Untitled

Untitled by Sean McCallum, age 11

The tourist walked towards the Library of Alexandria. Inside, he looked around at all there was to see. Then he had an idea. He could take something valuable, then sell it for a profit. The only thing getting in his way were the guards and the other people. So he went to a nearby building, then waited until the museum was about to close. He went inside and hid. Once all the janitors left, he made his way to something he had found on his trip inside. He was very careful to not get spotted by any of the guards. He laid his eyes on it. It was some kind of figurine of a snake hidden away in one of the corners. The moment he put his hands on it, he felt a dry wind brush against him, which was odd because he was in a building. He dismissed it quickly, concentrating on leaving before he got caught. Even though it was his first time doing such a dishonest thing, he felt he was doing fine until he saw the doors were sealed shut. When he tried to pry them open, he realized that the handles were gone. He looked around the great room for another exit. Then he found it: a window. As he ran over to the window, he felt dizzy. He grabbed the low rim of the window and felt a cold breath on his neck. He whirled around, but nothing was there. In a panic, he grabbed at the window. It was solid sandstone, with no trace of the window that was there. Now out of options, he would have to try to burn his way out. He looked around and found a torch on a wall close to him. As he reached for it, time seemed to slow. He was confused, but so close to the torch. When his fingers almost brushed the edge of the wooden torch, it flickered out. He tried another torch. Then another torch, then two more, all with the same result. He

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looked around and thought Come on, there has to be a way out. He grabbed at a chair and lunged towards another torch. This time he got it. He could be free! He walked over towards the grand entrance. He held the torch up to the wooden doors, but they wouldn’t light. He held it there for several seconds. He looked around and saw a figure standing behind a bookshelf, watching him. The moment it noticed him noticing it, it vanished, leaving a small piece of papyrus on the ground. He walked over to the papyrus sheet and read it: You may steal a scroll to entertain, a torch to light your homes, a chair to sit down after a long day in the crop fields, or build structures for your god-king, but you will never attempt to steal me. As he finished reading the final word, all of the torches went out. He looked around, thankful for the windows slightly illuminating the library, for this allowed him to see the figure slowly coming towards him. He bolted, running as fast as he could without any specific direction. He kept on running until he ran head-on into a wall. He whirled around and figured that if he did not know his next move, neither could the figure.

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