Entering the library was a nostalgic feeling, no matter how often I came here. The smell of fresh and old book pages fills the entire building. Such a wonderful smell, if I do say so myself. Mr. Connor welcomes me in with a bright smile. I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite customer.

“Livy! How nice to see you again so soon! I assume you've come to rent out some new books, yes?”

“You know me too well... Say, are there any new arrivals? Ive read every book in this place around three times now.”

“Sorry livy. We haven't had anything new in a while. You know how expensive books are, and I don't make enough money to buy new books frequently enough for you. I swear you can finish a book a day by now.”

“Thats ok! I’ll just reread a series.”

“I’ll let you pick out as many books as you want today, free of charge, since it is your birthday!”

"Thanks, Mr. Connor; I'm glad you actually remembered.”

“Of course I did! Now you go pick what you want. If you have any questions, you know to ask me.”

I nod and head to the back of the store. I know exactly what series I’ll be checking out. When I get to the shelf, I start looking for the books.

“Huh? Where could it be?”

I run my finger along the spines of the books, trying to find the right ones.

“I guess they're all checked out already... That's a first.”

My finger stops moving when I feel a book's spine that's more rough and leathery than smooth.

“Huh? Whats this? It doesn't have a title.”

I slide the book out from in between the rest of the books and take a good look at the cover. It's blank; there's no title and no author. It also looks like the book is made from real leather, though it's really tattered and soiled to know for sure. The book looks old. The weirdest part is that I have never seen this book here before. And I have seen and read every book in this library. Did Mr. Connor lie about there not being any new arrivals? No, why would he do that? There's no reason for him to lie about something like this. It's a new book, so I'll take this one with me. You never know; it could be some dead man's journal! Now I would love to read something like that! I have no time to look at it right now, though. I have to get home before mom or any of the other kids see me walk in through the front door.

I head up to the checkout counter, where Mr. Connor is filling out some papers. I'm not sure about what, but it's not my business, so I'll stay out of it.

"Hey, Mr. Connor! I just wanted to let you know this is the book I'm checking out!

I hold up the withered and old book, and Mr. Connor looks up. As he does, his face falls into a confused look.

“Where exactly did you get that? I don't remember that book being here, especially because it has no title or author.”

“So this isn't some new book that arrived and you forgot about?”

“Livy, I told you already that there were no new arrivals today. I wouldn't lie about that.”

“Oh. Well, maybe it's some journal that someone's dead grandfather had before he died, and they didn't want it, so they snuck it onto one of the shelves.”

“That is oddly specific. Anyway, if it was, they should have just told me, and I would have put it up anyway. Anyway, I'm not sure what that book is or where it came from, but I don't want it. It's giving off some weird aura that I don't want in my library. If you really want it, then you can keep the book.”

“Really!? You’d let me keep it?”

“Yes, I'll allow you to keep it. Think of it as a birthday gift from me to you.”

“Haha! Thank you so much, Mr. Connor. You're the best!”

I take the book and leave with it. I continue to examine the cover and the back of the book as I walk back to the orphanage. I quietly sneak in past the others as they finish setting up the decorations, run up the stairs, jump into my room, and close the door behind me as carefully and quietly as possible. I plop on my bed and get ready to open the new book until I'm interrupted by my mom telling me that I need to come down the stairs since everything is done.

“Alright, I'm coming!”

I set the book down and followed my mom out. I give one last glance at the book as it sits on my bed. I really wanted to read that now. I guess the party comes first.

“Wait for me!”

I follow my mom down the stairs and take a good look at the decorations. How pretty. They really did this all for me. Now I can't wait to party! I mean, there's so much food! This is the greatest birthday I think I've had so far.

“I'm here now, so let's party!”

The party ended up lasting the rest of the day. I helped take down all of the decorations. There were many ribbons and party streamers everywhere. The decorations my mom bought had to have cost a ton! The entire downstairs of the orphanage was covered with birthday decorations. The question is, how long was my mom saving up money for? It had to have been years and years because there was no way she could save up enough for all of this. She even got me a custom birthday cake!

It took around an hour and a half to get all the decorations put away. As soon as I was done, I ran up to my room. I must read the book I got! I bust through my door and don't even bother to close it. I leap over to my bed, grab the blanket, and hold it up to the ceiling as I roll over onto my back. I gaze at the blank cover.

“I wonder what this book holds. Secrets of the past? Undiscovered history? A person's thoughts and feelings they told no one about!?”

“Ahem.”

I sit up and set the book on my lap.

“Oh, hey, Mom.”

My mom looks at the book, and her eyes go wide.

“Where in the world did you get that!?”

I look at the blank cover of the book. 

“I found it at the library. Mr. Connor didn’t know where it came from, so he said I could keep it.”

“Have you read it yet?”

My mom’s words were getting antsy.

“Is something wrong? Why do you care whether I’ve read it or not?”

“Just tell me if you've read it or not!”

I jumped back slightly as my mom raised her voice. She never yells at me. Not wanting to anger her any more, I answer her with no. She asks me to give her the book, though the question sounded more like a demand.

“Why do I have to give the book to you? This is a gift!”

“Just give me the book, Livy!”

I flinch at the aggression in her voice.

“Can’t I just read a little? This is the first new book I've gotten in months!”

My mom snatched the book from my hands. Her glare was so intense that it tore right through me.

“I told you no. Listen to me for once in your life, and do not read this!”

I stare at her in disbelief. Mom has never yelled at me, and now, all of a sudden, she is yelling at me like I’ve done some unspeakable crime!

“Mom, please! Can’t I just—”

My mom cuts me off before I can even finish speaking.

“No means no, Livy! Now go to bed. I want to see you awake tomorrow to help me with chores. Got it?”

“Yes, Mom.”

The lights flicker off as she leaves. The door closes silently, probably because Isaac and Alec have already gone to bed and she doesn't want them to wake up. I get up from my bed and change into the nice cotton pajamas I got as a gift from Caroline. I lay on my sheets and stay there, looking at the ceiling. For some reason tonight, my bed feels like a giant brick, and my bed sheets feel like sandpaper. Even looking at the ceiling feels more appealing than sleeping right now. What was up with mom? Why was she acting so weird after seeing that book? Maybe it was hers and she lost it, so the person who found the book just put it in the library? It looks a little old to be my mom’s, though. What is so special about that book that my mom, out of all people, gets mad at me?