Claire Schomann

Little Black Book

Thick clouds of ashes rose with each sudden movement, flying with the raging winds. Every step fuelled my curiosity and led my eyes across the embers. Single bricks lay scattered along with torn pages and cracked glass. I glanced around, always keeping my head down, with my arms folded across my chest. A turbulent wind threw the embers into the sky, revealing a simple black cover. Carefully, I picked up the black book and brushed off the remaining ash. I peeled open the cover before feasting my eyes on the cream pages. Some had been folded or ripped but many had stains of coloured ink or indents of written words. Immediately, I stumbled across a disturbing question. Did this particular book belong purely to the library that once stood here, or was it hidden for another reason? I paced around the area looking for any remaining clues that could hint to what this book was really for. I gripped the book tightly in my right hand and walked briskly towards home.