It was a cool night; wind rushing past me like it was late to catch its train. I was standing against an old brick building, with my frost-covered face into my jacket, feeling lonely, until I saw this little speck of light. It looked like a flower petal sailing in the wind, but it wasn’t sailing. It was attached to a piece of fishing line hanging from an oak tree, which has lost all of its leaves. “What is it?” I think to myself.I walked forward to see what that light was. Then I realized it’s not a light. It was a small mirror, reflecting the glossy light from the street lamp. While being mesmerized by the reflection in the mirror I saw this shadow moving in the background. Frantically I looked around, but I saw nothing, nothing except for the mailman walking to his car from a long day of work.

I live in downtown Miliona. This town has been isolated and forgotten from the rest of the world, but to me this town is the life of the world. I’ve heard stories from my best friend Mit, about how Miliona is a haunted town. I believe that, but I can’t do anything about it. Leaving this town will only cause my life to break and tumble, or so I have heard, but I am one for testing Mit's stories. That is the reason why I was standing against the brick building. Mit told me that there was this object that only came out at night around this one oak tree, I just happened to pick the only night that was windy. This object that Mit told me about was a shiny flower petal that floats. It turns out that he’s somewhat right. In that mirror I did see a “moving flower petal” but the flower petal turned out to be a reflection of the street lamp. Mit and I always like testing the stories he knows. He provides the facts while I provide the brave act of curiosity.

I have been called a dare devil, or as my deceased mom would like to say, stupid, all of my life. These descriptions do not really sit well with me. I’m not brave not at all; I am full of fear. My mom told me, “The only way to get fear over with, is to face it right into the eyes and scream, LEAVE ME ALONE,” but I’m not a fan of talking so screaming isn’t my cup of tea. I live with fear in my eyes, but my curiosity over looks that- isn’t that wonderful. The only reason why I do something, like waiting all night looking for something that is only a “story” is because of my curiosity. I have lived with it all my life; that is part of the reason why I want to stay here is Miliona. This place is full of curious stories to discover and one of them is the Taker. Out of all of the stories Mit has told me about this town, the one that sticks with me is the Taker. Mit only knew his story, but I only want to know his truth.

While looking at the mirror hanging from the tree I decided that Mit wasn’t going to show so I took my pocketknife out and I cut the fishing line and I took the mirror. I whispered to myself “a good luck charm,” then I was off, heading to the library. When I arrived at the front doors of the library, I put my thumb on the scanner. Oh, this scanner I tell you..! I absolutely hate it! After the war in Breackland, the town next to ours, the mayor decided to put scanners on everything. You can’t access any restaurant, public bathrooms, or drinking fountains without the government knowing who’s using it.

I step into the front door asking the librarian if they have a book about the unnatural and Miliona’s past history. She gladly gave me a list of books and I was off looking for them. This library does not run like any other library in the world. This library organizes the books by the book titles, which is way easier if you ask me then by the author’s last name. After I found the book Tale of the Unnatural, the first book on the librarian’s list, I saw a book titled TAKER. I grabbed that book faster than I could blink and I ran to the nearest table. I flipped through the pages of the book one by one, looking for something, anything at all, that would grab my attention and help me find out more about the Taker. After getting a few paper cuts and some dusty fingers I found it! It was there, standing straight on the book page staring into my eyes, the Taker.

He dresses in all black, a full-length robe if you ask me but the book describes it as a long wilted cloth. I scanned the page up and down to gather as much information about what he looks like. Then I noticed a little speck of gold. It looked like a flower petal sailing in the wind, but it wasn’t sailing. It was attached to a piece of fishing line hanging from this staff, which looks like a mixture of the staff of RA and the Grim Reaper’s staff. Chills ran down my spine then back up to my fingertips. I sat there at the desk, motionless, thoughtless, and breathless. A panic feeling ran through me. “I have that mirror,” I thought to myself.

I closed the book and stood up. I started to pace back and forth trying to wrap my head around the stories Mit has told me. “ He told me that he knew nothing about the Taker but the story about the moving flower petal, mirror thing belongs to the Taker. How is this possible?” I kept questioning Mit’s stories and then I started questioning my thoughts. My head was just overwhelmed with ideas and thoughts! I decided to take a little walk, to try to cool down my brain. While walking down the aisle I overheard the librarian talking about me. “Ha ha ha, that boy over there, he asked for books about the unnatural. He took like 20 books off the shelves he is over there at the B3 table just reading and reading those unnatural books, he is such little creep,” she howled! After hearing that my brain decided I was just better off doing more research, but my heart wanted to keep listening to her. She kept talking, I could see her mouth move but my ears decided I was better off not hearing the sin that was coming out of her mouth. I walked back to my desk ignoring my heart and I opened the book again. I stared at the picture again just getting a deeper understanding about how the Taker looks. I flipped the page and I found a heading that reads FACTS ABOUT THE TAKER. I continued to read this section and I stumbled on this sentence, “The Taker only comes out when someone crosses the town line.” The myths about the Taker were true?

