Be Careful What You Bring Home

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Xenia was an ordinary girl who loved reading. She was particularly fascinated by mystery novels, horror stories, and true crime books. She was on the shorter side, about 5'1", with shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. Her bedroom shelf was packed with books of all kinds - she enjoyed exploring different topics and genres. One day after school, like any other 17-year-old, she was walking home. She passed through a park filled with flowers and trees, featuring a rather beautiful fountain at its center. At the far end stood the city's oldest library. From what she knew, the town had been around for over 200 years, since her grandfather was young. She saw the library's Corinthian-style architecture, with columns flanking the sides and massive doors atop enormous steps. She went inside, intrigued by its age and antique furniture, with crystal chandeliers lining all the hallways. The chandelier lights didn't provide much illumination for how vast and tall the building was, giving it a dark and eerie atmosphere, made even more unsettling by how ancient everything felt. While browsing the shelves, she found a book that caught her eye, and well, she took it with her. That night... In her bedroom, Xenia was getting ready to sleep when she remembered the book she'd taken from the library. Lying in bed with the lights off and only her bedside lamp casting a warm glow, she began to read. Everything seemed normal at first - a love story with mystery elements... until suddenly, the book completely changed. Midway through the text, passages started appearing in a dead language. A damaged, dirty, half-torn piece of paper fell out, on which she could make out something like: "Never read this book. Stop reading if you've seen this. Don't read dead languages, especially at night during a waning moon in darkness." Unfortunately for her, she'd already accidentally read the dead language. Terrified, Xenia looked out the window and her eyes filled with tears - that very night happened to be a crescent moon. When she tried to close the book, it went crazy in her hands, pages flipping at incredible speed. The little light there was went out. She was left in complete darkness when suddenly, a grotesque hand emerged from the book. Frozen in fear and not knowing what to do, she screamed, but it seemed like no one could hear her. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall - it had stopped. Xenia thought of her phone, but when she grabbed it, it wasn't responding. Neither the time nor the seconds were moving. Everything was frozen. Not knowing what to do, Xenia watched as that hand kept emerging from the book. With her hair standing on end, she closed the book that the hand was coming from, but... The book flew open and yanked her inside. Xenia (screaming): Aaaah! She gripped the book with one hand and her headboard with the other while struggling against whatever was trying to drag her in. It felt like a black hole. Xenia mustered all her strength and pulled backward with everything she had. The thing fell and hit the floor. Xenia sighed in relief when she felt nothing on top of her. She saw the book on the floor; a disgusting head with black eyes was emerging from its edge, trying to get out. She reacted quickly and slammed it shut. Suddenly, her mother appeared and saw her closing the book with a hand still sticking out. I don't know how, but my mother reacted quickly: she grabbed the book and started sprinkling it with holy water. The book began to dissolve as smoke poured out. Later, my mother did some research and consulted a priest who understood santería, witchcraft, and demons. He told her that first thing in the morning, at sunrise, she needed to burn the book on the highest mountain in the city, as the first light of day is said to be powerful. And that's what she did. As the book burned, a terrifying, demonic scream could be heard... until it finally faded away.