The Magi
The Mystery of the Photo Album

For the first time in three weeks, Elijah had a moment toclear his head. Uncle Stan had been gonefor long hours the past few days, and his absence gave Elijah a lot of timealone. Instead of sitting around,reliving the horrific memory of his family’s murders, Elijah decided to replacethings to do.

His first thought was to read the old, giant book he foundwith his parents’ things. He rememberedplacing it on his bedroom floor, but it wasn’t there anymore. Uncle Stan must have moved it. For the time being, Elijah decided toinvestigate some of the words and names he remembered from the book. He first tried a local library down thestreet.

“Can you spell that name for me, sweetie?” asked thelibrarian, a short woman with long, gray hair and glasses much too big for herface.

“M-a-l-i-p-h-i-s-t,” Elijah said, reading from a scrap ofpaper he had scribbled on.

The librarian squinted over her glasses at the computerscreen. “Sorry, hon. I’m not seeing anything by that name here.”

“What about Tibirus?” asked Elijah. She typed in the name.

“Here’s something.” Elijah perked up. “We don’t haveit here, but the other library across town has a book with an entry onTibirus. It’s called Historical Myths and Analysis by J. J.McClintock. Would you like me to calland have it reserved for you?”

“Yes!” Elijah said enthusiastically. “Thank you so much!”

Elijah had no idea why he was so excited because he didn’thave a clue what he was searching for. But lately, instead of getting answers, he felt like he was getting moreand more questions. Maybe this smallsuccess, a simple entry in a book, could help him start to make sense ofthings.

By foot he wouldn’t be able to make it across town today,but if he got up early the next morning, he could make it there and back beforedark. It would be a long day of walking,but the journey would provide time alone to think. He always found it peaceful to walk and thinkin solitude.

By late afternoon, Uncle Stan still wasn’t home. Elijah decided to kill time by exploring theonly area of his uncle’s house he hadn’t yet explored: the basement. He wasn’t afraid of it, but he never considered the basement a veryinviting place. There was a presencedown there that always made his spine shudder, like being alone in a subwaystation or a large warehouse. Elijahstood at the top of the stairs and looked into the darkness below. His curiosity ultimately trumped his fear,and he slowly descended. As the old,rickety stairs groaned and creaked with each step, Elijah knew he didn’t wantto spend any more time down here than necessary.

The room was pitch black. In the middle of the ceiling hung a single light bulb with a stringattached. He pulled the string andwatched the light flicker a few times before turning on. Elijah shivered. Willing himself to stay, he scanned thearea. It was a mess! Uncle Stan had lots of greasy old car partsand tools lying around. An old, dirtyengine and engine parts were piled in the corner. Spread over the floor, and packed in boxes,were hundreds of old newspapers in no particular order.

Elijah walked to the corner of the room where he saw a rustybookshelf stacked with old books and photo albums. The books looked like twenty or thirty-year-oldadventure and mystery novels. Elijahwondered if they belonged to his uncle when he was a kid.

He continued to survey the bookcase when he noticed a peculiar-lookingphoto album. The cover, made of blackleather, was more tattered and abused-looking than the rest. Elijah excitedly wondered if it held picturesfrom his father’s childhood. He hadnever seen pictures of his parents as children. His father and Uncle Stan were orphaned at ayoung age, and his mother lost contact with her parents. Since he never knew any grandparents, oldfamily pictures were unheard of. Elijahgrabbed the album and flew up the stairs. As soon as he reached the top, the telephone rang. It was Uncle Stan.

“Hey Sport! Youstayin’ outta trouble?”

“Yeah. I just gotback from the library.”

“Good man!” UncleStan sounded tired even in his cheerful tone. “But be careful. I promised yourparents I’d take care of you, so don’t go doing things I wouldn’t do.”

“What does that leave?” Elijah joked.

Uncle Stan chuckled. “Notmuch. Hey—I just wanted to call and letyou know I won’t be home tonight.”

“Really? Whynot?” Elijah tried to hide hisdisappointment.

“Just need to. Noworries okay?”

“Sure,” Elijah said, unconvinced.

“Okay. You’ll need totake care of dinner yourself. When youget off the phone, head into my room. Open the second drawer and dig. It’s my underwear drawer, so try not to freak out on me.”

“And why exactly are you having me go through your underweardrawer?”

“You’ll replace something.”

“I’m sure of that.”

“Don’t get smart now,” said Uncle Stan. Elijah snickered. “In the drawer you’ll replace a bighairbrush—looks like a ladies’ brush, but the back comes off. Open the back and you’ll replace a bunch ofmoney. Use it to order a pizza orsomething.”

“Oh.” Elijah laughed.

“Alrighty. Now youstay put until I come home, okay?”

Elijah frowned. Hestill wanted to go to the library in the morning, but he didn’t want Uncle Stanto worry. So instead, he just said, “Seeya when you get back,” and hung up the phone.

Sure enough, a very large hairbrush was hidden in hisuncle’s underwear drawer. He pulled theback and out popped a roll of money. There had to be close to three or four hundred dollars there! He took out enough to pay for his pizza,stuffed the rest back into the brush, and returned it to the drawer.

