Chapter 4

During his three days of peace, Aiden took in his surroundings. Since there wasn’t much to do at the bookshop, he was often outside most of the day. He kept his eyes open for the blue haired girl and often found himself re-reading the note that she had left him. He had picked up a habit of deciphering anything from everything since he had come to Shadow Town.

 

One day while he was out and about around town, he saw a library. He had never seen this library since he had arrived and was curious to go inside. The door was open and seemed to be over populated with people. Aiden crept inside and looked around. Books were stacked everywhere. It seemed like the tall piles and stacks of books would never stop. Aiden was overwhelmed with the skyscrapers of piles of books. He turned around a corner and nearly fell back when a girl carrying a stack of books almost ran into him. She peeked around the corner of her stack and gave him a nervous smile.

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” The girl said quickly.

 

“It’s alright. Uh, do you need any help” Aiden asked staring at the stack that looked like it reached up to the ceiling.

 

“Oh, no I’m fine but….”

 

“It must be heavy, I can help you, it’s no problem” Aiden insisted. He reached his had out to try and help her but he only threw her off balance, knocking all of the books to the floor. The books fell with a loud thump and everyone around turned and looked at the two on the floor.

 

Aiden emerged from a pile and rubbed his head. He looked around for the girl. He heard a grunt and witnessed an eruption of books come shooting up as the girl sat upright. She was also rubbing her head. She quickly began to try and get the books back in some order. Aiden started to help her when he noticed something sticking out of the books. It was a newspaper headline.

 

Aiden picked up the book and opened it to where the article was sticking out. His eyes skimmed over it and then he froze at what he saw. It was her. The blue haired girl. She was in the article. The headline read, “Annmarie Shoner, The beloved voice of Shadow Town has gone missing.”

 

Aiden stared at the headline for a while until the girl said something to him. Aiden looked up with a lost look on his face.

 

“If you like books like that, you can just check it out,” The girl said smiling.

 

Aiden looked down at the book he was holding and looked at the cover of it, “Legends of the world.” Aiden blinked and looked back up at her. The girl smiled and told him that she would check it out for him. Aiden finally stood up and brushed himself off.

 

He thanked the girl before he left and started his walk back to the bookshop. He read the rest of the article on the way back. He shook his head and told himself that he would really figure some things out when he got back.

 

He walked through the door and was greeted by Sara and Mimi.

 

“Hey! Where ya been all day? You got mail!” Sara ran over to him and shoved a letter in his face.

 

Aiden took the letter and patted Sara’s head. He didn’t know what else to do with kids. He began to walk up the steps when Mimi came running after him and pulled on his pant leg.

 

“What do you want you stupid dog” Aiden growled through clenched teeth. He looked down at the dog and saw what looked like a necklace in its collar. He bent down and took out the necklace. He eyed the jewelry and looked at Mimi. Mimi’s tongue was hanging out and she was panting.

 

“Thanks” Aiden almost whispered and he jogged up the stairs.

 

Thinking of all the stuff he was about to do Aiden didn’t notice that his bedroom door was open. He walked inside and noticed that there was another book on his bed. He raised his right eyebrow and walked over to his bed. He picked up the book and carefully studied it, “The untold truths of Shadow Town”

 

Aiden flipped through a couple of pages and noticed that half of the book was blank. He continued to flip through the book but only saw plain white pages for most of the book. He threw the book back down on his bed and closed the door. That was the last thing on his list.

 

He picked up the letter and opened that first, assuming that it was the most important thing that he had to read.

 

I’m glad to see you making your way around town. I have left you one thing that you need. You must figure out the riddle on your own. Be careful what you say to others and keep your business to yourself. That book will be much of assistance to you during your time here, so you must have it at all times. If there is ever a time you do not have the book, then I cannot help you. You must also wear the necklace when you are out and in town. It will keep you safe Please keep your eyes open and be careful.

 

Best wishes

 

Aiden sighed and picked the book back up.

 

“This blank thing is supposed to help me?” He mumbled to himself before falling back on his bed and sighing again. He looked up at the ceiling fan and sat back up again. He had work to do and needed to get started if he wanted to go home anytime soon.

Author's Note

Chapter 4,How's the story so far?