My old friend, Sally, told me a lot of “myths” about the Taker. Sally was just like me, she had a deep passion about discovering the great unknown and she knew a ton about the Taker but one day she took her passion too far. Her parents couldn’t handle her anymore so rumor has it that she left Miliona to live with her great aunt in Breackland but I believe that she is hiding away in a cellar. So far Sally was right! I needed to keep reading! “The Taker was a myth in 1934 until a researcher by the name of Mitcheal Coswell proved that the Taker was true. He stated that the Taker was walking westbound along the train track slowly wearing a black (what seemed to be a robe) with a long staff, which was thought to look like a huge shiny cane. Later reports by Malona Luna stated that the Taker that Mitcheal Coswell saw was really an old man about to commit suicide. She believed that the old man by the name of Willi Sombre, was going to kill himself by jumping in front of the Miliona train. She saw his remains scattered throughout the train tracks with black wool everywhere. She also saw a wooden cane still in one piece about 5 feet away from the first piece of human remains.” After I read that I stood up and went to the librarian. I heard her whisper “Oh great its the physico is coming,” but I just ignored her and asked her to find me a book about the Miliona train tracks, and she gladly gave me a list of books I could read. I search the shelves and I found a book called Miliona’s Train Tracks and the Taker, I grabbed the book and I flipped though the book until I saw a page had the words, Miliona’s Town Limit/ Train track. I read aloud “The train tracks resemble the outskirts of Miliona. The tracks barricade the city- thus making it the town limits. The actual town limit is 3 feet outwards of the track." I closed the book and then I gathered all the books I took off the shelf and I put it in the book return. I said thanks to the rude librarian and I scanned my way out of the mean ladies lair.

I ran to the train tracks that were right by the library and I just stood there, wondering what would happen. Then I stepped on the tracks and I heard a rattle sound and I felt a vibration. I looked both ways on the tracks and I found no sign of a train. I stood still to try to feel where it was coming from. “My jacket pocket,” I thought to myself! I took the vibrating thing out of my pocket and it was the mirror. The mirror was shaking violently almost dropping out of my hand but I caught it. I looked into the mirror and there is was the glossy light shining from the mirror, but this time I didn’t see a shadow of the mailman, I saw the Taker.

He stood there about 10 feet from behind me; he looked different from the illustration in the TAKER book. The Taker wore a black robe with a dark violet tinge. In his hand he did hold a staff, but it wasn’t the one from the book. The Taker’s staff was a long piece of glass with a glossy light reflection- with a shadow of my face inside of it. I stood there puzzled and confused for a moment, and then I connected the clues. The book, TAKER, talked about how the Taker takes things from people- depending on how much they hate it. But why does he have my face in his staff? Then without any more hesitation I looked behind me and he wasn’t there. There was nothing behind me! My curiosity kicks in. The Miliona’s Train Tracks and the Taker, book stated that the town line was three feet outwards from the track, so I walked away from the tracks and I turned around with the look of running on my face. I had high hopes that today would be the day that I pronounce that the Taker is fake.

I placed the mirror on the ground so if something happened to me, someone would find the mirror so Mit will know. I counted down from three and then I started to run as fast as I could across the town line, hoping it would make a difference. I passed the tracks, I passed the 1st footmark along the outside of the track, then I passed the 2nd footmark then I froze. I was not able to move anything, except I was able to move my eyes, up and down, side to side. I looked down and I was about an inch past the 3rd footmark. I was frozen there in space, it felt really weird. I couldn’t move but I could see. “I could see!” I whispered to myself, but I wasn’t the only one that got the message. It was him! It was actually him- the real him. The Taker!

He said aloud with a real proud voice, “I’m glad you got my message from that tree. It was hard to convince Mit to put it there.” “How’d you know I was going to meet him there!” I yelled out with my facial muscles frozen. “Simple.” said the Taker. “Mit is Mitcheal Coswell’s great grandfather, and I had a special relationship with him.” “So it was true.” I said. “Mitcheal Coswell did actually see you by the train track.” “Yes, its true,” the Taker said. “All the stories that Mit told you were true about this town, they all end up or connected to me. Anyway, I knew I would meet you here some day; I didn’t know that day would be here so soon.” “Why do you want me?” I screamed trying to break loose. The Taker started to speak again. “I want you because I know that something has been bothering you, and this something has been killing you from the inside out. I am here to take that away from you, but only if you ask me to. Ask me to take something away I will do it. The town’s line has you captured here and the only way to break out of the town’s line is if I take something.” “What do you mean?” I said. “Are you not going to kill me?” “Oh, Heaven’s no, that part is actually a myth,” the Taker said. “I’m here to help you; to take something you hate away from you, even if you hate your life, I cannot take that.” I thought for a moment then I said, “Take my speech, Taker.” With a drop of his mirror cane, that is exactly what he did. No questions asked at all; he did it! My voice was gone, I was so grateful. I absolutly hate talking! I looked around for the Taker so I could thank him with the Sign Language, which I learned back in grade school, but he was gone.

I realized that I am in Breackland. I ran back across the tracks with no problems at all. I picked up the mirror, that I placed on the floor before I started to run across the town’s line, and I saw a little speck of light. The mirror was reflecting back the glossy light brighter than ever. I looked beyond the light and I saw the Taker standing there in his black robe with a dark violet tinge with his staff showing the shadow of Sally’s face.