Jeannette's Story - An Insane, Nonsensical Night of Horrors

Jeannette binds the shallow cut at the counter with clean gauze. A faint red crescent remains beneath the wrap as the elderly customer browses the LOCAL HISTORY aisle.

Minutes pass in the ordinary hush. The elderly man removes a broad, dust-coated volume, studies its spine, and carries it carefully toward the desk.

He places the book across the counter. As its cover crosses the permanent ink stain, the mark darkens, sending hair-thin lines beneath the public shelves like roots.

The lines fade beneath the shelves, though their branching pattern remains faintly visible. The elderly customer waits with patient courtesy while Jeannette finishes the ordinary transaction.

Jeannette draws the burial volume across the counter and sets it beside the register. The elderly man opens his leather satchel, producing exact coins wrapped in a faded handkerchief.

The coins strike the counter one by one. As Jeannette counts them, the gauze around her palm darkens, and one drop slips onto the receipt instead of the ledger.

Jeannette completes the sale and passes him the receipt. The man tucks the book beneath his arm, paid for and firmly in his possession, while the library’s pressure withdraws from the aisle.

He leaves the coins behind and exits beneath the bell. On the receipt, the blood drop has dried into a dark thumbprint, permanently marking the completed transaction.