace was overwhelmed by the kindness, so she politely said, “I will have my dinner here.”

Grace wanted to make the most of that night. She had her mind set on enjoying the food and having a good night's sleep. Grace loved what was served from the “special” menu, although it was nothing special at all. She finished it slowly, enjoying every bite. Then, she relaxed in the chair. Sometime later when she got up to retire for the night, she didn’t forget to compliment the hotel owner. Going back to her room, Grace clutched her bag tightly and hurried over to the right door. Once she was inside the room, she slumped down on the bed and drifted off to a slumber.

Grace woke up to a different environment. She blinked several times, but the room didn’t resemble her hotel room or her dorm room back home. She tried to sit up, but her back felt paralyzed. Grace panicked. She couldn’t feel her left leg and her whole body felt heavy. Grace didn’t know whom to call or what to do, so she struggled trying to get up. She turned her head and saw a woman in a white dress standing nearby.

As the woman walked up to her bed, Grace asked, “Where am I? And who are you?”

“Grace, it’s me ... your mother. Are you feeling all right?” her mother asked.

“Mother,” Grace exclaimed! “But when did I reach home, I was in…” Grace stopped before saying anything else.

“You were on your way here, to your home, Grace, but you had a small accident and you injured your leg. Don’t move and you’ll be fine,” Grace’s mother said.

“How did I injure myself? What accident?”

Grace sounded confused. She couldn’t make sense of any of this. She didn’t understand how she suddenly arrived in her home. Her mother explained the situation further, in hopes of calming her down.

“Grace, you were coming from a friend’s place to here, when you had an accident. You were the one who told me this before you passed out. We were called to the scene and we brought you here. Sweetheart, you never told me that you were visiting a friend. What were you thinking?”

Grace tried to recall what had happened, but all she could remember was clutching her bag and going off to sleep. Something about the details of the event didn’t seem right to her. Perhaps it was the medication or just the fog of the injury, but she was completely at a loss.

“Just rest for a while and it will all come back to you,” her mother assured her. “I promise, sweetheart.”

Grace’s mother tried to sooth her for a while longer. When Grace settled down, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Grace lay on one side wondering what changed everything so suddenly. All she wanted to remember was if she finally was able to meet Mr. Kourim or not.

Did I get a chance to explain everything to him?

It made her distressed and agitated. She struggled to get up again and finally had the courage to look at her left leg. She touched it slowly and saw the leg wasn’t broken. Yet, there were several cuts running up the entire length. Grace groaned weakly. She was starting to feel the pain and it was terrible.

“I need a break,” she said to herself while touching her forehead.

Then, she passed out again. It was almost evening when Grace woke up for the second time that day. Then, she started recalling the previous night's events. Grace woke up the other day perfectly refreshed and fine. Nothing had changed. She still planned to go and meet Mr. Kourim.

Grace turned to the other side in the bed and could envision herself going to return the scooter. That, she did. She remembered everything clearly. Grace recalled that she paid the lady at the motel after packing her things early in the morning. When she got to her friend’s house, Mr. Kourim was ready to meet with her.

“Here are the keys,” Grace said happily and handed him the scooter keys. Mr. Kourim smiled and invited her in. However, Grace declined, saying that she had to leave early. “I have to go, Mr. Kourim. This is important and I just came here to return your keys,” Grace explained. Then, a long silence followed before she had the courage to speak again. “Also, there is one more thing that I want to say to you,” Grace told him. She waited for Mr. Kourim to react, but he didn’t. So, she continued and said, “My name is not June. That’s not my real name. My name is Grace, and I am also not a reporter.” Grace had planned to say something different, something more concrete, but these were the only lines that came out at that moment.