The chronicles of Fable |
by Maya Mody |
From: Mr. Linden’s Library
Take Out Date: January 14, 1994
Return Date: January 28, 1994
14-year-old Fabelia “Fable” Murale may have agreed that this was a very impractical way to do things, but she was so desperate to go back there. Her thirst for knowledge and love for books relieved the pain, discomfort, and any hesitation she had of going out. The sun was barely up yet and you could only see a little bit of the fire colored sky, before it blended back up into a milky blue color, so why was she doing this? It was simply because she could. Why wait until the sun was up and everyone was awake when she could do it now? She managed to shut the garage door on her way out and hop on one foot while holding a thick stack of books which suspensefully tow ered over her, like one of those jail guards, wanting to imprison anyone that broke a silly, stupid, law.
Fable had managed to hop the three blocks and reached her destination just in time to see Mr. Linden, put the We are Open, So Get Lost in a New Book sign on the glass door, but then dropped all the books, which landed on the dirty, paved sidewalk with a loud THUMP! She quickly glanced around to make sure nobody had seen this strange girl at 5:00 a.m surrounded by eleven books.
The door of Mr. Linden’s Library opened, nearly rattling and breaking her head. Fable looked up to see a white-haired man that had sparkling blue-gray eyes and a goofy smile on his wrinkled face. Fable’s heart warmed at the sight of him, and she returned the smile. Ever since her father left her at birth and her mother had gone on a two year business trip, Mr. Linden had been a true companion. He always came by to daze the young girl with his homemade goods and was willing to have heated discussions about their favorite books.
“Fable? What are you doing here this early?” Mr. Linden asked, while bending down to pick up the fallen books. “Have you finished all those?”
She nodded and grinned.
“You are such a book addict,” he joked and opened the door for her. “You can never stop.”
Fable entered the small, cozy library and inhaled the scent of old books and dusty articles that were itching on the shelves, waiting to be read.
“So…” Fable asked. “Any new books?”
“Well, not much.” Mr. Linden said, looking thoughtful. “Well, there is something… no, never mind.”
“What?” Fable questioned, getting excited.
“Well…” The librarian hesitated before going on. “Remember when I went on that vacation to Hawaii? While scuba diving, I saw a book. When I got it out of the water and went to investigate, I found out that it was completely dry. I would never have given up a chance to go on another fictional adventure, so I read it.”
“Which would have been the most sensible thing to do.” Fable interrupted.
Mr. Linden smiled and continued. “After reading the book for a bit, I started to notice vine-like things coming out of it, getting larger the longer I read. When I closed the book, the vines disappeared. This process repeated every single day until I managed to finish the book without being in contact with the plant.”
Mr. Linden grabbed a thin, teal covered book, named A Book Nerd's World that was vineless and surprisingly, in perfect condition.
Before handing it to Fable he said. “I must warn you: this is the most amazing book I have ever read, and therefore is very addicting. You love books much more than I do, so I want you to do this: the second you see the vines, close the book. And remember, you can give back the book, if you get scared.” He dropped it into her hands, looking very sorry.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Fable said. But little did she know, her cockiness would stab her in the back like a piercing spear.
After a rushed shower, lunch and dinner, Fable finally got into bed and opened up A Book Nerd’s World and read. Mr. Linden was right. This was an amazing book. The balance between romance, fantasy, and sci-fi was perfect. The characters were intriguing and the plot was awesome. But after reading for about an hour Fable noticed something: Tiny little bits of coiled, jade green seaweed peeked out from the top of the spine, like a baby chick hatching from their egg.
Despite Mr. Linden’s warning, Fable paid no attention to it for she knew that it was still a while before the vines started becoming more ferocious, besides the book was still completely readable. Fable read on, trying to not look or think about the seaweed. By the time she had reached the climax of the book, when the heroine Lia admitted her love to the handsome farmer John, the young girl gasped.
The clusters of seaweed started growing at much faster pace, uncoiling and opening up slowly, as though judging Fable’s cramped, tiny, book-filled bedroom. She squealed as she closed the novel and threw it on the floor, but it opened up and revealed the seaweed to be bigger than ever. The deadly plant now had dangerous thorns crawling up it and now was a hue of inky dark black.
The seaweed creeped along her windows, ripping off her light blue curtains and shattering her window. It pointed its thorns threateningly at her and Fable backed up as far as she could to the wall.
“Pl-please don’t hurt me.” Fable stammered. The bunch of vines shook in response, as though laughing at her stupidity. One of the vines lunged at her and she narrowly avoided it, skidding over her bed and landing on the floor in a heroic position. The young girl smiled, hoping she would get this pose on a statue once she killed this beast and became a hero. Being lost in her fantastical daydreams gave the deadly herb an advantage. It swiftly moved across the floor and wrapped itself around Fable and right in the nick of time, before Fable had noticed. But it was too late.
It pinned her to the ground and a flood of emotions went through her. First Fable felt hopeless. There was absolutely nothing she could do. She was almost completely immersed in the seaweed and there was no miracle that would happen, nobody coming to save her. This was not like the books. Then she felt angry. This was all Mr. Linden’s fault. Why didn’t he warn her? Then the girl felt guilt coursing through her. He had warned her about the book. Numerous times. Mr. Linden being a kind man would live his life in regret if she died. But now it was too late.
As the vines enclosed her completely, her breathing and pulse stopped, her last thoughts being, I’m sorry Mr. Linden.
