The Letter

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter One: It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

If they didn’t leave soon, they were going to be late, the young man huffed impatiently. The tournament would begin at five, and it was already three-thirty. So what if his best friend, Meredith, didn’t get off until four-fifteen! She should get off early! She claimed they did this every weekend, so she wouldn’t request it! This was important!





During this internal tirade, the young man had continually paced in front of the circulation desk. A line had begun to form behind him.





“Cole,” the librarian sighed, exasperated, but received no response. She squared her shoulders and exclaimed, “NICHOLAS!”





The young man glared at Meredith, the librarian/his best friend. “What!?”





“Go find yourself a book or something. You are driving me crazy and holding up the line!” She gestured back behind him towards a line of three or four agitated people.





He snorted. “A book?”





“Yes, a book. You are in a library. We have books. Imagine that. Now, go away.” She growled, narrowing her eyes menacingly.





Grumbling, Cole meandered down the stacks. “Can’t leave early. Have to wait. All the good fishing spots will be gone, along with my lucky number.” Restlessly, he began to pace again. “She knows how important fishing is to me. She knows I can’t fish without my lucky competition number. How I like to be there first, and wait for thirty-two people to claim their numbers before I claim mine.” He walked down into the fishing section and pulled out a random book. He stomped over to a nearby chair before slumping into it grumpily. Running an anxious hand through his closely cropped hair, he sighed again. It just wasn’t fair. He glanced at the book in his hand. Well, as long as he was here, he might as well get some reading done.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The first thing Cole noticed as he slowly began to wake up was the tremendous crick in his neck. With a mumbled groan, he raised his head. Well, that would teach him to fall asleep in one of these uncomfortable library chairs. He wiped his blurry eyes. Odd, he didn’t remember it being this dark. Thunder rumbled ominously. Picking up his book where it had fallen during his impromptu slumber, he glanced around. It must be really late. He rubbed his eyes furiously now, praying he was still asleep. Maybe he had fallen asleep on the riverbank and this was all a dream.





Nope, he was still at the library.





The absolutely, completely empty library to boot.





The staff has shut off all the lights and computers, and had long since gone home. The only light seeped in through the window blinds by way of the lightning and the street lights in the parking lot. What time was it anyway? He flipped his cell open. Nope, the battery was dead.





The thunder rumbled again, closer. Great, if a storm had rolled in, the fishing tournament would have been delayed. He hadn't missed any fishing!





With a sigh and a stomach growl, he decided to make his way to the circulation desk. Maybe one of the desks, specifically Meredith’s, might have some food.





After stumbling his way to the front—hey, you try walking through a pitch-black library! It’s not as easy as one might think!—Cole finally managed to find a pack of crackers in Meredith’s desk. He continued his search through the other librarians’ desks. Hey, a guy’s gotta eat! The next desk was… stuck. Now curious, Cole braced himself and pulled as hard as he possibly could. And the drawer came out, showering him with office supplies and receipts.





"Great." The grumble was almost drowned out by the storm outside. With a sigh, Cole squatted down and began putting everything back into the drawer. When he had finally finished, he had a peppermint to go along with the crackers. That’s when he saw it. A neatly folded piece of white paper lay almost hidden underneath Meredith’s desk. Tentatively, he picked it up.





“What’s this?” he whispered. He unfolded it carefully and began to read.





When he was finished, he sat back, stunned. Whoever had written this was seriously in love with his best friend. And Meredith had never given any indication that she was this serious with someone. He glanced at the name.





Hmm… maybe… no, he shouldn’t.





Should he?





But this guy was in love with her. Maybe he could make her happy. After all, there was someone out there for everybody, right? And, goodness knows, Meri deserved to be happy.





Now convinced, he stood up and walked over to the copy machine. He would need a copy of this if the plan his mind was currently brewing was to succeed. As he waited for the copier to warm up, he re-read the letter. There was no question. He was making the right decision.





All his deep thoughts were cut off as he yawned. He had made his copy and now it was time to get some shuteye. He was going to have a long day tomorrow. And the thunder had given way to the soothing sound of rain. He stretched out in Meri’s desk chair and drifted off into the world of dreams.