#Story Relay Event
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Inside the school Library I had always seen this book and wondered what the name meant. Oh the name? "Le Livre" Weird isn't it? I thought so too. But what i found more eerie and exciting was it's meaning, My Book. The name made it look as if the one looking at it or holding it was it's owner. But was the book written in French language too just like it's name?
I always wanted to borrow it, but it was in the forbidden part of our school library. That part usually kept rare books, or books which weren't rare but out of print now. My friends and I always wondered what that book had in it to be there. We all had searched for this book online, but there were no search results available. My friends soon got bored of it's mystery and forgot about it. But i couldn't. Everytime i went to the library, i felt as if the book pulled me towards it. Finally one day curiosity got the best of me and I stole it without anyone noticing.
Reaching home I quickly left my bag pack in the couch and took the book inside my room. It had an almost torn up look, but surprisingly the book didn't tear apart yet. Examining it carefully I didn't find anything out of the ordinary, it was a plain book. The pages didn't look like the ones which we usually find in a book. The pages, instead of turning yellow by time had a red tint to it. Even without looking at the book anyone could tell that this book was not touched for many years. I turned the book over to look at the book preview or any kind of publishers name or the author's name.
Weird again. There were none. Shrugging it off not caring about it I turned over the first page. There was a beautiful flower drawn on it. Even after the pages had turned into a different colour, i could say that the flower was white. How? I don't know.
Chrysanthème. That was what written below the flower. Maybe it's name? I found the flower oddly familiar, but couldn't guess which one it actually was. It looked really pretty, so pretty that i wanted to own one myself. I looked at my left arm and wished I could engrave the flower in it.
The next day after school, even before knowing I found myself paying the tattoo artist after the flower was engraved in my arm. It pained. But the pain felt nice. I went back home only to see my mother passing a questioned gaze at my hand which was wrapped in bandage due to the new tattoo. I explained what had happened and thought she threw a fit at me for not telling it to her before she finally let me go to my room looking at how pale i had become from the pain.
The following morning, I looked at the book in my table which i still didn't start reading. I picked it up and took it school. During the classes I turned over to the second page and saw a column there. It had many names written in it, each in a different handwriting. Might have been the previous people who could borrow the book instead of stealing it. I too picked up my pen from the case and wrote my name. I noticed a small writing saying, Do Not Scratch it off. Then noticed the names written, all of them were messed up with the pens ink. No one wants to follow the rules huh? Then why should I? Drawing a line through my name I finally turned over the page and saw the first chapter.
Looking at how thick the book was, I turned over till the last page to see the number, but there was none. Most surprisingly the last page of the book was empty. I turned one more page back and saw that there were writings in it. Oh so that was the last page. I never read the last page first, curiosity kills the car it says. So I turned over but found another odd thing. The pages at the back were white, whiter than any white color. But the pages at front had red tint in them. Were they made of different materials? I put my fingers on the red tinted pages and then on the white ones but couldn't find any difference. I turned over to another white page quickly which left a papercut on my fingers and it started bleeding lightly. As a drop fell on the book on top of a line i tried removing it, but it dried up in a second. I looked at my finger and wiped off the rest blood in my handkerchief when the bell for recess rang. Looks like yet again I'll have to postpone reading the book.
It had been three days since i stole the book and today was finally weekend with no school. I had finished all my pending works so that I could have time to read this "mysterious" book. Laying on my bed with a cup of coffee and the book i started reading.
The story was of a girl or rather a princess, who was pampered by her family in everything except for the fact that they always restricted to go out of her house. It spoke about her loneliness and sadness. The writing felt so real as if I could see the girl and feel her pain. Her parents forced her to be the perfect princess. I was already half way through the book when something struck on my mind. None of the characters there had a name. Neither the girl, nor her parents and nor the other characters mentioned in it. But I still could understand which line referred to which character and who spoke which statement in the book.
I praised the writer in my mind for it. Because each of the characters had a distinct way of speaking and behaving, which made us readers understand each character personally even without their names. Resuming back to reading I finally reached the page where I got the papercut. I read throughly and was excited to read when I understood it was the father who was calling the princess. Just when i though I'd find out her name, I saw that my blood from my finger had fell on top of the name. Frustration was what I felt because the blood won't go from there. Dejectedly I started reading yet once again.
Going through the story was a rollercoaster of emotions, but the emotion was either sadness or loneliness. Throughout the whole book I only found out how lonely a person can be and how sad that might be for the person. My heart ached for the princess. I wish I was there beside her to make her feel how having a friend feels like. I looked at the time, it had become afternoon to night and was time for dinner. By now I was at the last page. I didn't know how it would end. But I braced the sadness and started reading. The ending was all about how she stood near her house gate looking at the children in the park opposite to her play with their friends while she felt her heart burn and break into pieces. Closing off the book I found myself unusually angry. How couldn't the kids in the park see her? Not even once in so many years? The girl stood there everyday in the evening watch them play! They weren't blind were they? Why couldn't they come near the house and ask her for once if she wanted to play? Why didn't they notice her?
After dinner I came back to my room and turned over to the last page and reread it. Sadness creeped up my neck. I turned over to the last white page and noticed few faint line written. I looked at the back cover to see that there was a faint picture drawn in it, the girl stood there, near the mansions gate, smiling at me as if she was real and could see me. I threw away the book immediately as my heart beat faster and faster.
Next Day I immediately kept back the book in it's original place and never retouched it.
Three days had passed and by now I had removed the bandage from my hand. Everytime i looked at the flower I felt guilty and scared, extremely scared. When the bell for recess rang i quickly gathered my books and ignored my friends call while making my way up to the roof. While climbing up the stairs in haste i injured my left arm and found blood coming out from the injured area. The blood covered the flower making it look blood red.
After some time, I stood near the edge of the school roof, I didn't understand why I felt guilty. From the day i finished reading the book, I found myself dreaming of the girl in in picture. But unlike the book, she wasn't smiling there. She looked sad, so sad. She wanted a friend, only one. Why couldn't her parents do that much for her? I didn't know. But even before I could think anymore I fell. I fell from the roof. And all i could say was "I'm coming." Closing my eyes I thought of the faint line i read in the book.
'Aren't you going to accompany me Eve?'
Eve, that was me. So she was calling me? Waiting for me all along? Then how can I let her be alone. I should accompany her, shouldn't I?
The school was closed for a week after that incident. But soon it resumed back after it was detected that the student who jumped off the school roof was suffering from depression. Eve's friends we're the ones who were affected the most.
A month later
They all went back to the library where the group of friends would spend the most of the time. And this time it was another friend of Eve who noticed the book. "Hey, doesn't that book look mysterious?"
The girl asked the same group of friends where Eve once belonged. "But why is it kept in the forbidden area?"
The same cycle repeated, the girl stole the book. But why didn't she remember that they had already been curious about it? That they had lost intrest in it?
The book now lay in her backpack while the girl's picture in it's back cover changed her face. Eve smiled while standing at the gate. She was waiting for her friend to come. Her only friend. The blood washed away from the page and the name of the Princess changed. The father still called her with the new name, "Princess Eve!"