Take Out Date: January 14, 1994
Return Date: January 28, 1994
14-year-old Fabelia “Fable” Murale may have agreed that this was a very impractical way to do things, but she was so desperate to go back there. Her thirst for knowledge and love for books relieved the pain, discomfort, and any hesitation she had of going out. The sun was barely up yet and you could only see a little bit of the fire colored sky, before it blended back up into a milky blue color, so why was she doing this? It was simply because she could. Why wait until the sun was up and everyone was awake when she could do it now? She managed to shut the garage door on her way out and hop on one foot while holding a thick stack of books which suspensefully tow ered over her, like one of those jail guards, wanting to imprison anyone that broke a silly, stupid, law.
Fable had managed to hop the three blocks and reached her destination just in time to see Mr. Linden, put the We are Open, So Get Lost in a New Book sign on the glass door, but then dropped all the books, which landed on the dirty, paved sidewalk with a loud THUMP! She quickly glanced around to make sure nobody had seen this strange girl at 5:00 a.m surrounded by eleven books.
The door of Mr. Linden’s Library opened, nearly rattling and breaking her head. Fable looked up to see a white-haired man that had sparkling blue-gray eyes and a goofy smile on his wrinkled face. Fable’s heart warmed at the sight of him, and she returned the smile. Ever since her father left her at birth and her mother had gone on a two year business trip, Mr. Linden had been a true companion. He always came by to daze the young girl with his homemade goods and was willing to have heated discussions about their favorite books.
“Fable? What are you doing here this early?” Mr. Linden asked, while bending down to pick up the fallen books. “Have you finished all those?”
She nodded and grinned.
“You are such a book addict,” he joked and opened the door for her. “You can never stop.”
Fable entered the small, cozy library and inhaled the scent of old books and dusty articles that were itching on the shelves, waiting to be read.
“So…” Fable asked. “Any new books?”
“Well, not much.” Mr. Linden said, looking thoughtful. “Well, there is something… no, never mind.”
“What?” Fable questioned, getting excited.
“Well…” The librarian hesitated before going on. “Remember when I went on that vacation to Hawaii? While scuba diving, I saw a book. When I got it out of the water and went to investigate, I found out that it was completely dry. I would never have given up a chance to go on another fictional adventure, so I read it.”
“Which would have been the most sensible thing to do.” Fable interrupted.
Mr. Linden smiled and continued. “After reading the book for a bit, I started to notice vine-like things coming out of it, getting larger the longer I read. When I closed the book, the vines disappeared. This process repeated every single day until I managed to finish the book without being in contact with the plant.”
Mr. Linden grabbed a thin, teal covered book, named A Book Nerd's World that was vineless and surprisingly, in perfect condition.
Before handing it to Fable he said. “I must warn you: this is the most amazing book I have ever read, and therefore is very addicting. You love books much more than I do, so I want you to do this: the second you see the vines, close the book. And remember, you can give back the book, if you get scared.” He dropped it into her hands, looking very sorry.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Fable said. But little did she know, her cockiness would stab her in the back like a piercing spear.
After a rushed shower, lunch and dinner, Fable finally got into bed and opened up A Book Nerd’s World and read. Mr. Linden was right. This was an amazing book. The balance between romance, fantasy, and sci-fi was perfect. The characters were intriguing and the plot was awesome. But after reading for about an hour Fable noticed something: Tiny little bits of coiled, jade green seaweed peeked out from the top of the spine, like a baby chick hatching from their egg.
Despite Mr. Linden’s warning, Fable paid no attention to it for she knew that it was still a while before the vines started becoming more ferocious, besides the book was still completely readable. Fable read on, trying to not look or think about the seaweed. By the time she had reached the climax of the book, when the heroine Lia admitted her love to the handsome farmer John, the young girl gasped.
The clusters of seaweed started growing at much faster pace, uncoiling and opening up slowly, as though judging Fable’s cramped, tiny, book-filled bedroom. She squealed as she closed the novel and threw it on the floor, but it opened up and revealed the seaweed to be bigger than ever. The deadly plant now had dangerous thorns crawling up it and now was a hue of inky dark black.
The seaweed creeped along her windows, ripping off her light blue curtains and shattering her window. It pointed its thorns threateningly at her and Fable backed up as far as she could to the wall.
“Pl-please don’t hurt me.” Fable stammered. The bunch of vines shook in response, as though laughing at her stupidity. One of the vines lunged at her and she narrowly avoided it, skidding over her bed and landing on the floor in a heroic position. The young girl smiled, hoping she would get this pose on a statue once she killed this beast and became a hero. Being lost in her fantastical daydreams gave the deadly herb an advantage. It swiftly moved across the floor and wrapped itself around Fable and right in the nick of time, before Fable had noticed. But it was too late.
It pinned her to the ground and a flood of emotions went through her. First Fable felt hopeless. There was absolutely nothing she could do. She was almost completely immersed in the seaweed and there was no miracle that would happen, nobody coming to save her. This was not like the books. Then she felt angry. This was all Mr. Linden’s fault. Why didn’t he warn her? Then the girl felt guilt coursing through her. He had warned her about the book. Numerous times. Mr. Linden being a kind man would live his life in regret if she died. But now it was too late.
As the vines enclosed her completely, her breathing and pulse stopped, her last thoughts being, I’m sorry Mr. Linden.