October Books 소설 & 이야기

Don completed the ground-knowledge book in October of the fifteenth year. He said it on an afternoon in October — a Thursday, not a bread Wednesday, the other kind of Thursday, the Thursday with the quality of October: the light at the specific October angle, the estate in its drawing-in season, the kitchen garden in the post-harvest state.

Harold peeled the paper Trisha had given him open. For above five seconds after, he studied the time table like it was the map to treasure Island. “‘Werewolf’, that's the name of the subject.” He fell silent for a while and studied the paper in his hands for even longer than he had the first time. “It's a new subject which we've never been taught. After that, we'll have geography.” They all fell silent as they remembered the old geography teacher, professor Ericson. If one thing was certain, it was that as long as the three of them existed, none was going to forget him.

The first book was from January – March, the second was from April – June, then, July – September, and lastly October – December. [That one. Page 20. That one, page 63. That one, page 43. And that one, page 60.] Phantom who heard everything loud and clear helped Shadow to show what page that didn't match the number. She delivered just the way it was as Midas picked each book with fascinating expression.

“Quiet doesn’t mean unbothered. Just good at hiding it.” We fell into silence. The only sound was distant thunder rumbling above ground. I wondered how long we’d be down here. Minutes stretched. My mind wandered to how close he was. How alone we were. “Tell me something,” I said finally. “Why’d you become a librarian? You don’t seem like the type who likes being stuck behind a desk all day.” Mr. Kane exhaled softly. “Books don’t talk back. They don’t expect small talk. I like the order. And the stories. What about you? History major with a focus on obscure trade? That’s not common.”

She’d felt a bit creepy walking through this huge empty structure, the only one in the building, but had put it out of her mind as she’d hurried up the steps, her shoes clicking as she went, and quickly lost herself in the stacks. Luckily her library had a reputation for its vast collection of rare volumes, which is what had lured her to accept a job here. They also had a constant traveling exhibit, books on loan from other universities and collections; as fate would have it, October was “Occult Month,” and they had several additional volumes on loan that they normally didn’t—some of the rarest in the world, in fact.

Part One: Since Rae couldn't lie down, she decided to sit up and read. She took the time to read a couple of chapters. Once she was done, she put her bookmark in the book and set it on her nightstand. She tried to lie down again, and she was okay. She knew she just needed to give her food a chance to digest. Rae went to sleep soon after. When she woke up, it was around 3pm. She went, reaching for her phone. She saw it was on 7%. She hurried and plugged it in.