Myne

twenty

“So, we’re here,” Greta said, looking around at her co-conspirators, old and new. “Wanna tell us now, what’s this big thing that’s got you excited?” 

Gamble looked around too. The old blazing three had grown. There was Greta, the original starting member of blazing three, the sister. And she hadn’t come alone. Hart, her husband, had come along too. And it was no surprise that Aurora had come along. She wouldn’t be away from her favourite father if there was the slightest opportunity of being with him. What was a surprise was that August had come along too. His excuse, of course, was quite simple: if Aurora could go, why couldn’t he? He was, after all, the big brother, the first born. And his mother had always said he should look after his sister, and sometimes, his father too. And he always listened to his mother. Not because of love or respect or anything like that. His words. But simply because if he didn’t, his mother would be a giant pain, going on and on forever about how he should listen to her. He could do without the distraction and the nuisance. And of course, Elmo followed after his beloved cousins. He was quiet, and observing everyone and everything, taking it all in. 

There was the next generation of the blazing three. Already learning from practice, directly from the original members. 

As for the grown-ups, Greta and Hart were no surprise. As were Alvin and Darlene. Albus did bring along a surprise. Freya, his on and off girlfriend since school. The two couldn’t stay away from each other. And they couldn’t stay together very long either. And then, the two couldn’t get close to anyone else either. It was as if they were cursed. And everyone, their brothers and sisters and cousins and their parents too, had given up on them. 

“I come bearing news,” Albus said when all eyes were upon him and Freya. 

“You’re pregnant?” Greta asked. 

“Is that all you’ve got on your mind?” Albus retorted. 

“You’ve done it?” Alvin suggested, careful with his words for the sake of the little ones, but very clear about the meaning. 

Albus snorted. Freya snorted. Both were clearly disdaining the twin. 

“You’re back together,” Greta went again. 

“Duh,” Darlene said. “Look at them. You call that a guess?” 

“Yeah,” Hart said, in support of Darlene. “Look at them Greta. And think about it. It’s like the menstrual cycle. This is their together period.” 

Now that was funny. Everyone burst out laughing. Every one of the grown-ups. The children, were confused as ever. 

“I don’t get it,” Aurora said to her father. 

“You don’t have to,” Greta answered. “Wait until you’re older. And smarter. You’ll get it then. Until then, shut up.” 

“You’re mean,” Aurora said. 

“Shut up,” August intervened. “You’re really dumb. Why do you want to get her started?” 

Once again, every one of the grown-ups laughed. Greta’s had a little more than just mirth. She’d remember this. The children would get what was coming when they were back home. And, oh, it’ll be fun. 

“We’re engaged,” Freya said, giving up on the family. They were so dumb, and so very smart, all at the same time. Having seen them since childhood, she had given up completely on them. They could never be normal. Maybe she should give up too, on normalcy. She was joining them. She entertained no delusions about being their centre of normalcy. She wasn’t an i***t. 

Sure enough, the words shocked the group. Into silence. And then, into a roar of cheer and celebration. Everyone congratulated the new couple. “About time,” everyone said. Including the children. And that had Albus blushing, and Freya rubbing her head. She had joined the bandits. She had to become one of them. 

“So,” Freya said, once the celebration ended, temporarily. “What’s this thing that’s got you excited?” 

Gamble looked at the children. And asked. “Do you like scary stories?” 

“Ghosts?” August asked. 

“Ghosts aren’t real,” Aurora said. 

“They could be,” Elmo said. “For the believer, they are. Every bit of evidence is as real as it could get. For the doubter, the un-believer, they don’t. And scepticism is all there is. It’s all about the individual.” 

Aurora blushed. It was no secret that she had a huge crush on the cousin of hers. Everyone knew. She knew that everyone knew. And didn’t care. When she was four, she had already asked her mother, her father, Elmo’s mother and father, her grandparents, and everyone from the family, if she could get married to Elmo. With them being cousins and all. The answer was yes. They were cousins, but they were separated enough that they could get married. They didn’t want her little head to overload from the details. Suffice to know, she could. And that was all she wanted. And since the answer was a yes, she made no secret of her affection. 

As for Elmo, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He liked his little cousin. He was older by two years, and that he thought was sufficient enough to consider her little. As for her her crush on him, he tried not to mention it, or see it, even if it was in his face, like right now. When they were a little more grown up, he would make it clear to Aurora, that they were cousins, and they should remain so. That was going to be one heck of a conversation. He dreaded it already, even though it was years away. 

August shook his head. And the two boys looked at Gamble, asking him to continue. 

“No,” Gamble said. “Not ghosts. At least, I don’t think it has to do with ghosts. Rather, a mystery. A dark one. It’s got everything. It’s old. It’s weird. It’s out in the open, but no one sees it. The perfect scary mystery. Sound good?” 

“Oh yeah,” Greta said. “Continue.” 

Gamble nodded. And began. 

“The other day, yesterday really, one of the regulars returned a book. Was weird around it. And that got me curious. So, I did some digging. Turns out, this book, was left behind at the library. And the library in all of its endless kindness, adopted it. This was years ago. Before the computers, and the library management system. So, I had to go digging into the old records. The one I turned to was the record of books entering the library. Purchased. Donated. Adopted. All the ways books came in. There’s nothing much about this book. In all the years, it has only been issued five times. The first four times, before the computers. I haven’t looked for the old records, the books keeping record of the issuing of books. But there’s something definitely off about the book. And that’s why we’re here. We’re going to learn everything about the book.” 

“What caught your attention?” Alvin asked. True enough, he was a policeman, through and through. 

“How about I show you,” Gamble said. 

He had the keys to the library. It was unusual for the librarian to open the doors of the library so late. But not entirely unheard of. The librarian had the discretion to extend the hours of the library, within reason. And that was a privilege not taken lightly. It was done a few times in the past, by different librarians. It was Gamble’s first time. He opened the doors. Showed everyone in. And shut the doors after. 

The whole group walked over to the librarian’s desk. And sitting in the middle of the desk, was an old, faded, green book. 

“Alright,” Greta said, a little disappointed. “We’re here. We’ve seen it. So, what?” 

“Alright,” Gamble said. “I admit, it’s not very impressive. But it’s not the book itself that we’re here for. It’s the backstory. What I didn’t tell you before is that the story of the book itself is hazy. It appeared suddenly. In the system it’s entered as anonymous donation, which is essentially to say that the book was left behind by someone a long time ago. I looked for it in the records of donations. There is no entry of the book. It’s pretty much a mystery, so far, when the book arrived at the library. I haven’t gone through all of the records yet. Also, the system says the book was issued five times. I am yet to find from the records when and who the previous four were. There’s a lot of books to go through. Thus, the call for help. Ready to get your shirts and hands dirty?” 

He was grinning. The blazing three were grinning as well. Freya was sighing, but the smile couldn’t be hidden. Darlene was intrigued. Hart was unsure about the face he should be making. The children were amused. It seemed an interesting game to them. Certainly should be fun.