Mr. Linden's Library

Mary walked gleefully down the street. She always loved going to the town library.  It was her favorite place to go to as a child, and now as a 32 year-old she still loved it.
    Many people thought it was silly.  Mary was smart enough without her books, but to Mary, she could never get enough of them.  Mr. Linden was one of the few people that agreed with Mary, he had loved books almost as much as she did and believed that no one could ever read too many books in their lifetime, for this reason they were friends.  
    As Mary opened the door she heard the familiar sound of the tinkling chime and smiled.  She walked into the small building to be greeted by non-other than Mr. Linden, the librarian.  On his face was a kind, warm smile that reached his soft, hazel eyes.  If only she know what was hidden behind that smile…
    Mary said hello and immediately went to the fiction section of the library.  She looked up and down the meager selection lovingly, as she remembered each title and the story behind it.  She remembered reading almost all of the wondrous adventures, but there was one that Mr. Linden would never let her borrow.  She decided to try her luck again, as it was the only fiction book she had not read yet.
    Mary walked up to the counter slowly, anticipating being turned down for the thick book.  Mr. Linden's smile faltered when he saw the book the blond-haired woman was holding.  Mary noticed the sudden change in the 33 year-old man's demeanor and hesitated.  She hoped he wouldn't be mad, as he was a good friend.
    "May I take this off your hands for a while?" she cautiously asked.
    He gave her a serious look before saying "If you can promise me one thing".  
    "Yes, of course! Anything!" Mary agreed happily.  
    "You must be very careful.  If anything strange happens, I want you to bring the book back immediately, OK?" he said as he looked into her blue eyes.
    "I promise!" the woman said like a giddy child.  Yes!  He finally let her take the book!
    They said their goodbyes, and just before Mary walked out the door, Mr. Linden called to her.
    "Hey Mary!  Would you like to get coffee with me at the café tomorrow morning at a quarter after seven?" he asked smiling.
    "I would love to!" Mary responded with glee walking out the door.
    Mr. Linden smiled as the Arian woman walked out the wooden door. His hazel eyes glittering with happiness.  He had a crush on Mary for as long as he had known the kind woman.  Her soft blue gaze and warm smile had him enchanted as soon as he laid eyes on her.
    As for Mary, she was excited too.  As she walked down the busy street she couldn't help but think about the intelligent man she saw almost every day.  She had wanted to go on a date with the charming man for a long time, but didn't have the courage to ask him herself.
    Just as Mary started to near her house, she was shoulder clipped by a very tall mean looking man.  The man glared at her and made a snide comment about her being a nerd.  Mary continued down the street, but looked back as she heard a commotion.  The man had a group of others that looked similar to him crowding around him.  All of them looking at her with anger in their eyes.  Her eyes widened, fear making them glisten in the late afternoon sun.
    Mary ran.  She ran as fast as she could to her door.  She had similar things happen to her before; someone trips or cuts her off, then the insults start.  They've called her everything she thought was possible, and more.  
    She sighed heavily as she closed the door to her modest house and locked it.  Mary then proceeded to walk into her small kitchen, where she looked at the microwave clock to check the time.  Seeing that it was seven thirty-three, the blond decided to make dinner.  Looking in her freezer and fridge, she decided that tonight she was having spaghetti with meatballs and Ragu tomato sauce.  
    She set the water to boil, and started heating up the sauce and meatballs.  While waiting she sat at the small granite counter, reached for the remote, and turned on the news.  Seeing nothing of note there, she checked and saw that the water was boiling and put the noodles in.  During the time it took for the noodles to cook, she checked the channels on her TV for something to watch.  She found 'Wheel of Fortune'.  Her noodles were done, so she mixed them with the sauce and meatballs and started to eat.  She soon found herself guessing at the answers, even after she had finished eating and washed her dishes.  She also found that she got the answers faster than the contestants, which made her smile.
    After a couple of hours of watching 'Wheel of Fortune' (as it had been a marathon) she decided it was time for bed.  Mary grabbed the un-read book and walked up her stairs and into her bathroom.  A few minutes later and she walked out in her pajamas with her hair combed and her teeth brushed.  The blond then walked over to her bedroom with the book in hand.
    She crawled under the covers and go to reading the book.  The tale was like nothing she had ever read before!  The story was full of deceit, lies, and romance, anything that could make the already brilliant tale even better!  It wasn't long until she reached the middle of the book.  Just as she finished turning the page once more, a smallish green sprout came from the middle of the book.  Curious, she touched it, and as soon as she did it exploded open, releasing a cloud of pollen.
    Sleepy all of a sudden, Mary laid the book down in front of her and fell asleep.  She was so sleepy, she even forgot to close the book….
    Mr. Linden walked down the street, checking his watch as he did.  He would never forgive himself if he was late.  He arrived about five minutes early, so he got a cup of decaf and waited…
    Soon the time was eight o'clock.  Mr. Linden was worried about Mary, for she had never been known to be late.  Mr. Linden decided to walk to her house and see if she was alright.  As he was walking down First Avenue, Mr. Linden thought about the book and how that could have been the reason for Mary's lateness.  The thought made him walk faster until he reached her house. At first, he just knocked on the door and waited, then he fished out the key he had been given about a year ago to check on her plants while she went out of town.  She had told him to keep the key for her future trips as she trusted him as a good friend.  He unlocked the door and went in.  
    Once inside, Mr. Linden took off his shoes and called for Mary.  After not receiving an answer, he chose to look around.  First, in the kitchen, then he slowly worked his way to the stairs then up the stairs.  When he finally found Mary, she looked to be asleep, then he saw the book.  He had warned her about the book.  Now it was too late….
    Or was it?  Mr. Linden certainly hoped not as he saw the plant that was growing out of the book, he had been faced with this once before and failed, he would not fail Mary.
    From his previous experience, he know better than to try and feed the plant to Mary, as it would kill her.  So, he decided he would just burn the plant in an attempt to destroy it.  He walked over to Mary's fireplace and started a decent sized fire.  He then ripped the plant off the book and threw it into the flames!  He then hurried to Mary.  She was awake!
    After Mary was told what had happened, she hugged him tightly and thanked him.