Free Books of the Dead by Morris Fenris Page B

second then added “And I am tired.”
    Natalie looked sympathetic this time and laid a hand on Merly’s shoulders.
    “What do you want me to do?” Natalie asked.
    Merly shook her head and felt a bit dejected, “Can you find where Nora is?” looking at Natalie desperately.
    Natalie was not Merly’s friend, Merly thought. She didn’t even know her before this meeting and now she was ready to help her?
    “What about your next door roommates? Do they know anything about this?”
    “It is all so confusing, I tried talking to Zoë and Kelly, but they were not much help. I heard that Camille, who is Zoë’s friend, is interested in the evocation of spirit and souls, but she is not the one who sent me those books, and yesterday someone sent me a new batch of books again,’’ Merly said.
    “A lot is going on with you lately,” Natalie said softly.
    Merly decided that it was in fact true. Within a week, her life took turns beyond her imagination. She tried to solve the case of the missing books, but problems kept clogging the outcome and seeking help from Natalie on this situation seemed to be her last resort.
    “I’ll see what I can do. Meet me at the library around 12:00 noon tomorrow, and it would be better if you didn’t say anything about this to anyone. The walls have ears,” she said and then left.
    Merly stood there and multiple things crossed her mind. She hoped that putting her trust in Natalie wouldn’t cost her anything. With that thought, she walked to her class and waited for Mr. Summers to arrive. There was nothing unusual about his appearance. He was his usual calm self, spoke softly, addressed his students when necessary, and there was silence except for his voice and the occasional scratching of the marker on the board.
    Merly didn’t understand what to make of it. She was helpless and she knew it. She wondered what information Natalie could gather in a day or why she agreed to help her, but she came to no conclusion. Mr. Summers continued with his lecture, but nothing penetrated Merly’s mind. She continued looking at him blankly and then she heard someone calling her name, once, twice, three times, and then a fourth time. Merly didn’t respond until someone shook her from behind. “Merly, Mr. Summers is calling out your name. Respond,” her classmate said.
    “Merly, you seem to be distracted a lot lately. Mind sharing with us your troubles?” Mr. Summers asked.
    Merly stood up from her seat and looked him in the eye and he reminded her of someone, someone she has seen. Her mind raced back and forth to remember who he exactly looked like and in doing so, forgot the question she was asked in the first place.
    “You are lost again,” Mr. Summers intervened.
    Merly saw the look on the faces of her classmates, and for a fleeting second, wished that she could read their minds. What are they thinking? She soon remembered that she was asked a question, Merly fumbled for quite a bit not knowing what to say. She was indeed unmindful and Mr. Summers has noticed that over the week.
    “It’s nothing, Mr. Summers,” she said in an almost inaudible tone.
    “Don’t be shy. You can share it with us,” Mr. Summers insisted.
    It was impossible for Merly to share the information with anyone. She kept quiet as the class looked at her, no one said anything for a whole minute.
    “I am a little unwell,” she finally said.
    “Do you want to take a break?” he asked and Merly noticed a tinge of worry in his eyes.
    Merly considered if she should, but that would mean she would have to stay away from her classes and that would stop her from knowing what she was looking for, and she already promised to meet Natalie.
    “No,” she said.
    I will pay attention,” Merly apologized a little and took her seat.
    Jeremy tapped her from behind. “What is wrong?” he asked.
    “Nothing, I am just a little tired,” she said casually.
    “Where is Nora? I haven’t seen her for quite some time, is she all