The librarian looked up out the window. “They’re cormorants."
“Why would cormorants be circling the city?” said Miss Flintlock. “They’d be by the water!”
“It’s just what people are saying.”
“People like you, maybe.”
Floyd Caractacus awoke and overheard them from the graphic novel section. It was dark out.
“Well, what do you think they are?” said the librarian.
“I’ll wait for someone who knows what they’re talking about before I decide,” said Miss Flintlock. “Where is she, anyway?”
“Probably just starting the book.”
Floyd poked his head out from behind the bookshelf. “Am I locked in here?”
“Floyd!” said the librarian. “You fell asleep again.”
Floyd lumbered over to the table. “Wasn’t on purpose this time.”
“You smell awful,” said Miss Flintlock. “Like hooch and patchouli.”
“Why are you guys still here? What time is it?”
“Jean wanted to do a little book club,” said the librarian.
“What’s the book?” Floyd reached across the table for Miss Flintlock’s copy and read the cover. “Sean Houlihan.”
Miss Flintlock snatched it back. “It’s his memoir.”
“It’s self-titled?”
The librarian sighed.
“That’s stupid."
“It’s a stupid book,” said Miss Flintlock.
●
Jean knocked at the front entrance and the librarian unlocked the door.
“It’s been an hour!” said Miss Flintlock.
“Sorry!” said Jean. “Candy’s not here? I gave her the address.”
“Do people just not know where the library is?”
The librarian yawned. “I guess we’re still waiting.”
“No, it’s ok,” said Jean. “What did you think of the book?”
Floyd had his nose in it. “So far I like the guru guy.”
“What’s he doing here? This is a girls’ night!”
Miss Flintlock ignored her. “That guru is complete fiction.”
“I agree,” said the librarian.
“Who is this Houlihan guy again?” asked Floyd.
“He’s the greatest artist of our time!” said Jean.
“I think he was eating mescaline or something when he wrote this.”
“I don’t think he wrote a word of it himself,” said Miss Flintlock.
“I love his dream,” said Jean.
“Which dream?” asked the librarian. “There’s like fifty.”
“Most of which bleed into the main narrative somehow,” said Miss Flintlock. “It’s atrocious.”
“The one at his doorstep,” said Jean. “He says it’s actually his first childhood memory.”
“That’s on the first page!” said Floyd.
“It’s really powerful. Being locked out of your own home, that says a lot.”
“I might agree if it set any kind of tone at all,” said Miss Flintlock.
“Is he really levitating here?” said Floyd. “I can’t tell which parts are real.”
●
Jean looked at her phone. “I don’t think Candy’s coming.”
“He doesn’t talk about his art at all.” Floyd put the book down. “What kind of art does he make?”
“He changed the whole landscape!”
“Like landscape paintings?” said Miss Flintlock.
“Ha!” Floyd laughed.
“I can’t describe what Houlihan does,” said the librarian. “Unfortunately, neither can he.”
“It really is something you have to experience,” said Jean. “I feel like his dream tells us that he -”
“Enough about the damn doorstep!” said Miss Flintlock. “Did you read anything beyond that?"
Floyd reopened the book. “Did he kill the guru here?”
“The griffin killed the guru,” said the librarian.
“I thought he was the griffin.”
“Was he?”
“The griffin was his astral body,” said Miss Flintlock.
“I don’t wanna read any more if the guru’s dead,” said Floyd. “He’s the best part. Houlihan is boring.”
“Don’t worry,” said the librarian. “It picks up again when the islanders stop worshipping him.”
“Oh, he didn’t like that at all,” said Miss Flintlock.
“I think we can all relate to feeling locked out of our own home,” said Jean.
“Oh, shut up!” said Floyd. “If the griffin is his astral body then how did the guru die? He bleeds. How are you gonna draw blood with an astral griffin?”
“Junior thinks those are griffins up there,” said Jean.
“The cormorants?” said the librarian.
“They’re not cormorants!” said Miss Flintlock.
“They look more like monkeys,” said Floyd.
Jean laughed. “Winged monkeys!”
Floyd went back to reading. “I’m just saying that’s what they look like.”
“It really is,” said Miss Flintlock.
“Oh, but cormorants are unbelievable!” said the librarian.
“Get a pair of binoculars and tell us we’re wrong.”
“Does he spend the rest of the book in griffin-form?” said Floyd.
Jean checked her phone. “Candy didn’t end up reading it.”