Ruined Book Novels & Stories

Shola having succeeded in hiding the book continued answering the questions but to his astonishment, Daniel paused his words and threw in a question that pushed him off balance, putting him in a quagmire. Daniel asked; “Was it at seminary you bought that scary black book?” “Which book?” Shola asks back with a concerned face under consternation. “The black book I just saw you reciting words from before I fully opened your door. You were even beating your chest with a scrawled face.” Daniel responds now with a more serious look.

Suddenly, I felt lighter than before. When I tried to translate the book into our language, I creased my brows because it had ripped pages. The book is missing something, and it's missing some significant notes, as I can see dried blood in the shredded pages towards the book's back. Blood that has been through time. So why did the last page of this book had been torn apart? It's not as though I did something or acted to draw attention to it. Yet since I caught a glimpse of the remnants from the shredded pages, I can't help but narrow my eyes. There appear to be circular designs, one picture with what appears to be a hand in the upper side corner, and that's all.

"Damien….." Zia rushed towards the guestroom but her feet halted at the door. Her eyes enlarged in horror and shock by witnessing that startling view in front of her. The entire room had turned into a mess. Cushions, pillows, quilts were all lying on the floor. The cabinets, drawers, tables…everything was moved away from their places and were broken. Even the mirror and glass doors of shelves were shattered. It was looking like an aggressive storm had come inside and shredded every single thing inside that room.

But not reading. The room smelled like torn paper and old wood. Dust hung in the air like smoke, swirling with every violent motion Dane made. He grabbed another book, one of the older ones, with a cracked leather spine, and without a second thought, he ripped the cover clean off and flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thud before sliding to the floor in a pile of destroyed pages. “Dane, stop it!” I shouted again, louder this time, stepping fully into the wrecked library.

“I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry you had to see it. Please, give me another chance. I don't want to ruin your first day of training. Today is supposed to be special for you. Please allow me to fix this.” I didn’t respond. My gaze drifted around the library, taking in the destruction. The room was in ruins. Books were scattered everywhere, shelves toppled and broken. My eyes caught on a large, old book lying on the floor. Something about it drew me in, a strange sense of familiarity pulling at me.

"Who knows where Vincent went? Probably found someone new already." I forced myself to focus on the fabric and designs spread before me, but my vision kept blurring. I wanted to believe Vincent hadn't abandoned me, that he truly was just out with friends. But what if he never came back? The door suddenly creaked open. A tall man stood there, his black suit gleaming under the light. I recognized it instantly. It was the one I'd designed for Vincent myself, a one-of-a-kind piece. It looked plain on the outside, but I’d poured my heart into every stitch and detail.

he admitted, scrolling down to see what I've done. You're right it is. “Is this a typo or was it what's written in the case?” “What's that?” I asked, trying to spot what he was talking about. “Right here. The part that says Regina Gilbert 45 against Lancashire. I went through the case sometime, wasn't she vindicated?” He pointed at my screen. I think I've been surviving on five hours of sleep the whole day that I'm starting to forget things. “Yes yes, you're actually right,” I tucked my hair behind my ears, reaching to correct it.

"You are the 'Rot' in the library. You must be 'Excised' so that the Great Record can remain pure." Audrey stood on the bridge of her half-faded ship, her eyes burning with a silver-and-gold fire. "The library is 'Dead', Librarian. A book that is never read is just a stack of paper. A world that never changes is just a tomb. We didn't come to excise you. We came to 'Open-the-Windows'."

But curiosity had always been my fatal flaw. ‎ ‎My fingers trembled as I approached a shelf, drawn to a black folder with a photograph sticking out. I quickly turned on my flashlight to see a man in an expensive suit shaking hands with another figure whose face was circled in red ink. Notes scrawled in Daniel’s sharp handwriting covered the margins: “offshore accounts, money laundering, eliminate loose ends.” ‎ ‎The blood in my veins turned to ice water. ‎

Not yet. I fled.The hallway felt endless. The elevator ride down to the lobby was suffocating. In the ground floor of the bathroom ,I quickly changed into the simple sundress i had packed for the “morning after” I had imagined sharing with Daniel. I splashed cold water on my face, trying to steady my breathing. My reflection starring back at me, I looked at my wild eyes, swollen lips, my tangled messy hair,i looked exactly like a girl who had been thoroughly and passionately ruined by a stranger.