After ordering pizza, Elijah sprawled out on the floor to lookthrough the photo album from the basement. The first two pages each had an old black and white picture of a baby. They looked too old to be either of hisparents. Elijah was disgusted at himselffor never questioning his roots. Hisparents were always open to talk with him about anything, but he had never asked. He had so many questions now. Where did his family come from? What were his grandparents like? He knew his dad and uncle were orphaned at ayoung age, but Elijah never bothered to ask what that was like. He shook his head. It was time to make up for missedopportunities. As soon as Uncle Stancame home, Elijah planned to drill him with questions.

The rest of the album was littered with old photographs oftwo people—one boy and one girl. None ofthe photos had labels, but as the pages turned, the album outlined a journeythrough life of the boy and girl. Theywere a handsome couple. The boy looked strongand confident. The girl, also confident,was very pretty. She reminded Elijah ofKyria with her dark hair and pleasant smile. He couldn’t help thinking he had seen these people before. But who were they?

He was about to look through the album again when somethingsuddenly caught his eye. He couldn’tbelieve he even noticed it! There, inthe hand of the young lady, was an item Elijah recognized. He had to squint to make it out, but withouta doubt, she was holding the glass cube of dirt he had inherited. The same cube he put in storage.

Elijah scampered up to replace another book in the basementjust as the doorbell rang. He opened thedoor expecting to see someone delivering his pizza, but instead he jolted backin surprise. Elijah felt his necktingle again as he looked up at an ominous Detective Scott.

“May I come in?” the detective asked in a low, menacingvoice. Elijah turned around and lookedbehind him, knowing full well he was alone.

“I’m headed out to meet with some friends soon,” Elijah liedin desperation.

“I won’t be long,” said Detective Scott, pushing past Elijah. “Where’s your uncle?”

“He just went to get us some dinner,” Elijah lied again. “Can I help you?” Elijah tried to calm himself down as he feltan increasing sense of danger.

Detective Scott peered around the room, never reallyacknowledging Elijah’s presence. “Youdon’t mind if I look around do you?” he said, already moving. Elijah panicked. What was a homicide detective doing so farfrom his area, and why was he investigating something other than a murderscene?

“I really have to get going,” Elijah responded, trying to soundimpatient.

“It’ll just take a minute,” said Detective Scott. He walked toward Elijah’s bedroom. Elijah followed him, becoming more and moreuncomfortable. Something was not rightabout this.

As Detective Scott inspected his bedroom, Elijah wonderedwhat he was looking for. There wasnothing here. He stepped inside.

“I’m going to make a phone call,” he stated. “I’m sure someone will want to know you’rehere.” Elijah hoped his trembling voicewasn’t obvious. Detective Scott stood upslowly and put his hands in his pockets. They stood studying each other for a long time. Elijah may have been frightened of thedetective, but he stood his ground. Hewas determined not to show fear. Eventually,Detective Scott relaxed and walked out of the room.

“No need. I’ll letmyself out. Take care, Elijah.”

Elijah glared at him as he walked out the door. He didn’t shut it until he saw DetectiveScott get into his car and turn the corner. Uncle Stan could not get back fast enough.

Detective Scott’s visit continued to haunt Elijah well intothe night. Why did he show upunannounced? Why was he here? What was in his room the detective needed tosee? Nothing made sense. Surely he was looking for something.

Elijah’s stomach suddenly dropped when he remembered hisfamily’s treasures in the shoebox under his bed. Did the detective take them? He dove under the bed and pulled out thebox. He lifted the lid and sighed. They were still there—two diaries (which heincluded after his trip to the house), a locket, and a pocket watch. A great wave of relief hit him as he sat frozenby his bed. At least they were safe. But that still didn’t explain anything.

Elijah locked the door and wedged a chair under the knob forgood measure. Then he crawled in bed andhid under the covers. He hated beingalone now.

It was well after two o’clock before he fell asleep.

Elijah woke up early the next morning. The daylight helped settle his nerves some. He found it easier to forget about DetectiveScott with something promising on the horizon, like today’s trip to thelibrary. The thought of replaceing aconnection to his past made Elijah shake with anticipation. He almost tripped running down the frontsteps.

Autumn had definitely arrived, bringing with it a cold,crisp wind. The leaves on the trees wereturning yellow and red. The ones on theground were wet from the moisture of the morning.

Elijah passed other children on their way to school. He wondered when Uncle Stan would bring upthe subject of education. It wouldn’t belong before he would have to face a new school, but since his uncle hadn’t yet mentionedit, Elijah left that subject alone.

The library across town was a huge building with tallpillars in front of the entrance. It hada high ceiling and echoed like an old church when he walked up to the frontdesk. All the clerks were busy checkingbooks and stamping due dates. Elijah hadto clear his throat twice to get someone’s attention.

“Hi. My name isElijah and I believe you’re holding a book for me.”

The clerk, a young man, turned around and began shufflingthrough the reserved books. “Okay, doyou remember the title?”

“Um, something about myths and history.” Elijah knew he sounded stupid, but he hadforgotten to write down the title.

