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Authors: Morris Fenris
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brown sofa and her eyes fell on the cream wall all around. There were pictures lined up neatly of several faces: some known, others unknown to her. Some were grainy and hard for her to see, which she didn’t pay any attention to, but when her eyes fell on a batch of students, Merly was sure that she had seen the face.
She got up and walked up to the wall, then strained her eyes to confirm what she believed she saw. Among a group of young men and women, in the last row in the furthest corner stood a lanky man with round-rimmed glasses with side swept hair and a faint smile plastered on his face. The smile Merly was sure she saw before, a smile like that belonged to only one person. It was similar because the man on the portrait was Mr. Summers in his early 20’s. The batch was mentioned on the bottom left corner of the picture. The picture had already turned a faint shade of yellow reminiscent of the age.
Merly was both amazed and surprised that Mr. Summers was one of the students in the university. It was indeed strange that he never talked about it or ever mentioned it. There was no reason for him to hide the fact. Mr. Summers was known to share his stories, his experiences and other aspects of his life with students. But it came to Merly that though there were numerous things he said, Mr. Summers never bothered to mention from where he graduated.
“He was a student of this institution!” Merly exclaimed. She stood there examining the picture to see if there was anyone else she could recognize. There were several faces she thought she knew, but could not place it. Who were they and why did their faces remind her of people she has met before. “This cannot be,” she said aloud, and just then, Mrs. Lois who was out on some business came back just in time to break-up Merly’s thoughts.
“What do you want?” Mrs. Lois said a bit harshly.
Merly said it would be better if they talked privately. Mrs. Lois seemed to be in foul mood. Merly contemplated if it was the right time to indulge her in the conversation. Mrs. Lois didn’t look up and ignored the presence of Merly in the room. She waited a couple of minutes, but then finally asked something which she didn’t intend to, “Mrs. Lois, what are the rumors that surrounds the fourth floor library?”
She was taken aback by the question and clearly looked offended. “Why is this question relevant? And why am I supposed to answer that to you?” she asked.
Merly knew she had to make up something very quickly or else she would not be able to get an answer from her. Merly needed to think up something quick, and then a brilliant idea came to her mind that would ease her purpose and make her task easy, so she said, “I am writing a story.”
“A story?” Mrs. Lois looked unconvinced. “And what purpose does the fourth floor library rumor serve to your story?” she added.
“It is a ghost story,” Merly said in a heartbeat, and then went on to say, “So there are rumors and they are true?” Merly asked with confidence.
“You are asking me the questions like I am one of the criminals. You know, there is a better way of asking these questions.”
Merly could see that Mrs. Lois was displeased by her interference at such a timely hour. Maybe this was not the right time to ask her the question, she thought, but what Mrs. Lois said next changed her opinion.
“Well, I am only telling you this because you want to write a story, and as a writer myself, I know one needs inspiration and tales to flare up the imagination and I always encourage my students to take up creative tasks. So what I am about to tell you is a rumor, but others claim it is true. They say that there is ghost and it can be seen in the fourth floor library during this time of the year.”
“This time of the year?” Merly asked the question with a hint of doubt in her voice.
“Yes, some say that they have seen the ghost around this time. Now, I haven’t seen it and don’t want to anytime
She got up and walked up to the wall, then strained her eyes to confirm what she believed she saw. Among a group of young men and women, in the last row in the furthest corner stood a lanky man with round-rimmed glasses with side swept hair and a faint smile plastered on his face. The smile Merly was sure she saw before, a smile like that belonged to only one person. It was similar because the man on the portrait was Mr. Summers in his early 20’s. The batch was mentioned on the bottom left corner of the picture. The picture had already turned a faint shade of yellow reminiscent of the age.
Merly was both amazed and surprised that Mr. Summers was one of the students in the university. It was indeed strange that he never talked about it or ever mentioned it. There was no reason for him to hide the fact. Mr. Summers was known to share his stories, his experiences and other aspects of his life with students. But it came to Merly that though there were numerous things he said, Mr. Summers never bothered to mention from where he graduated.
“He was a student of this institution!” Merly exclaimed. She stood there examining the picture to see if there was anyone else she could recognize. There were several faces she thought she knew, but could not place it. Who were they and why did their faces remind her of people she has met before. “This cannot be,” she said aloud, and just then, Mrs. Lois who was out on some business came back just in time to break-up Merly’s thoughts.
“What do you want?” Mrs. Lois said a bit harshly.
Merly said it would be better if they talked privately. Mrs. Lois seemed to be in foul mood. Merly contemplated if it was the right time to indulge her in the conversation. Mrs. Lois didn’t look up and ignored the presence of Merly in the room. She waited a couple of minutes, but then finally asked something which she didn’t intend to, “Mrs. Lois, what are the rumors that surrounds the fourth floor library?”
She was taken aback by the question and clearly looked offended. “Why is this question relevant? And why am I supposed to answer that to you?” she asked.
Merly knew she had to make up something very quickly or else she would not be able to get an answer from her. Merly needed to think up something quick, and then a brilliant idea came to her mind that would ease her purpose and make her task easy, so she said, “I am writing a story.”
“A story?” Mrs. Lois looked unconvinced. “And what purpose does the fourth floor library rumor serve to your story?” she added.
“It is a ghost story,” Merly said in a heartbeat, and then went on to say, “So there are rumors and they are true?” Merly asked with confidence.
“You are asking me the questions like I am one of the criminals. You know, there is a better way of asking these questions.”
Merly could see that Mrs. Lois was displeased by her interference at such a timely hour. Maybe this was not the right time to ask her the question, she thought, but what Mrs. Lois said next changed her opinion.
“Well, I am only telling you this because you want to write a story, and as a writer myself, I know one needs inspiration and tales to flare up the imagination and I always encourage my students to take up creative tasks. So what I am about to tell you is a rumor, but others claim it is true. They say that there is ghost and it can be seen in the fourth floor library during this time of the year.”
“This time of the year?” Merly asked the question with a hint of doubt in her voice.
“Yes, some say that they have seen the ghost around this time. Now, I haven’t seen it and don’t want to anytime
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