Free NOLA by Alexie Aaron

down, watching the small tower being built.
     
    “I get the feeling there is more than one entity here.  The books are moving away from the shelf at the same time others are being stacked,” Cid observed.
     
    Audrey slid the digital recorder to Cid.  He moved it to a place between himself and the entities.
    “Hello, my name is Cid.  We’re here at the request of…”
    “Cid, you are talking to children,” Ted chimed in.
    He started again.  “Hi, I’m Cid. Can I play too?”
    The tower shuddered a moment.  Cid was afraid it was going to fall.
    “I’m taller than you. I can help you build it taller,” he said.
    A book moved from the stack into Cid’s hands.
     
    “I’d say that was a yes,” Mike observed.
     
    “What does it feel like?  The book I mean,” Ted hissed.
    Everyone smiled as they could hear Brian oohing in the background.
     
    It’s kind of cold, but no static like I would have guessed,” Cid said as he laid the book carefully on the stack.
    The next book was passed to him, and he spied the title and couldn’t help asking, “Have you read Green Eggs and...”
    “HAM!” shouted two distinct voices .
    The word echoed throughout the library.  Ted checked the return desk feed, and the ghost there hadn’t stopped.  This confirmed that it was indeed an echo.
    Cid opened the book and read, “Do you like green eggs and…”
    “HAM!”
    The tower building had stopped, and Cid felt two distinct rushes of air move towards him.  He swallowed hard but continued to read.  Each time the word ham came up, he let the young readers say it.
     
    Burt continued filming, advancing into the room.  Audrey moved quietly and sat down across from Cid.  Mike felt there were enough people in the room, so he hung back taking readings as the story was read.
    “I do like green eggs and…”
    “HAM!”
    “I do like them…”
    “ SAM I AM!”
    The tower was demolished in the burst of energy.  Audrey started to pick up one of the books to replace it when she felt a cold hand on hers.
    “Audrey, let them pick up after themselves,” Ted urged.
    “I felt a hand.  The hand is little and so cold,” Audrey said sadly.
     
    Burt motioned for her to move away slowly and out of the room.  He followed her, leaving Cid to pick up with the entities.  He motioned for Audrey to come closer and whispered, “They see Cid as a kid and you as his mother.”
    “Oh,” Audrey said amazed.  “These aren’t the source of the thrown books,” she said confidently.  “Someone taught them to pick up after themselves, someone that loved them.” A tear rolled down her face.
    Burt moved to catch it but remembered that Audrey had a boyfriend and, instead, handed her a Kleenex.
    She mouthed a thank you and continued to cry silently as the entities cleaned up the reading room.
     
    ~
     
    Amadour Hermes strutted out of the Funky Pirate feeling marvelous, or as marvelous as a dead person could imagine feeling.  He bent down and pulled up his red python boots, a bad habit of his.  A habit that had gotten him killed when he did it in front of a beer truck at the intersection of Royal and Canal Street.  He would describe the vehicle to the other drifters as a beer truck. He wouldn’t, however, tell them it had been a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer truck.  Coincidently, that was the beer that kept Amadour’s father drunk 24/7 until his death by way of a diseased liver.  Two generations of Hermes killed by PBR.
    The street was full of tourists, mostly frat boys, but ladies, too, moved around in little packs.  Amadour followed the boys. They were young and perhaps had within them a few closeted gays.  Amadour didn’t come out himself until he was forty, so he understood their caution.  The boys weaved their way towards the expensive hotels.  Not feeling like trying to cross Canal Street this evening, Amadour reversed his tracks and headed towards Bourbon Pub and Parade.  He was in the mood to dance the night away.
    He