“Hm.” The librarian continuedsifting. “Ah, is it Historical Myths and Analysis?” He picked up a book with “Elijah” written on a piece of paper rubberbanded to it. Elijah took the book andflipped to the back to replace the index of names. It took him just a second to replace “Tibirus”.

“Yes. This isit. Thank you.” Elijah sat down at a table.

The entry on Tibirus was very short. He began to read:

TIBIRUS

“(MYTH) - Tibirus was widely considered the leader of theseparation movement that began in 1135 A.D. The Magi, a mystical group of people, separated themselves from thecommon public in order to avoid being killed. Many believed the Magi were possessed by evil spirits, and there was acall to cleanse the Magi from their towns and villages. Tibirus began to call for separation and theMagi went into hiding.

(ANALYSIS) – Most scholars agree the Magi are just legend,but that there may have been a real person named Tibirus, who lived in the 12thcentury. There are few, if any, records ofhis existence. Whether he led an exodusout of his village is unknown. While theMagi may be legend, more than one source has mentioned them and theirconnection with evil spirits. There hasbeen no mention of the Magi since the 13th century.”

Elijah closed the book feeling like he learned more aboutthe Magi than Tibirus. Still, nothingmade sense. Who were the Magi? Why did people think they were possessed withevil spirits? If Tibirus tried to savethem, he was obviously unsuccessful since Elijah had never heard of the Magi.

He asked the librarian to look up other books on the Magi, buteverything else he saw had to do with the Christmas story. He reached a dead end. He needed to get his hands on the giant book. That was certain to have more information.

Elijah returned to his uncle’s house close to sunset andopened the front door. The phone wasringing as he walked in.

“Hello?”

“WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?” Uncle Stan shouted.

“I went to the library across town. They had this book—”

“Nevermind that,” said Uncle Stan. “So you’re okay? I’ve been calling all day!”

“Yes, I’m okay,” Elijah said. He felt horrible.

“Good.” Uncle Stanseemed to immediately calm down and turned into his usual casual self. “Well, I hate to tell you, but I’m going tobe gone again tonight. I just wanted tocheck up on you and see if anything exciting happened while I was gone—besidesyou goin’ missing for a whole day.” Elijah was relieved to hear Uncle Stan joke again.

“Detective Scott stopped by yesterday. That was weird.” There was a long, uncomfortable pause. “Hello?”

“I’m here,” said Uncle Stan in a tone that made Elijahworried. “What did he want?”

“He wouldn’t tell me. He just looked around. He wentinto my room and—”

“Elijah,” Uncle Stan interrupted, “I want you to leave thehouse. Meet me at Liberty Park. It’s about a mile north of the house. You need to leave now. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” said Elijah, feeling his pulse increase. “Why?”

“I don’t have time over the phone,” said Uncle Stanimpatiently. “I really wish I could, butyou’re going to have to wait until I can meet you.”

“Am I in danger here?”

“I honestly don’t know. But to be safe, just wait for me there. It might take me a while, but I should be there before sunrise.”

Before sunrise? Howfar away was he?

“Okay,” Elijah agreed.

“You’ll be fine Eli. If you think you’ll need cash, you know where to replace it. Just don’t bring the brush. That might make you look too pretty.” Elijah chuckled awkwardly then hung up thephone. He grabbed his jacket and forsome reason, he felt the need to take the diaries, locket, and pocketwatch. He removed them from the shoeboxand, luckily, they fit inside his jacket pockets. He ran down the street toward the park, notcertain he even locked the door.

When he arrived at Liberty Park, he sat on a nearby bench tocatch his breath. It was deathlyquiet. Usually, Elijah liked silence,but this was eerie. Ghostly. He moved deeper into the park, crouched nextto a tree in the shadows, and covered up with his blanket. It was getting cold. He looked around for anything suspicious ordangerous, but the park was deserted.

A low wind blew noisily and made him shiver. Elijah was keenly aware of every sound. There was a rustle in the bushes that turnedout to be a small animal. A leaf blowingon the pavement made him jump until he realized what it was. Elijah tried to relax. He had a long night ahead of him. Eventually, Elijah soon began to growaccustomed to the sounds around him. Hiseyes grew tired and heavy, and before long he leaned against the tree for rest.

Elijah awoke with the sun shining brightly through thetrees. He scanned the park looking forhis uncle. Empty. He should have been there by now. He said he would be there by sunrise, but thesun had been up for hours.

After two more hours passed, Elijah knew Uncle Stan wasn’tgoing to show. He didn’t know what elseto do but return to the house, so he gathered his belongings and started back. Maybe Uncle Stan came by, didn’t see him, andwent back home, Elijah thought to himself. It was unlikely, but there weren’t a lot of options left he liked.

As Elijah turned the corner onto his uncle’s street, hestopped dead in his tracks. Two policecars were parked in his uncle’s driveway and a third pulled up behind him,keeping him from running.

“This can’t be happening,” Elijah spoke out loud. He walked cautiously toward the house just asDetective Scott emerged from one of the cars and faced Elijah.