Her heart raced. She forced herself to inhale. It left no comfort. Instead, her guts churned with a sickening feeling. Sweat pearled her brow.
This was the second time in four days!
Before Bella could open her mouth, Miles stood up. He grabbed a notebook and tore out a piece of paper. Using the notebook for support, he wrote on the paper.
Bella squinted.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm replicating the lett-er."
As soon as he was done, he sat back down, playing with the pen cap, lost in thought. He stared at the paper.
"What are you thinking?"
Miles looked up with slightly glazed eyes. Bella had imagined a very different evening. One filled with stories. Miles' experiences at the hands of their father. Maybe a little of her own too. But now, that felt out of place with the weight of what had happened before them.
Miles blinked. "I'm try-ing to figure out where this ca-me from. This..... it's too much to ignor-e."
Miles remained silent again.
Bella placed a hand on her hips. "Well...."
Miles looked up at her. "Well, what?"
"Remember that we're both trying to figure this out together."
"No we're n-ot."
"Do I have to remind you that it's because of me that you even found this letter in the first place?"
"Fine then." Miles turned to her, his face blank. "Tha-nk you for your help. I'll take it from he-re." Miles pushed off his seat and walked past her.
Anger sparked in her. "Well then, I'm sure you won't mind me telling the authorities you broke into the hotel."
This made Miles stop. He directed his gaze back to her. "Wh-at?"
"You broke into the hotel. My distraction helped you get in one piece but you still broke in. I'm sure it would be of interest to the security how an imposter got into a highly secured ground. And of course, what he came there to do....."
Miles grunted, clenching his jaw. "You're ..... despic-able."
Bella giggled, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Love you too, brother."
He leaned against the chair, arms folded. Miles clenched his jaw. He remained quiet for a few seconds, underneath Bella's probing gaze, before he sighed.
"I have th-ree questi-"
"We have three questions."
Miles ran a hand down his face before grunting rather loudly.
"We have three quest-ions to answer . Who wrote the letter? What w-as the motive behind wri-ting it? And wh-ere are we supposed to m-eet them?"
There was a confidence with which he spoke that made Bella nod.
"The only question that we c-ould get an ans-wer to, for now, is where we're supposed to meet them."
Miles rounded the sofa before sitting. The sound of scratching leather broke through the silence. He tossed the paper to the table. "Accor-ding to the letter, we're supp-osed to meet them in a place where stories ne-ver die."
"A num-ber of places fit the descr-iption. A theatre. A muse-um. A book-store."
"A library?" Bella offered.
Miles nodded. "But ev-en if we were som-ehow able to zero in on one am-ong theses optio-ns. There wou-ld still be a lot of gro-und to cover."
Bella suddenly remembered. "What about the other letters you found in the hotel room? What did it say?"
Miles was silent for a few seconds as if trying to recall the memory before saying, "Reme-mber, stories never die-because they are extens-ions of life in this world, and the o-nes after." Miles kept quiet, looking up at the ceiling. "But that still leaves us exactly where we st-arted."
"After." Bella gnawed on the word. It sounded familiar.
"Do yo-u-"
"Could you pass me the envelope?"
Miles gave her a confused look before carrying the now torn envelope and handing it to her. Bella took it. She stared at the stamp.
It stirred a distant memory. A rush of images pushed through her mind.
Bella traced it with her fingers. It was so close.... yet distant.
The globe was white and silver, at the centre of which, she now noticed, was a small book. An old brown book.
If only she could-
"I love reading. You know there's this library I go to. One of the best in the city, in my opinion. Quiet. Serene. You should try it sometime."
Bella blinked. The Ever After. That's it!
"I know where we can find them!" Bella exclaimed, startling Miles. She pulled out her phone from her pocket before pulling out the photo that one of Lily's friends, Fanny had shown her in the car on their way to the restaurant.
She pushed the phone into Miles' face.
"This is the Ever After."
