I Only Hunger For Knowledge -- 11/25/11

Hungry yet?

I had to wait until the holiday to break-in.  The window gave way without much effort.  The complex was desolate this morning.  Most of the residents were elderly and had been taken to visit their relatives for lunch.  I wonder if I'll ever share a meal with my Aunt Abigail again...

Abby's condo was a mess.  Furniture was overturned, the contents of the fridge had been strewn about the kitchen, and most startling, all the mirrors were smashed.  The lights didn't work.  Perhaps her bill was overdue.  Pushing some of the clutter on the floor aside, I noticed a strange marking on the floor.  Further investigation led me to uncover a large book stuffed between her mattress and box-spring.  The book looked ancient, hand-bound.  The leather looked rough and worn, but felt oddly smooth to the touch.  There was a post-it note sticking out from a page of the book.


I admit, I hesitated to open it.  I somehow knew I wouldn't like what I found.  On the page was an oblong shape, similar to the one scrawled on her living room floor.  On the adjacent page were strange letters of a language I did not recognize and couldn't begin to pronounce.  In the margin, someone had penned what could only be a translation, conveniently with Arabic letters.  I did not recognize the handwriting.  Could it belong to the mysterious contact that only the busboy had seen with Aunt Abby?


I wanted to continue my search, but I heard some noise outside and had no desire to spend another night in lockup.  Naturally I took the book with me.  It sits beside me as I type this entry, tempting me to uncover its secrets.  I've flipped through several pages since, but most are blank or feature nothing but crude drawings of fanciful creatures.  A few of the pages have a glossy shine that can reflect an image, similar to a mirror.  I don't like looking at those pages.  Something about them, about the whole book really, has me on edge.  Part of me wants to toss the book in the dumpster and just drop the case entirely.


What would you suggest?  Are the long nights finally catching up to me?  There's nothing to fear from an old book...is there?