The Great Breakfast Taco Hunt

Excerpt from "The Great Breakfast Taco Hunt"

The caretaker slid a very large key into the door’s lock and turned it counter-clockwise. Joseph heard two “thumps” as the tumblers fell and watched the old man push the heavy door inward.

The room that held the library seemed to be even darker than the hallway where they stood. Joseph leaned slightly to his left to try to see around the caretaker and into the room. He thought he heard something scurry across the floor as caretaker pushed the door completely open. Joseph’s breath caught and he took a small step backwards when he heard the sound again.

Luke turned towards the boy, “Don’t be afraid, that is just little mice with big echoes.”

“It sounded pretty loud for mice.” Joseph replied.

Luke smiled, his eyes glittering under the candlelight. “This old room is like a big old cavern, it echoes all the sounds it keeps. And it keeps them all.”

Joseph looked pass the caretaker and into the library. Darkness was all his eyes could see. He waited to hear the sound again. When it did not come, the old man gestured for Joseph to wait and then turned and entered the dark room.

A full minute passed before a light came on, cutting through the darkness.

Luke was standing in the center of the large room, “Come on in Joseph. It is time for you to meet the Library.”

Joseph thought it was a strange to introduce a room as if it was a person, but it managed to get his thoughts away from the strange noises, so he slowly entered the room.

Luke was standing under the only light there was in the room. The fixture was mounted below a ceiling fan. The blades of the fan, spanning more than twelve feet, turned slowly, casting their shadows onto the high ceiling. Joseph looked up and saw the shadows dancing in a circle, turning the opposite way of the blades. Joseph knew this was impossible; it must be some kind of optical illusion.

Luke followed the boy’s gaze upward, “I never have figured that one out.” He said.

“That one? What do you mean?” Joseph asked.

“The Library has many enigmas…riddles. Some can be solved, if you scratch your head long enough. Others stubbornly wear the name mystery.” Luke paused, turning he made a complete circle, “I gave up on most of those, ‘Even the mystery that has been hid from ages and from generations.’ to quote one of my favorite authors.” He mused.