The book was nothing extraordinary at first glance. Some romance novel that had just enough action to keep the people interested. But this particular book was not all it seemed to be. It had a dark history, and an even darker secret hidden in its bindings. It sat among the innocent books waiting for an unsuspecting costumer to come by and pluck it off the shelf. And when they opened it to read late at night it would commit the unthinkable deed.
On the day of June 15 in the year of 1996 a young woman combed through the many isles of books ready to start her summer reading. She ran her hand over the smooth covers and read the titles of each and every book. She was becoming impatient, she was ready to crack open a book and consume the knowledge that resided inside, but all of the book, lining the walls were nothing but appetizers. She had almost given up on her endeavor when she passed the book and stopped. Something about it pulled her in and she slid it slowly from its resting place.
The man at the counter saw her walking up with her wallet in hand. He knew she would want to pay right away, for he had seen her type before, she was ready to go home as soon as possible and start reading. When she reached the counter it seemed as if she did not want to set the book down. After a minute she finally set the book down. He then noticed which book it was. He became fearful, for he knew this books history. He quickly scanned it, took her money, and handed the book back. As he had suspected she quickly walked from the store. The man walked over to the door and turned the open sign over.
The girl finally had her book. She knew she would never put it down. There was just something about it; she loved it. She quickly walked from the store to her car and made her way home. It was starting to get dark as she pulled into the driveway. The lights in her living room were on which indicated that her parents were not only home but awake. She did not want to talk to her parents; she wanted to go straight to her room. She walked through the door and to her room without even a “hi”. When she got into her room she quickly locked the door as not to be disturbed.
The book had been waiting a long time for this. It had been sitting on that old man’s god forsaken shelf collecting dust for over a year and it was hungry, so very hungry. The girl had been reading for hours and finally fell asleep. Vines began to creep from the bindings and wrap slowly around the girl, engulfing her. When the vines receded the girl was gone, left only was the innocent looking book that was hungry no more.