Miles looked at it, right brow furrowed. "And.... wh-at's this sup-posed to be?"
"It's a library, apparently. I think we can find whoever sent the letter here."
"But ho-w? How are you so s-ure?"
"Look at the stamp on the envelope." She showed him the stamp before pointing at the exact replica of the stamp, except bigger, etched into the wooden walls of the library.
"It's..... exactly the sa-me." Miles muttered underneath his breath as he took the phone away from her, comparing it to the stamp.
"Exactly!" Bella didn't understand why but she felt a rush. A rush of energy that keeled her over, leaving her giddy. Ready for life.
It vaguely resembled..... excitement.
That something that should have scared her. Meeting a complete stranger at night. For some reason, it left her feeling powerful. That she was deciding to take her own decision. To make her own calls.
That she figured something out for herself.
"I'm ready when you are."
Miles shook his head slowly, and for a moment he looked rather amused.
"Let's go, th-en."
***
They were lucky enough that the roads were free.
Using the GPS, they got to the library in an hour's time. The car harrumphed to a halt then Miles killed the engine. They both stepped out.
The night was chilly. The heavy silence weighed down on Bella as she looked up at the building before them.
The library was not too small, neither was it too large. It looked.... humble.
The library's walls were wooden, closed wooden shutters vaguely hiding glass windows underneath. Each shutter had a silver, scroll shaped sconce that caught the moonlight at different turns. The same sign was etched into the centre of the building, surrounded by a scattering of moss. The Ever After sat right underneath it in cursive letters.
It would have looked like any other plain building, if not for the flowers. The flowers that lined the parking lot. Flowers by the balcony. Flowers stretching from right underneath the wooden staircase that led up to the door.
"Whoever o-wns this place sure lo-ves flowers."
Bella couldn't have agreed anymore. They walked up the staircase together.
Two antique lanterns hung from chains attached to the ceiling. Bella stared at it. The glass was discolored, now tinted yellow. The metal was dented.
Bella's lips pursed. Why did it look so..... old?
It had a smoky scent, one that reminded her of a grill. The grill, one of her neighbors' mom had used to roast chicken laps when she was much younger. Bella hid to eat the barbecue chicken.
Mother had not taken too kindly to that. Bella's face scrunched in a grimace.
"They're clos-ed."
Bella looked past the lantern. The closed sign hung from a nail, teetering from left to right. Miles tried the door. It didn't budge.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Miles didn't reply. He rapped his knuckles against the door. Once. Twice. Thrice. Still, nothing. Miles placed his hands on his hips and sighed.
"We'll try again tom-orrow." Miles pushed past her.
Bella sighed. The closed sign tilted to the far right with the rush of the wind. Stray strands of her dark hair fell loose from her messy bun, forming knots before her eyes. She tucked the stray strands behind her ear.
Then she noticed it.
It was so small that it was easily hidden by the sign. Bella raised the sign up. She immediately withdrew her fingers almost immediately. She gagged. The sign was beyond rusted, as if decades old. Even the white paint now sported yellow blotches.
Using her knuckles to prop the sign up, she stared at the plaque underneath. It was too dark to make out the writing.
"Bella!"
She ignored him and fished out her phone from her pocket. She switched on the flashlight. With the light, she managed to make out the letters.
"Unfished stories are given a conclusion. All, deserve an ending." Bella read softly. The heavy scent of rain careened through the air.
What did it mean?
"Bella!"
"I'm coming. I'm about to-"
Click. Then the door swung back on its hinges, creaking as it swiveled. A large bang resurrected in the silence.
No one was at the doorway.
Bella took a step back. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Miles staring at the door. Miles climbed up the steps and came to a stop beside her, clearly intrigued.
"How were yo-u able to get it ope-n?"
"I didn't."
Bella swallowed. She held out the flashlight. The energy that she once felt was torn away, leaving a cold, coiling dread. It warmed its way up to her chest, before glazing it over.
