"Care for a smoke?" Daniel asked him, proffering a cigarette.
"God, do I," Jack sighed, taking it in his hand.
"Thank you," he said. James, another journalist, had offered him a light.
He took a long drag, exhaling in relief. Like always, today was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the people were kind.
The graffiti problem had been exacerbated. For whatever reason, it had only started when they'd gotten back from their trip. It was probably a coincidence, but the chief editor was convinced these events were linked. Linked how, he didn't know.
So, Jack got his first big gig, what he'd been dreaming about for years. But this wasn't the heroic journey he'd been anticipating. It was graffiti.
But he'd take what he could get. It was the first thing he'd been authorized to investigate. He and Daniel were to take charge and collect evidence. Preferably, they'd find the culprit, but it was more likely they would encounter the aftermath.
It was much like the one they'd investigated earlier. They were warnings of some type, though neither of them managed to decipher them. They talked of bells, believing, and family.
Everyone seemed angry at the perpetrator, believing their actions caused undue psychological damage to Eddie and Mr. Danvers. When jack had encountered the graffiti a few days ago, he'd been fueled with righteous fury as well. But that seemed to have cooled down, for a reason he can't recall. His protectiveness of Mr. Danvers and Eddie had dropped dramatically. He still respected them, and viewed them as important citizens, of course. But he'd lost that worshipfulness he'd previously been infused with.
"So, who's the primary suspect?" Jack asked Daniel.
"Possibly Sky, but I'm not sure," Daniel brainstormed. "It could also be Dane. I know he had a reputation of trouble when we were younger."
That was true, Dane had been a bit of a hothead. He'd cooled down the past few years, turning to healthier outlets of energy
"Why Sky?" Jack said, curious to know the reasoning.
"Well…" Daniel hesitated. "They're... different, you know?"
"They smile differently than us. They talk and act oddly. They aren't a… contributing member of the town."
That made Jack angry. He'd known Sky all his life. Sure, they were acting strange now, but that didn't mean they were defacing property.
"I don't think it's them," Jack said. "I was with them one of the times graffiti was reported."
"Oh? Then who could it be?" Daniel wondered. He didn't need to know that Jack had just pulled a lie out of his ass.
"You want to check with library to see if we can figure out the meaning?"
"Sure, it can't hurt." Daniel replied.
They left the building and hopped into Daniel's car, driving out to library near the town square.
With it being midday, all the children were at school, making the library empty. They walked inside, unsure of where to start.
"I'll check the papers downstairs," Daniel told him. "You see if there are any books that talk about 'Memory' or 'The Father'."
Jack watched as Daniel walked down the stairs. He wasn't sure where to start. The criteria was far too vague. Perhaps the parenthood or psychology sections would help?
He wandered over to the parenthood section, flipping through books at random, finding nothing of importance.
It was the same with the psychology section. The topic of memory was interesting, but the phrasing lacked the ominous feeling that the graffiti had. He didn't know why, it was a feeling not based on fact, but he felt this was a dead end.
Then he thought of checking the kid's section. It couldn't hurt, maybe there would be something of importance. He had time to kill before Danile came back upstairs, so he might as well try to find something.
He browsed through thee picture books, when he noticed something strange. There was a book on a table that was slightly translucent. It was like it was fading out of reality, as if it was fighting against something.
He walked over to get a closer look. It was a strange book. It appeared to be written with crayon, as if it was made by a child. After a few seconds, the book suddenly solidified, becoming just as real as every other book.
He glanced at the title. It was called "When The World Was Small" and below the title had the name Enua written in the same chicken scratch.
Jack didn't know what to make of the situation. He hesitated. He should be feeling alarm, but all he felt was a dull curiosity. He couldn't quite recall why.
But even still, he picked up the book. He was about to open it up when he heard a voice call for him.
"I found something!" Daniel shouted excitedly from behind him. "Perhaps it's a clue!"
Jack stuffed the book into his suit's inner jacket. Considering it had just phased into reality, he probably didn't need to check it out of the library.
"What did you find?" he asked Daniel, walking over to where he stood. Daniel was practically vibrating with energy.
"I'll show you!" Daniel dragged him back downstairs before pointing at a paper dated a few years back.
"Look!" he opened the paper up to page four. "This has happened before."
Jack took a look at the paper. It discussed graffiti in the town. It had happened around this time of the year as well. In fact, it was exactly four years ago.
"That's not all!" Daniel said triumphantly. "I found out it happens around this time of the year without fail!"
Jack frowned. That didn't make any sense. If it happened every year, he would have remembered it.
When he mentioned his confusion, Daniel just shrugged it off. His smile looked hollow, off-putting.
"Who's going to remember some graffiti?" he said woodenly. "It's nothing important."
"Right," Jack said, a little nervous. If he pushed this line of thinking, he didn't know what would happen.