The clock struck 10 AM and Jolly shot out of the house with her backpack and library card racing to be the first one to reach the library door. Every Saturday she raced her friend Pat to the City Library. Jolly was lagging behind by 2 points in their weekly race. In the town called Cherry Hills, Pat and Jolly were well known for competing against each other when it came to sports, arts, and science exhibitions. Jolly was able to beat Pat at everything except making it to the library before Pat on Saturday mornings. As she ran up the library steps she was sure she made it before Pat, but she suddenly saw the familiar silhouette of her friend and mentally sighed in frustration. How does he make it to the library before I do? Pat spotted her and waved his hand with a huge victory smile on his face. 

‘’C’mon Jolly, it’s already 10 minutes past 10. Let’s get searching before others come.’’ 

Jolly dragged her feet with a scowl on her face and said, ‘’How do you make it here before I do??? I left at exactly 10 o’clock and it takes 10 minutes to get here. So how did you get here before me?’’ She nagged him as they entered the library and made their way to the fiction for young readers section.

MERRIN ABRAHAM

Merrin completed her Integrated MA in English Studies from IIT Madras. She is a storyteller, bibliomaniac and a lover of indie music who had a passion for the English language that she dedicated her childhood to reading Victorian literature. Besides drinking bitter coffee and analysing Asian media, she is trying to find a horror story worthy of the genre.

Pat silently shushed her and pointed at the ‘New arrivals’. Jolly soon forgot about losing and could only gaze at all the new books waiting for her. She picked up a book that seemed like a thriller and read the blurb before flipping through it to enjoy the new book smell. She picked that book and walked through the quiet aisles to her corner when she noticed a book lying open on the floor, but no one was around. 

BANG! BANG!

Jolly was shocked as she stood trembling after hearing 2 loud bangs. She turned around to look for Pat but couldn’t see him. She stood on tiptoe, slowly moved the books and looked through the shelves, scanning the area to find out what happened. Seeing no movement her eyes drifted back to the open book on the floor. She crawled towards it and looked at the open page. 

Jolly was very confused looking at this page and illustration. Wasn’t this the book Pat was reading last week? What in the world is this? She turned around to look for Pat and still couldn’t see him. So she picked up the book and tucked it under her arm and walked in the direction from where she heard the bang. She spotted a door she hadn’t noticed before and decided to open it. It was just a broom closet. But who had shut the door with such loud bangs? Suddenly she saw a card on the floor and picked it up. It was Pat’s library card! WHERE IS PAT?

Share your thoughts on what you think happens next in the comments. Stay tuned for the next part of the story in September. If you are interested in mysteries and solving clues, join our ‘Crafting Clues’ course to learn more.

Read Mystery in the Library: Chapter II here.