I was 36 when I started grad school. I was older because I had spent a lot of years in the military and also on starting a family. I got into a pretty good school and four years later I was writing my thesis. My area of concentration was U.S. History and in particular 19th century reform movements. This meant I spent a lot of time in the school archives as well as other archives and libraries. My advisor told me the more original source material I used the better. I was an excellent researcher so I was more than up to the challenge.
It was early May and I was in the bowels of Widener Library hunting down a book. I was going to go from there through the tunnel to the archives. It wasnt at all unusual to be the only one back in the stacks and quite honestly I preferred it that way. A couple of times while hunting the book I needed I thought I heard someone else in the stacks with me but didnt see them. I didnt think much of it but it did pique my curiosity a bit. I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was just a little after six which gave me another full three hours before the library closed. It wasnt unusual for students to get trapped in Widener as big as it is. Graduate students would get the customary "you know better" whereas undergrads were threatened with a loss of privileges. Being allowed in the stacks was unusual for undergrads so holding that over their heads provided a bit of leverage.
I was walking down one of the aisles towards the rear of the building when I saw a stunning young woman standing on a stool to reach a book on the top shelf. When first seeing her I guessed she couldnt have been more than 19 or 20. She had auburn hair that was tied up behind her head. She wore a long dress that pinched at her waist and fell to her ankles. Back then we werent far removed from the hippie years so I figured her to be a bit of a throwback although punk style was coming in so it was a bit unusual.
I continued walking down the aisle. I needed to ... Læs hele novellen
