Knight in Skinny Jeans

The Library

“You want a room with view or without?” I asked her in the hotel lobby.

“Whatever you like.” she said, her mind still in the book.

“Two rooms with garden view.” I told the manager.

“Your keys sir.” he said as I paid him in cash.

“Don’t you have a credit card?” Anna asked me in the elevator.

“Credit cards can be tracked.” I told her and knew she understood.

“So we really are fugitives?’’ Really this girl gets excited for all the wrong reasons.

“Sam!” Anna knocked on my door after 5 minutes.

“I’m in the shower. Go away.” I shouted from the bathroom.

“Come out quickly.” she insisted.

“Just a minute.” I shouted grabbing a towel. I covered myself with it and opened the door.

“What?” I asked her as I opened the door. She entered my room pushing me out of the way.

“I found the library.” Anna said with enthusiasm. Her eyes looked like that of a kid who was just promised a trip to Santa’s house at the North Pole.

“What library?” I wanted to finish the conversation as fast as I could, considering I was dripping wet. It was awkward standing in a towel in front of a girl I knew only for a couple of days. I could see that she was avoiding looking at me. Luckily she refused to register the awkwardness and carried on with her talk.

“The third building, the clue, the treasure.” she said trying to seek my attention by waving the book in front of my face.

“Get out, now.” I said trying to sound calm but the anger in my voice was evident.

“Okay, I’m going.” Anna said dumping the book on my bed.

I locked the door behind her and dried myself with the towel. After getting dressed I wanted to take a nap. But I couldn’t resist the invitation of the book. I sighed and opened the book. It was titled ‘The moon is always shining’. I pondered on the title for a while but it rang no bell. I hadn’t heard about this book anywhere. I searched the book for any signs or notes, but the book didn’t have a single mark on it besides the printed text. However, on the last page, this was written in black ink- ‘Property of Gilbert Library’. It wasn’t that hard, I thought and mentally patted myself for cracking the clue. Then I had a long nap.

“Do you want to discuss our next step?” Anna asked me. She was sitting on the bed wearing white trousers and a dark green tee.

“We’ll go to the Gilbert Library.”

“And where exactly is this library?” she said challenging me.

“You don’t know?” I asked in disbelief.

“So you know.” Her eyes shined.

“Of course. It’s like the most amazing library in the entire world.” Now it was my turn to stare at her like she was a fool for not knowing that.

“No, it isn’t.” she said furrowing her brows.

“Yes it is. My dad used to go there all the time. He said…Oh,” I said as realization hit me. It wasn’t a famous library; it was my dad’s final clue.

“Where is it?” Anna asked eagerly.

“If we hurry we can catch the next train, it leaves in about…15 minutes.” I said glancing at my watch.