Chapter 5

Riley examined the tome's first few pages with a racing heart, quickly discovering a preserved maple leaf hidden between the sheets. He picked it up delicately as he studied the faded leaf for a moment before looking back at the book.

Flipping to the front once more, Riley examined the sketch on the first page. He eyed the thick paper and took a moment to admire the even more detailed design of the tree that had been etched into the cover.

The bathroom door suddenly opened with a whine as echoing footfalls approached Riley's stall. Someone pulled the door, rattling the lock and causing Riley to look up anxiously.

"Occupado." He remarked, looking up at the cracks around the stall's door and the body shuffling behind. An eye peeked into the booth as Riley kicked at the door. "Hey, asshole!"

Looking down, he watched as a pair of red and black Swoosh Air Jefferys walked away from him and went into the accessible stall at the end.

"Some people's children..." Riley cursed silently to himself, trying to think whose feet those shoes could have belonged to.

But the thought eventually passed.

Settling himself down, he looked back at the leaf in his hand and the book in his lap. With a free hand, he touched the tree on the page.

"Home." A voice, clearly different from his inner monologue, whispered in the back of his mind.

"The fuck?!" He yelped, dropping the leaf to the floor and nearly kicking the book from his lap.

Frozen, Riley held one hand over his mouth and the other to the stall’s wall. He silently stared down at the tree etched into the cover. For what felt like an eternity, the bathroom seemed to hold its breath before Riley heard the subtle plops of nuggets dropping into a distant toilet.

"Home?" He mouthed as he observed the book, hearing the word in the back of his mind as he reached for the leaf.

"Myzeequahma." The voice commanded in the back of his mind as he touched the plant. Riley paused, letting go of the leaf but remaining leaned over it.

"Myzeequahma?" He repeated quietly, so as not to disturb the other bathroom occupant. But nothing happened as Riley waited for a second longer before eventually reaching down and picking up the leaf.

"Myzeequahma. Beim'eltee." The voice commanded as he touched the leaf and pulled it to his face.

"Myzeequahma. Beim'eltee." Riley replied hesitantly.

The leaf quickly disintegrated into his hand, forming a small pile of fine mulch before a single maple seedling sprouted on top of his palm.

"Shit!" Riley yelped as he stood up, knocking the tome once more to the floor with a loud thwomp!

Pivoting around, Riley threw the sapling into the toilet and watched as its roots writhed in search of something to anchor itself. With a quick flush, he watched as the plant disappeared from his sight, and silence fell once more.

Riley released a panicked exhale, placing his back against the flimsy plastic walls as he looked down at the tome. Reaching out, he hesitated for a moment before picking up the book and turning to leave.

He escaped the stall, the bathroom, and the labyrinth, eventually finding his way to his car, where he sat in silent denial. Occasionally glancing at the tome in the passenger seat, he couldn't help but feel himself being drawn to it. Like the roots of the seed writhing in his palm, something twisted inside his gut, growing upward towards his consciousness. He touched the tome.

"Home." It whispered back to him.

"Nope." He withdrew his hands, quickly placing them on the steering wheel. "I am not going to be—" 

Riley breathed to calm his racing thoughts.

"The book is not talking to you." He reassured himself eagerly, reaching over and grabbing the tome as he exited the car.

Walking to the edge of the parking lot, he looked down the small hill to the runoff pond at the bottom. Cocking his arm back, he threw the book with all his might and watched as it tumbled end over end before splashing into the water.

"You're just exhausted, Riley." He reassured himself, walking back to the car. "Yeah, just tired. That book was—it's fine—it's totally fine,"

Getting into his car, he sat in the driver's seat and stared beyond the steering wheel, allowing his mind to wander. He wasn't sure how long he sat there as his inner monologue raced to remediate the conflicting fact and fiction of the last twenty-four hours.

"Just go home, get some food, and come back." He said to himself as he turned on the car and began to drive.

Riley wouldn't stop repeating those nine words the entire drive home and would continue until he walked through the door of his apartment. Slamming the door behind him, he raced to the fridge and began to examine his food options. Eyeing some leftover ground taco beef, he reached for the container and felt the root squirm once more inside of him.

Standing upright, he was overcome with an irresistible urge to speak, doing so without question.

Opening his mouth, he spouted the words that had held a place in his mind, "Fuh ach'quooie'whyjay ze'el Ak'zi'key'my."

Schplat! The waterlogged tome landed on the counter behind Riley.

"Fuck me! No!" He yelled, mostly at himself for what he had just done, but also at the book's continued existence. Turning around, he stared at the dripping leather cover and the bone-dry pages beneath.

Closing the fridge, Riley grabbed a nearby apple from its plastic bag and walked past the tome.

"I don't know what psychosis you are, but I don't want any!" He announced to the leather cover as he walked out of the kitchen into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he reached out and threw the book to the coffee table.

"What the fuck?" He snapped confusedly as he looked at his hand and then the tome. Thinking back, he clearly remembered grabbing the apple before walking away, but not the book. "I didn't even pick you up. How...?"

Taking a bite from his apple, he leaned into the table and inspected the tome before mindlessly flipping it open to the first page again.