The Darkness Within

The air is crisp and cold, leaves scatter the ground covering it in colours of burnt orange, reds and browns. The faint smell of pine lingers in the air and carried further on the light breeze passing through the town. The sound of bird song in the distance as the morning sun is slowly rising yet hidden by the sky full of clouds. I yawn as I pull my coat closer to my body, my pace slow as my body barely wants to move. I'm tired and I know it is showing but I not really that bothered no one is about to see me looking like a mess so who cares I think to myself. I walk through my deserted town towards the book shop located at the edge of town I have been working there since middle school I love to read to loose myself in a good book, it's why I took the job in the first place. a blast of wind hits me in the face and I tuck my chin into my coat I love autumn it is my favourite season the fallen leaves the smell of pine from the forest the feeling of being cosy who can not love auntum. I reach the edge of town and look down the road which leads out of town and up through the forest I just stand and stare as trees go on for miles and the road just disappears heading of towards the mountains. I love to stand and stare at the forest that surrounds the town of Craymoore, I place my hands in my pockets to keep them from the crisp air nipping at my finger tips. I take a deep breath taking in the fresh air then turn to the book shop, I head round the back and walk through the door, as soon as I get in the smell of old books hits me mixed with carries inscense I walk through the small kitchen at the back which really was a small work surface with a kettle and a counter top fridge that carrie had covered in magnets from her travels. carrie was well traveled for her age seeing as she was only a few years older than me at 21 her parents were well off and owned the book store which had been in her family since the town was built it was the one thing she always went on about and I knew she was immensely proud to have in her family. Her parents had let her be in charge of the store seeing as when she wasn't off traveling she was always in it, it was like her second home, when she was away traveling it was my responsibility to open the store up on weekends and sometimes evenings after school, even though we didn't really get any customers on the weekday evenings. Yet I preferred it dead as I could always loose myself in a new book. I flip the kettle on placing two mugs on the counter and adding the tea bag in for me and a peppermint tea bag for carrie. I take my coat off and place it on the hook on the door which led into the main part of the book shop. I walk through it feeling the warmth hit me. 'carrie?' I say as I walk to the front of the store to pick up the mail. 'morning clay your early as usual' she says her soft voice traveling from behind one of the book shelves. I grab the mail and walk over to her, as I turn the corner she sat in one of the large worn out armchairs even though they had faded in colour and starting to fray at the seams they were still the most comfortable chairs. she looks up at me past her glasses her green eyes shinning and I knew that meant she wanted to tell me about the new book she was getting into. I smile at her watching as she places her Harry Potter book Mark in between the pages of the book shes reading to give me her full attention. 'morning, I decided I wanted to feel the fresh air and listen to the birds before the town wakes up what time did you get here?' I ask leaning against the bookcase as I pass her the mail. she takes it from my hands and looks through it. "I can't blame you there, I've been here all night I got into a new book and I find it more peaceful reading here than I do at home you know my parents, they just want my head out of books not in them' she says as she yawns and moves her red hair back of her face. I nod as a half smile crosses my lips 'yeah for people who own a book store they sure have something against books' I say and push myself up from the book shelf to finish up the tea. Saturday rolls by slowly a few people come in to have a look or to buy a new book but nothing really out of the ordinary really happens all day. As me and carrie tidy up the shop and get ready to close it down for the evening the door bell let's us know that someone has entered the store. I glance at the clock with only half an hour to go before we close I then glance at the door. There in the doorway stood this girl pale as snow itself yet the stark contrast from her raven hair that fell around her face. she pulled her gloves off and shoved them in her pockets as she kicked her feet on the door mat as so not to bring the outside in with her. her hand moves up to her hair to move it behind her ear and I take note of the piercings that run up her ear, I had never seen so many ear piercings before except for in books and magazines it wasn't a common look in our town the town was very old fashioned in that sense. I watch as she glances up and our eyes meet and it is only then that I realise I'm staring at her a small blush creaps up the back of my neck and I quickly look away embarrassed that I was caught staring. I start to busy myself before she thinks I'm being weird. I hear her heading towards me and I take a small inhale to calm myself as my brain is telling me she's going to come over and tell me im weird for staring. 'excess me' she says in this soft yet strong voice the accent clicking as Irish in my head and it makes me look up at her. 'Hi how can I help you?' I say as my eyes scan her face taking in her full lips her small noes the way freckles scatter her face like stars in the night sky then her eyes capture me one is golden brown almost like honey melting into a supernova the other grey like the clouds this morning with flecks of sliver running through them. I can't help but stare I have never seen eyes like that before I almost feel frozen on the spot by them but in the blink of her looking at me she is looking down at some paper. I feel that blush rising at the back of my neck again and as quickly as it comes I rub the back of my neck to hide it. her voice breaks my train of thought and I back in the room with her. 'I was wondering if you have this book?' she asks as she slids the piece of paper towards me across the desk. I take the paper noticing it has been folded over and over again like an anxious habit and I look at the title of the book. Mythical creatures Volume 1 I look at it a little confused not expecting to see such a title but I quickly type it into the computer to see if I can find it. As I wait for the computer to do its search I glance up at this strange creature before me yet she catches me off guard as she's staring back at me and before either of us could say anything both of us are focusing on something else. I look at her through my peripheral vision and I can see the small blush creeping across her cheeks I mean it is easy to spot as she was so pale. I hide the smile and look back at the computer as it shows me where the book is. 'we do have this let me show you where you can find it' I say as I quickly right its location on a sticky note and move from behind the desk. I start walking past shelves looking for the one I am after as I hear her following behind me. I reach the shelf and I find the book as my finger tips run over the spines while reading the titles making sure I get the correct one. I grab the book then turn to her holding it out. 'here you go' I say as I look at her with a smile. she smiles back and takes the book 'thank you' she says as her eyes glance from me to the book I watch as her hand runs over the cover softly then she opens the book and flicks through the pages causing the smell of old books to fill the air around us. 'Thank you, you don't know how long I have been looking for this' she says as she looks up at me giving me this beautiful smile. 'can I take this?' she asks and I nod then show her the way back to the desk her perfume filling my sense as I pass her by a sweet smell almost like flowers on a summer day with a hint of vanilla. I put her book through the till and then carefully place it in a bag for her. while she taps her card on the contactless machine. 'so what got you intrested in mythical creatures?' I ask as I get her reciept. she places the book in the bag in her rucksack then looks at me a soft yet strong look across her face 'mythical creatures are fascinating I have always been intrigued by them' she says as she takes the recipe from my hand. 'more so wearwolves are my faviourite' she adds giving me a small insite to the workings of her mind. 'sounds interesting I've never looked into it' I say as I pretend to tidy bits on the desk. 'you should, you might find yourself surprised' she adds and smiles at me as she takes a step back 'thanks for helping me find the book' she says as she starts to turn and walk away 'no problem' I say as I watch the way she moves the way her hair flicks round her shoulders and lands on her back. she takes her gloves out her pockets and put them on. Then as quick as she came she was gone. I stand there just looking at the door wondering who she was as I knew she couldn't be from around here as I would know.