Myne

one

The Greenfield town library was built by the town, but the greater majority of the money came from the Moony family. The head of the family, Tom Moony, had three children. A boy, the first born and the heir, named Fran. A girl, the second born and the prettiest girl in town in her time, named Francesca. And the third, a girl, of whom little was known outside of the Moony household, except that her name was Esme, and she was sickly. Esme never left home. And her one great love in her life, was her books. She had read all the books in their home, which numbered in the hundreds. Her brother and sister and mother and everyone from he family borrowed books from libraries for her, of their schools and colleges and public, and even bought her many books. In the seventeen years of her life, Esme had read more books than the rest of her family combined in all of their lives. The Moony family donated eighty percent of the money needed to build the town library. Their only request, there be as many books as could be fit into the building. No one visiting the library should ever feel wanting.

Thirty years later, the town library was still standing strong, still filled with more books than a person could read in a lifetime, and still funded by the Moony family. After all Fran loved his sister, and as long as he was alive, the library built in her memory would stay standing.

All of which wasn’t particularly important to the story. At least that was what Emi opined.

“I still can’t believe that we’re really doing this,” Emi complained for the hundredth time.

“We are,” Rain assured her best friend. And before Emi could ask, for the thousandth time, why, she answered. “Because it’s the holidays. Because you’ve got nothing on. Because you’re certainly not studying, and because you have absolutely no intention of completing your homework early. Everyone will be surprised if you actually get around to doing it. And, even more, because you’re doing nothing. You’re not going out to play with others. You’re sitting at home, using me as an excuse, you’re just watching tv. That’s not acceptable. You’re already mentally unhealthy. You’ll probably go fully insane if I do nothing.”

Emi was scowling, as she stood silently by as Rain vented.

“I love you, Rainy honey, but I swear, one day, you’ll get the beating you deserve.”

Rain laughed. There wasn’t a world in existence in which Emi actually raised a hand against her. That was the best thing about being best friends and growing up together. They knew everything about each other. Like the fact that Emi was only complaining because the library was one of the places she hated, all the more so because Rain loved it most.

“One last time,” Emi said. And she meant it. Because they were here. The blue building was right in front of them. And there was no point to asking again. “Why are we here?”

“The green book,” Rain answered.

“The green book,” Emi repeated.

The green book was, as far as Emi and their parents were concerned, an urban legend. A ghost story. Last summer, as always, Rain was at the library. She went out after breakfast. Found some book that was so interesting, she couldn’t stop reading. Didn’t realise she missed lunch. Didn’t feel hunger. Didn’t feel thirsty. Just kept reading. In the evening, Emi went over, to find her asleep in the chair, a book in her lap. She woke Rain up. Helped return the book. And while they walked back home, all of the things Rain had forgotten about through the day, came back. With great force.

“I’m so hungry,” Rain cried. “And thirsty. My throat is so dry. It’s like I’m at a desert. And I feel so tired. Emi, carry me.”

Rain was a baby all the way home. And only smiled, after gobbling down dinner. The next day, she rushed tot he library again, immediately after breakfast. Today, Emi went along. And they spent the whole morning searching for the book Rain was reading yesterday. They searched where they returned the book last night. But didn’t find it.

“It was a green book,” Rain said.

“I don’t think it was,” Emi said, with no certainty.

“I think it was,” Rain said, more forcefully, as if she was more certain.

They didn’t find it all summer. And ever since, Rain kept searching. They checked with the librarian, all the books that were borrowed and returned. They searched the library computer. And they kept scouring the endlessly many shelves. They were still to find the green book.

“What makes you so sure we’ll find it this time?” Emi asked.

Rain looked at her with a smile, the kind that seemed to be saying she knew something her friend didn’t. A secret that would aid in their search.

“I had a dream last night,” Rain said, when Emi waited without moving.

And those words did the trick. Emi froze. Her head came to a standstill. Her eyes were wide, and her lips parted. Rain’s dreams were their secret. They were more than just dreams. They meant so much more too.

“What dream?” Emi asked. There was a hint of worry in her voice.

“I was at the library,” Rain said. She moved closer, so their heads were together. And though they were speaking normally, their voices just lower than normal, they seemed to be whispering. And they looked too intimate to be disturbed. Two friends who were sharing secrets. “I think it was today. It looked like today. The sky. The clouds. The building. And you were with me. We were inside. Reading. The book in my hand, it was the green book. I even understood what I was reading. I even remember the story. It was about the girl.”

Emi stared. She wasn’t like her from a minute ago. She wasn’t uninterested. The opposite. Her eyes were glowing, as if in excitement. The moment it involved the girl, everything was changed.

“Let’s get going then,” Emi said, dragging Rain into the blue building. “We should be searching for the green book. We should be reading it, shouldn’t we. Come. Come.”