Every day during the month of March, it rained. The old people use to say 'March  winds -- April showers', but the rains had come this year in the month of March.

Jennifer opened her book store early on this Friday morning, hoping to catch up on some paper work. It was 6:00 am so she kept the CLOSED sign on the old, brown wooden door, and the shade stayed drawn down. Walking up the stoop of three steps, she sat at her desk with one lamp on. She had 2 hours before opening time, so she was sure to catch up on some paper work.

She owned a small book store in the middle of town. Most of the towns people were of middle income, so for those who could not afford to buy certain books, she had a section where they could check only those books out for 5 days. The rest of the books in the store were for sale. But after the fives days they owed dues on the book, same as in the library. So many had books that were over due, that it seemed to her that people were not reading as much these days. In her journal she had 23 people who owed over due fees. All of the books that were checked out on the list should have taken no more than three days to read. Even if they had extra work to do, they still would have had time to bring the books back on time.

As she was totaling the amounts that this list owned the small book store, she heard a knock at the door. Leaving her desk, she walked to the front door and she moved the closed shade. She saw a woman standing in the drizzle rain with a book. 

“We’re closed for another hour,” she said. “Come back later.”

The lady answered, “I have a book to bring to you, and in an hour I’ll be leaving town. I don’t want to leave without giving you the book.”

Jennifer opened the door to let the lady in. 

The lady entered. Jennifer closed the door and turned around to greet the lady and thank her for not leaving town without bringing her book back. When she turned around, she looked at the olive complexion of this woman, and her eyes caught her attention as she had never felt before. She screamed inside! She felt that she was staring at the head of medusa! 

Her big eyes were the palest shade of blue that she had ever seen for a woman with her complexion. They were bulging eyes that seemed to speak, but of course didn’t. Her long, black hair was set back in a ponytail that was tied with a rubber band at her neck. The pony tail was not combed. She wore plaid shorts with a green sleeveless shirt that showed they were aged. She didn’t notice her shoes, because she was mesmerized by her eyes.

Shaken by what she felt inside of her, she went to the counter and asked what her name was.

“My name is Madeline,” she said. “I’m leaving for West Virginia in an hour on the bus, and I wanted to return this book before I leave. Someone else will be here to check it out. Give it to him.”

“I understand,” said Jennifer.

The book she gave to her was titled, “Murder on Judith Street” and she couldn’t find a card on that title. 'Spooky, she thought.'

“Did you check this book out at my bookstore? I can’t find a card for the title of the book or a card with your name.”

She said her last name was Chapman, but there still was no card with that name. Jennifer still couldn’t look into her eyes.

Madeline asked, “Do you have a rest room?”

“Ah, yes. It’s right across from here.” she pointed to the door straight across from the counter that she was at that said ‘Rest Room’, while still looking in her box of cards for books that were checked out. She didn’t look at her face.

The book wasn’t overdue. Why did she think she got the book in her bookstore? There were two other stores in town that sold books. They didn’t let anyone check out books like she did. Maybe she picked up the wrong book to return. So, while she was still in the rest room, she checked all of the names of people who had checked out books instead of buying, and none of the cards had the name of Madeline Chapman on her list. She wasn’t on the list of 23 who had overdue books because, she had just finished totaling that list.

Pacing back and forth behind the counter, she wondered who was this lady with the wicked eyes. She hadn’t seen her in her book store before. She was sure she would have remembered her with those eyes.

Jennifer sat on her stool and waited for the lady to come out of the rest room. She was in there about 15 minutes. She told her that the bus would be there in an hour. The hour was approaching.

Another 5 minutes passed by, and it was time to open the bookstore, and Madeline hadn’t come out of the rest room. Jennifer walked to the front door and pulled the shade open and turned the closed sign around to show the book store was OPEN.

Five more minutes passed by, and Jennifer was going to knock on the rest room door to see if the woman was okay. As she was walking to the rest room, the top bell jingled on the front door as it opened. A man entered. He had a long brown trench coat on and was holding a few questionable magazines. She couldn’t see the title of the top magazine that he was holding, but she saw a colored photo of a black haired woman with blood coming from her mouth and her breast were showing as her head was hanging from an unmade bed.

Turning to the man, Jennifer asked if she could help him.

“I don’t really know,” the man said as he dried off some of the sprinkles of the drizzle from his trench coat at the door before entering and wetting her floor.

“I was walking along the sidewalk, and a lady told me to come and check out a book in here. I asked her what book, and she said that you would know.”

Puzzled by this unfolding drama, and not understanding why Madeline would have wanted this man to have the book she brought in, she knocked on the locked rest room door. She didn’t know if she feared the eyes of Madeline more than the man with the magazines that he was holding. His magazines were now showing more than one,each one with much blood and naked women as he placed them on the counter.

“Madeline, are you still in there. You okay?” asked Jennifer as she knocked on the door.

She receive no answer.

Jennifer went for her keys and opened the locked door. Madeline wasn’t in the rest room. She never saw her leave.

Jennifer went back to her counter. Standing firm behind the counter and showing no fear, Jennifer gave the man the book that Madeline brought in. 

“A lady named Madeline came in here a little less than an hour ago and left this book,” she told the man with a stern voice, and she felt as though she was looking at him through the eyes of Madeline. “Here,” she handed him the book. “I give it to you. This is the book that she wanted you to have. Take it!”

The man laughed and wondered what the book was about.

“I don’t know. She left the book here, so you take it. It’s for you.” This time she pushed the book to him almost hitting his trench coat with it.His shoulders slumped down a bit, and he took the book from her hands.

“Do I owe you any money for the book?”

“No,” answer Jennifer firmly. “It’s compliments of Madeline. Take it. It’s yours!”

The man took the book and gathered his magazines from the counter and left.

All day long it drizzled. No pouring rain, just a drizzle. 

To Jennifer’s surprise, all of the people who owed her money for overdue books came in on this dreary day of drizzle rain to bring back the books, and all of them paid their overdue fees. It was almost closing time, so Jennifer arranged all of the over due books back on the shelves in their proper place. The day went well, except for the drama that played out in the early morning hours.

It was 5:00 pm and time to go home. She put on her jacket and locked the bookstore.

“I wonder where Madeline went?” she mumbled as she walked home.

On the front steps of her house was the evening newspaper. She picked it up and went inside. Her cat was there to greet her, and she immediately went to get him some food. It was her evening ritual with her cat. She put some coffee on, and sat at her table to read the evening newspaper.

The headlines read, Woman killed. Murderer on the loose.  As she read the story, there was a photo of Madeline.

“Oh no!” she said in shock. “This is the Madeline that was at the bookstore!”

As she continued to read the story, it read that Madeline was at an apartment house on Judith street where the murder happened at about 4:00 am that morning and the photos they showed seemed very much like the photos she saw on the magazine cover that the man had.

It was Madeline, and through her eyes she saw what happened to her. Now, she knew where Madeline went. She was in a good place. Jennifer thought about the strange events that happened in the early morning hours at her book store.

 "But strange things always happen to me," she said as she picked up the phone to call the police. She knew who her murder was.
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  The End

The Eyes of Madeline

(c) 2005 

Mary Lynn Plaisance
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