Lost in the Library Basement Beneath the Town

Lost in the Library Basement Beneath the Town

I was back at the downtown library where I used to study for college finals, trying to find a quiet desk near the back. I pushed open a heavy fire door near the microfilms and ended up in a carpeted staircase I’d never noticed before. Instead of leading outside, it went down into this massive, dimly lit network of basement rooms that seemed to stretch under the whole city block. It smelled like old paper and cold concrete. My friend Mark was suddenly walking with me, shining his phone flashlight around. We found rows of forgotten department store displays mixed in with shelves of 90s yearbooks and random filing cabinets. It felt exciting, like we were trespassing on some secret history of the town. We kept pushing open more doors, wondering how far it went, but then the phone battery started dying and we realized we couldn't remember which staircase brought us down.