Jolly’s heart raced as she picked up Pat’s library card from the floor. The card was slightly crumpled but still intact. She glanced around the small broom closet. The shelves were cluttered with cleaning supplies, but there was nothing unusual. Pat’s card was the only thing that didn’t belong here.

Jolly felt a mix of worry and determination. “Pat’s card? What’s going on?” she muttered to herself.

She took a deep breath and decided to return to the library’s main area to look for more clues. As she stepped back into the aisles, she noticed that the open book she had found on the floor was still under her arm. She glanced at the page again, hoping for some new insight. That’s when she realised that the text was written on a separate sheet of paper and it wasn’t actually part of the original book. Taking out the paper she thought hard about what it said,  “Look at the past… add up the difference…” 

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.

 “The only way to find what’s missing is to look at the past and add up the difference. Note what you see and you’ll remember what you forgot.”

‘’What’s missing right now is Pat. So I need to look at the past, add something, note what I see and I’ll remember what I forgot and then I’ll be able to find Pat? If this clue is really about time then I should probably head to the entrance where we always meet.’’ As she walked outside and looked at the City Library she noticed the clock tower next to the main library building. ‘’I’ve definitely seen that clock tower before and it was not here.’’ Unable to think, she walked back inside when she came face to face with the detailed model of the clock tower right in front of the historical section which was dedicated to the history of the library and Cherry Hills. 

‘’There it is!’’ She silently whopped and ran to examine it. Though it looked old this replica had been well maintained by the librarian. The clock’s face had many tiny gears behind the hands. That’s when Jolly noticed the time. The hands of the clock were stuck at 10:10. 

‘’Hey, I reached the library at 10:10 today. Every single time Pat reached the library before me it was at 10:10!’’ Suddenly she heard some shuffling in the next aisle and slowly peered through the shelves. She was so surprised by what she saw that she dropped her notebook and book. It fell with a thud and 5 pairs of eyes turned to look at her with shock.