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A tinkling bell sounded invitingly above her head as Raleigh pushed open the door to the newly opened bookshop in the strip mall near her home. An answering bell echoed its cheerful greeting from somewhere within the depths of the shop as the door closed lightly behind her with a small thud. Inside it was glaringly bright near the front of the shop, lit by huge buzzing, and sometimes flickering, fluorescent bulbs. Metal racks of magazines and tables of books on sale were scattered about at random. The area was decorated hideously, and seemed untouched from the ’60s, judging by the chipped vinyl flooring and the psychedelic posters plastered on the walls, put together so closely that they formed their own wallpaper. This seemed odd to her, because before now this store had been abandoned and empty. The few times she’d peered into the section of window not covered by the giant “FOR LEASE” sign, the entire interior had been blank.

A bored-looking gothic teenager sitting behind the front counter glanced up from her worn copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to wave acknowledgement to Raleigh, smacking her gum audibly. Raleigh gave her a small smile in return, and continued looking around; the girl went back to her book with a happy sigh. Further into the shop, the florescent lights and black and white checkered vinyl floors disappeared, revealing the true nature of the shop. Beautiful golden maple hardwood floors of untold age, incandescent lights hidden in large ornate lamps casting a soft golden glow about them, and a maze of hundreds of bookshelves, row on row, each one taller than the height of two people. The thousands of books resting on the shelves were what drew Raleigh here in the first place, and as she stooped slightly to wipe off her dusty old running shoes on the ragged straw mat just inside, she could feel excitement building up inside her.

Light hair fell into her eyes and around her face as she meticulously but impatiently worked to get all the dirt off her worn sneakers. She'd heard rumours about the owner of the store, that if anyone left so much as a speck of dirt on his ancient hardwood floors, he would chase them out the door with a broom in hand and curses on his lips, forbidding them from entering ever again. Raleigh suspected the owner spread the rumours himself to promote cleanliness in his shop, but she wasn't about to take any chances. For every rumour she had heard about the anger of the owner, she had heard half again as many speculating his mysterious past, and twice that singing praises for the beauty and wonder of the shop. As her hazel eyes scanned her surroundings from beneath her dirty blond hair she could see that people had spoken true about the store. Only true book lovers would look past the ordinary, and hideous, modern exterior to search out the hidden depths of the shop, she thought. She could practically sense that there were rare treasures of books in there, just waiting to be discovered by her and other avid readers alike.

As soon as she began walking towards the back of the shop, she felt as though there was an almost magical aura about the air. It felt heavy and mystical, and the hairs on her arms and at the back of her neck stood up as goose bumps rippled gently over her skin. Books out of the corners of her eyes looked to be bound with leaves and flowers, though when she glanced at them to get a better view she could see that they were ordinary paperbacks, hardcovers or occasionally a few treasures luxuriously bound in soft leather. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. As she took a deep breath in she could smell the familiar comforting scent of old books wrapping around her like a favourite blanket, and her goose bumps diminished.




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Her hand reached gently for the open book, its musty pages yellowed with age and so worn the words were slightly blurred with use.