A Ghostly Flush by Lorraine Ellis (Flo)
‘There must be a logical explanation,’ said Anthony the library superintendent.
‘Like what?’ said Sandra, ‘I mean the plumber’s been and he can’t find anything wrong with the system, the only explanation I can think of is that the place is haunted.’
Anthony chewed thoughtfully on the corner of his cheese and pickle sandwich, ‘well I’ve never heard of a ghost using the loo,’ he sneered.
‘Well this is a very old building you know, in fact it’s listed, was a house before it became a library and I heard that…..’
‘Well that explains it then it’s probably the old pipes rumbling,’ cut in Anthony.
Sandra shook her head, ‘No it’s definitely the lavatory chain been flushed. It always happens at six o’clock prompt every night. And like I say, this place has history. Did you know there was once a skeleton found in the attic?’
‘A skeleton?’
‘Yes a skeleton and no one could explain it.’
Anthony dropped his sandwich and glanced at his watch. He cleared his throat. ‘Did Mrs Wilkins review her books today? he asked trying to change the subject.
‘Yeah this morning.’
‘And how about old Ted the Tramp have you seen him?’
‘I have and he seems an intelligent bloke,’ said Sandra, ‘uses the library a lot. I often see him in the morning in the reading room he just scurries in without me hardly noticing him.’
Sandra smiled to herself as she thought of the many different customers that used the library and how over the years she had almost become friends with them. ‘You can almost tell a person’s character by the books they read,’ she often stated to the rest of the library staff.
She couldn’t help but notice that there was something else about old Ted and from the way he spoke she imagined him coming from a good background.
‘You shouldn’t encourage him.’
‘Who’s that?’
‘Ted the tramp, he’s probably come in to keep warm.’
Sandra shook her head in disagreement.
The last person in the library left the building.
Anthony shuddered as he looked at his watch it was five fifty-five.
‘That’s it for the night then, I’ll go and lock up,’ says Sandra. Taking her keys she quickly locked the door and went back to join Anthony who was sitting at a desk near the window.
He looked once again at his watch it was almost six o’clock.
Sandra’s face suddenly paled as the sounds of the lavatory been flushed echoed around the quietness of the building.
Anthony gasped in shock and utter disbelief. The two stared at each other across the desk.
Anthony fidgeted in his seat.
‘Unnerving isn’t it,’ muttered Sandra in a hushed voice.
Afraid now, Anthony nodded his head.
‘Well we’re here to investigate things, so I suppose we’d better take a look.’
‘I’d rather not,’ muttered Anthony the sweat running down his back.
Sandra half smiled, ‘changed your tune haven’t you?’
His eyes like saucers, Anthony slowly nodded his head.
They entered the toilets to find all the cubicles empty only there was something that increased their fear for one of the taps was turned on and the sink was plugged in.
They stared as the water splashed over the sides of the sink and on to the grey tiles.
Sandra quickly turned off the tap.
Suddenly they heard a dull thudding noise.
‘It’s coming from the attic,’ said Anthony in a frightened whisper.
Sandra made for the door and with a pounding heart and legs like jelly Anthony followed her as together they almost ran out of the building.
‘I had an aunt once,’ said Sandra in between breaths, ‘she thought her house was haunted so she had it blessed by the local vicar.’
‘And did it work? I mean did it solve the problem?’
‘Oh yes as a matter of fact it did, she never had any bother after that.’
They walked up the path that led to the vicarage.
‘Do you think he’ll mind us coming?’
‘No I shouldn’t think so,’ said Sandra, ‘after all it’s a part of his job and he knows more about things like this then us.
And so it was arranged Vicar Harris agreed to perform the blessing in the library saying that it might be a restless spirit that was causing it and he would come straight away.
It was a cold grey night as together they walked back to the library, Anthony looked up and noticed the full moon silhouetted against the oppressive sky, he shuddered. ‘I must say I never believed in ghosts and things that go bump in the night before,’ he said.
‘There’s lots of strange things going on in the world that no one can explain, you can’t be too sceptical,’ said Sandra.
‘I know that now, let’s hope Vicar Harris can make things right.’
They soon reached the old building and together they entered the library.
‘So you say the problem is in the toilets?’ said Vicar Harris armed with a bottle of holy water and his bible.
Sandra nodded her head and hesitantly they opened the door.
Anthony trembled as once again they heard the dull thuds coming from the attic.
Vicar Harris said a prayer.
The noise continued. He then sprinkled Holy water into the atmosphere and all was silenced.
‘The spirit is at rest now,’ said Vicar Harris as they left the building.
‘Well let’s hope that will be the end of it,’ said Anthony.
Early the next morning just before the library was opened, old Ted the gentleman of the road, lifted open the trap door that was situated above the lavatory. Silently he climbed down and let himself out of the toilets and stole into the reading room out of view of the door. He smiled to himself for he’d had a good cosy winter sleeping in the attic, but he decided now it was almost Spring it was time to move on. When the first customer entered the library Ted stole out of the building never to return…..