Ralph crept into the dark library. It was nighttime and his
parents were fast asleep. The boy was curious as to that stack of paper, sitting innocently on top of the book tower near the arm chair. Carrying
a three forked candelabra the boy weaved his way through the shelves. He put the light down on the table near the leather chair and grabbed as much parchment as he could in both
fists. The manuscript was moderately sized and crinkly with dryness. Scooting himself securely onto the chair, Ralph began to read. The parchment was musty smelling and the handwriting upon it looked odd, like his mother had tried disguising her own hand. Ralph wondered why she would do such a thing. He liked her scrawly hand as it was.
“You know, young sir, you’re breaking curfew.” A voice said
near to the boy’s ears. He jumped about a foot. Gripping the arm of the chair he called out,
“Who’s there?”
“Just me, young master.” Ralph cast his gaze around the
room, looking for his father or someone he could match the voice to. As the
conversation went on however the boy realized it was not his dad.
“Who are you if you’re not one of my family?”
“I am part of your family.” The voice said, sounding
desperate and a bit crestfallen.
“You are? I’ve never met you before. Or seen you.”
“Do you have to? Family is family.” Now the voice was
disdainful.
“Yes but if I’ve never spoken to you before now, then how
could we possibly be so closely related?”
“Tsk-tsk…” The voice reprimanded. “You ought to know
appearances make no difference, Ralph son of Eric.”
“What’s my dad have to do with it? Unless he’s your dad too.”
“He is not my dad. He is my master.”
There was a silence.
“Are you a beast too?” Ralph said into the darkness with as
much innocence as he could muster.
“No. I am harmless really. Well, unless you aggravate me.”
“Oh!”
“Don’t worry you haven’t upset me as of yet, young master!”
“Please just tell me who you are… besides my family?”
“I am also you’re light.”
“My light?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean? Show me what you mean!”
Silence blanketed the room once more. It was a dismissive
silence, the kind that leaves you with a souring feeling in the back of your
mind. Ralph pushed with his hands to
shunt himself deeper into the protection of the leather arms of the chair. The three pronged
candelabra flickered in the corner of his eye. Ralph carefully picked up the
manuscript and resumed his reading…
