The day in the office had been tiring and she was hanging out for five o’clock.
When the time came she packed up quickly and caught the earlier bus. On the way home she thought about the story she was reading. It was definitely what you’d call a cliff-hanger, but she was determined to have an early night. No television, she decided. She would read another chapter, then go to bed. She had tea and cleared away quickly. She made herself comfortable and went back to reading her book. When she opened the place at the bookmarker she had a job reading the print. The type face seemed to be faint. Was it her eyesight, did she need glasses? Just tired, she thought. She moved around on the couch so that the book was in the light. That was an improvement and she read for a while before going to bed.
In the morning she was tempted to take the book in with her, but she decided against it. She’d never been comfortable with that, so she left it. It would be something to look forward to when she got home. It was an exciting story, full of surprises, some of them quite disturbing, but she couldn’t wait to see how it ends. That evening she watched TV for a bit, then went to bed with the book. She decided she’d read two chapters. When she opened the book at her place, it happened again! The print was pale grey. Although her bedside light was strong, she could hardly read the words. She had no idea what made her do it, but in her frustration she shook the book. To her amazement the print on the page turned black!
This went on over the next few days; turn the page, shake the book, read some more, turn the page… it was disconcerting to say the least, but the story was really good, so she persisted until it was finally finished. She had decided she wasn’t going to mention the problem she’d had with the book. Would anybody believe her? On the evening she returned it to the library the woman at the counter said what a great story it was with all its twists and turns. She had agreed, without saying any more.
As she left the library she wasn’t completely comfortable with the woman’s comment that the book had shaken her up!