"I think, it's best we come back tomorrow." Bella found herself saying, her chest squeezing up. Miles raised an eyebrow. Yet, he didn't counter.
As though the world were trying their luck, it started to rain. Not the small drizzle that she could have easily done a shoot in. But the kind that you could only see a few feet in front of you.
Expecting the car door to be open, she rushed down the stairs. Raindrops soaked her clothes as soon as she stepped into the rain. Her throat clogged. Bella struggled with the door, her hand slipping over the smooth surface which was now made slippery.
The pitter patter of rain drops against concrete filled the air, momentarily deafening her. Bella spun around, her vision which was punctuated with rivulets of blue, and realized Miles was still standing by the door.
As the downpour increased, she ducked and clambered back up the staircase. In the one minute she was out there, her clothes were already soaked and she only hoped that she wouldn't have a cold.
"I thought we were leaving!"
"That's what I was try-ing to tell you. We ca-n't leave-"
"What do you mean we can't leave?"
"It isn't adv-isable we drive in this rain. Especially, at this tim-e of the night."
"Well, it isn't advisable that we stay here another second!"
"Really? You weren't aga-inst the idea an ho-ur ago."
"Now I am. Take us home!"
"I'm not y-our butler. D-on't act so entitled."
Her nostrils flared. "You-"
Miles raised his hand in surrender. "Look, we're alre-ady here. You chose to go on this mis-sion with me. Now, we're stu-ck in the rain. You have to de-al with it. Assuming we're par-tners now, it's essential yo-u understand that there's no turning back. It's either, you're in or you're out."
The right side of Miles' tilted up, forming a very sarcastic smile. She inhaled, wanting to do nothing more than throw a piece of furniture at him.
"Throwing a tantrum won't save your ass ei-ther."
Bella groaned. "Fine. Since we can't go home. Let's go in. At least I won't die of a cold."
Miles raised a brow. "I thought you didn't want to go in any-more."
"Well, I changed my mind. Unlike you, I care very much about my health."
That resulted to a couple of chuckles from Miles. She stepped into the library. She flicked her flashlight from left to right. A dome shaped ceiling. Large mahogany shelves loaded with books. Rings of circular desks and chairs. Faded floor mats.
And of course, flowers.
"This is c-ozy."
Bella could almost hear the mocking tone in his voice. She rolled her eyes.
"Well, that attests to how far apart our tastes are."
Another chuckle. Once again, she rolled her eyes. The soft aroma of vanilla tangled the air. She took another step forward. The floor mat gave way to wooden boards which carried their fair share of scratches.
Click. Bella's head swiveled to the doorway. The door swung back.
"Miles, the door!"
Before Miles noticed, the door sealed shut, cutting off any link to the outside world. Bella ran to the door. She tried thr handle. Nothing.
It was locked.
"It's locked."
She shifted away, giving Miles space. Miles also tried to open the door numerous times, all to no avail. It was jammed.
They were stuck here.
"Looks li-ke we're stu-ck here."
Bella leaned against the door and sighed. Miles flicked his torchlight from left to right, his eyes narrowed. He looked on edge, all of a sudden.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Did you see something?"
Miles was silent for a while, his hand raised to keep her back. "There's som-eone here."
"You caught me. I'm glad to make your acquainta'ce." A voice said from nowhere. Her back went rigid. Her heart leapt into a frenzy.
"We're here be-cause of the letters! W-ere you the one that se-nt them?"
There was silence. Miles was still whipping his flashlight from side to side, his lips pursed. His temples were slightly wrinkled.
Bella gripped her phone like her life depended on it. Her ears prickled.
"We don't w-ant any tro-uble. We're ju-st
looking for ans-wers!"
Miles voice echoed in the silence. There was no reply for a few seconds. The gravelly voice spoke again,
"You'll get your answers. Under."
"What did he-"
Before Bella could voice her question, the floorboards disappeared underneath them. Her breath caught in her throat.
In the next moment, they were falling down a whirlpool of darkness, their screams stolen away.