THE LIBRARY

[Pitter Patter] [A quick lightening] It started with a drizzle and ended with a drizzle. But when the rain was still wind-driven, when it was still dropping with the heaviest force on surfaces, Miracle got out of the alley to the sidewalk, her umbrella's handle firmly clamped in her hand. She was simply dressed in a checkered blue and white top on a sky blue skirt. The street was quite deserted. She walked towards the library and muttered under her breathe, "I need at least, a bicycle." She chuckled at the thought, wondering what she would use it for. Ride it in the streets? She stopped under the porch and brought down her umbrella. She brushed her fringe aside, furled the umbrella and turned to the door. Then it hit her hard that she did not even check if her library card was in her blue purse before leaving home. After groping around for the card in her purse, she found it and heaved a sigh in relief. From the corner of her left eye, she saw a guy in glasses, who had left his gaze on her and was watching her as she made for the bookshelf. ______ Having got the book's call number from the library's catalogue, Miracle skimmed through the bookshelf for the book she wanted. Just as her fingers landed on the book, someone behind her gave her a king hit and she quietly slumped to the carpet tiles. "Hey dear!" The glasses guy called as he turned to the corner where Miracle was, but lo, no one was there. He frowned. 'Where could she be?' He looked through the shelves but there were no traces of her. He shrugged and returned to his seat. ______ But now, outside the library, it has started drizzling. Softly... Steadily... Melodiously... [Pitter Patter] ________ While the rain was still drizzling, a dark skinned man whose baseball cap covered his face walked out of the library, after leaving the bookshelves. The guy in glasses returned his gaze to the journal in his front after the strange man walked out. He shrugged. The dark man wearing the baseball cap got out of the library and got a hold of Miracle's umbrella out of the umbrellas left at the door. He looked up to the shutters of the room on the fifth floor of a seven storeyed building opposite the library. At one of the shutters was a bearded light skinned man with a sniper rifle aimed at the library's entrance. The men nodded at each other and the man in the baseball cap got on his scooter. He rode away with Miracle's umbrella. Few minutes later, a richly dressed woman crossed the road with her little daughter. By then, the drizzle had stopped but the ditches were still filled with water. On entering, the woman and her daughter headed to the bookshelves. While the elderly woman was carried away, the little girl's eyes caught Miracle's pause were it fell on. "Mum," the little girl called. The woman heaved a sigh. "Come on, just give me a minute, I'll fetch it for..." "Mum!" The little girl cut in while tugging her mother's sleeve. The woman turned to her daughter just as one of the library assistants joined them there. "Dear, is anything wrong?" The girl turned to the library assistant, who had on an embarrassed smile. "Honey?" The woman called and turned to find the library assistant behind her. "Oh, hope no problem." "No problem," the lady replied. "I just want to pick up my purse. It fell a while ago and I guess that's what your beautiful daughter saw." "Oh!" The woman exclaimed as she followed the lady's gaze to the purse. "Alright," she said. The library assistant went to the purse, picked it up and walked away. The mother watched her leave and diverted her gaze to her daughter. "Darling, what's going on?" "Mum, do you think that the purse is hers?" The woman nodded as she turned back to the bookshelf. "Yes, I have no reason to think otherwise. Even if it's not hers, it's none of our concern since the purse isn't ours." "Alright mum. Now, get me the book." "Alright dear," the woman said and added. "Here it is." "Hey!" The little girl screamed in excitement. "Remember that this is a library? No noise or we'd be kicked out." The library assistant chuckled where she was. She left where she was eavesdropping on their conversation, brought out a mouthpiece and said, "Hey man, you have no reason to delete them anymore. They won't snitch." She said as she walked away. She dug her fingers into the purse and brought out Miracle's phone. She immediately switched off the phone. Just as she was out of sight, the little girl's mother peeped and sighed. "b***h!" The little girl raised a brow as her mum returned to her. "What's wrong?" "There's something wrong," her mother said and brought out her phone. "I thought as much too." The woman looked around for a CCTV or a webcam and returned her gaze to her phone. She typed a message on her phone and sent it. "Darling, let's go." The two returned to the librarian and borrowed the book. Afterwards, they left the library. After a while, a police car arrived at the library. "s**t!" The man at the shutter swore. "Something's wrong; your nightmare is outside," he voiced into his mouthpiece. Three police officers filed into the library in their uniforms and immediately got the people's attention. They walked directly to the library assistants and one of the police showed them his card. "We are from the nearby station." "How may we help you?" The grizzled haired librarian asked. "You will have to permit us to check everyone and thing in here. We've been notified that something seems wrong here and we need to find out," the short, dark officer said. The library visitors immediately gathered up around the librarian's desk with their things and the books with them. "May we see the search warrant," the librarian requested. The third police officer looking around stretched the warrant forward and the men started looking around. "May we have a look at your bags," the stoutly built officer with the warrant said. "Yeah... why not?" The librarian asked. "So please ma'am, we'll like to start from yours," the officer said, gesticulating at the dark, slender library assistant, who had picked up Miracle's purse a while ago. The dark, slender library assistant swallowed hard as she handed over her brown with spots of grey Mary Ann bag to the closest officer to her. The contents were poured on the table and among it was Miracle's purse. She maintained an indifferent look, hoping that all would be well. "Whose purse is this?" The stoutly built officer asked. Her heart raced immediately. Why is the purse the first thing they are asking about? She shrugged. "It's...it's mine." The contents of the purse were immediately poured on the desk. The police officers picked up the ID card and the voters card. "The owner's name is Onala Miracle, how come you said the purse is yours. Did she borrow your purse?" The stoutly built officer asked. "W...wait," the young charming man in glasses said, looking at the faces of the other visitors, then back at the ID card. "This beauty was here. I saw her head to the bookshelves." "Huh?" "Yeah, she's my friend. She left..." The library assistant was saying. "I didn't see her leave. I was expecting to see her, to the extent that I lost interest in the journal I was reading but she did not return. I was close to the entrance. I should have seen her." "She left," the library assistant repeated. "Officer, you have to arrest her immediately!" The librarian said. "Huh?" "She's not a new worker here and Miracle has been a regular visitor too. They're people I know very well. They're not friends." The library assistant was shaky. She took two steps backwards but the third officer who had been silent all the while grabbed her wrist. "Where is Miracle?" "I...I don't know. I just found the purse on the floor and..." "Guys, let's move," the short, dark officer said. "Do not worry, she'll tell us where Miracle is," the officer said and led the library assistant towards the exit of the library with her things and Miracle's. _______ On the fifth floor, the bearded man was on a phone call. "Sir, things are going to get messy if I let them go with her. I need to drop the officers in order to save her." "How many officers?" A cold, husky voice asked over the phone. "Just three." "Kill her." *** To be continued...