Chapter 68

Lo

The old church building looms high above me. I can’t wait to get inside. The stained glass is already gleaming from the afternoon sun and I can practically picture the glow inside the stone walls.

I let myself in and approached the circulation desk. Like usual, nobody seems to be here. I ring the bell on the counter, its soft tinkling sound echoing throughout the main lobby area. “Marge?” I call tentatively. “Are you here?”

I hear a small cough of exclamation, and a few moments later, Marge emerges. I’ve only been gone a few weeks, but to my dismay she seems older somehow. She walks with a cane, more hunched over than before; whether from aches or the physical loss of Alby, I don’t know. But she gets to the desk and beams at me, the lines in her face creasing deeply as she does so.

“Luna Select!” She says warmly, her eyes bulging like a bug behind her thick lenses. She adjusts her glasses.

“Hello Marge,” I say, “but please. We don’t need to bother with that. Please call me Lo.”

“Le