Ryan stood at the entrance of the school wondering if he was in the right place, no friends, no one to turn to for answers. He had to find the mysterious girl, and he knew just where to start from.
"What are you doing here, at this time of day?" Miss keren asked.
"I know it's a bit early but there's this book that has been on my mind for some time."
"I didn't take you for much of a reader, Ryan," she said looking at him suspiciously. "Though you have been in this place more times than most students. That book you have mentioned is not on my list of books borrowed and definitely not in this library."
"Do you know every book in this place?" Ryan asked surprised.
"It's my job to do so..."
Wide eyed and confused, miss keren perused through her records, casting a glance at Ryan from time to time.
"Ahhh, here is the book u must be talking about, Purity's Ecstacy by...." Ryan stopped pacing up and down, and followed the hand of the old lady as she traced her hand across the page, pointing to the book.
"It hasn't been borrowed for a long time, you young people of these days don't have time for them all you do is spend your days on those phones..."
"Where can I find it, ma'am?" Ryan interrupted.
"Well, aren't you impatient, I must say am quiet pleased by your sudden interest in books...."
"Ma'am, where can I find the book" Ryan almost shouted impatient.
"Asile 6, book shelf 196 on the right side."
"Thank you.." Ryan mumured and dashed off.
As he made his Way through the long lines of shelves, he barely noticed the skeletons of police tap, dumped in one of the corners, the blinking lamp on one of the desks, the eerie silence that filled the place when he switched on the lights; nor did he listen to the cold morning wind as it made its way through the aging vents, filled with murmuring voices, the laughter of children and a small almost inaudible cry of a child, whimpering, whispering for someone to rescue her from the cold. The sudden shift of lamp light on the reading table, from cold to warm—these things he paid no attention to when he pulled out the book, his only clue to finally finding out who or what Allison was.
Ryan opened the book, page after page, anxious to find a single clue to guide him. Page by page he turned, still his efforts yielded nothing, till the repetitive cycle made him dozy, and resting his head on the book.
The sound of the opening door drew him from his rest, the sudden cold rushing at him filled with rage and spite. There she stood—an apparition of utter perfection, lips glistening in the bright morning sun, hair flowing in waves to the heels of her bare feet. She was dressed in a creamy white nightgown, marked with tiny red sparkly spots where her breasts lay. Ryan held his breath, fearing a single whisper would drive her away. She smiled, the brightness of her white teeth startling the spiders in their webs. Ryan smiled back, licked his lips and tried to utter something.
"Allison..."