《A Story about a Magic Book》


 The Rain Falls

    "Well, that certainly did not go as planned."


    That phrase was one that most find themselves familiar with once they reached the end of an event or maybe an action or a day that did not occur in the way they planned. Sometimes, this phrase is muttered accompanied with a sigh or is pronounced after a raging tantrum followed by a bruised body, broken objects and a physical and mental exhaustion that makes one truly wish they could just stop wherever they were or head as fast as they could to space where they could just lay down and sleep or maybe cry for a while in frustration and the sleep.


    This phrase, however, was something quite peculiar in a certain young man''s life.


    His name was Lucas and he was twenty-two years old, and from what he could gather, he had to be the unluckiest person alive. He was not one of those miserable cases of poverty one would often find on the internet about Africanchildren starving of hunger or maybe those of the populations controlled by a tyrannical dictator that dined the best and lived to the utmost whilst his people starved on the streets and had to eat rotten food or straight up trash in order to survive.


    No, this was not his torment. His, at leastin his perspective, was a much more complex problem than just straight out survival. But don''t believe that just because he had this conviction in mind that he was arrogant enough to say that he was miserable. Oh no, he knew full well that misery was not one of his problems.


    He had a somewhat good life in fact. He lived in a small house with his mother and his younger siblings, which were respectively his sister that was at the age of seventeen and his two younger brothers that had twelve and eleven. His house was an old one that housed two generations of his family.


    First, there lived his grandfather and his grandmother with their children, and then after many years, his mother brought them to live there together after they lived for two years in a European country and were forced to come back to his country due to judicial problems with his recently born brother. Ever since they came back they lived in that house for ten years already, and despite the many problems they faced over the years, they could never say that they were miserable. They may have faced problems just as everyone else with finances and disease and all of that normal jazz, but never were they miserable.


    His plight was one of the mind and his, as he liked to call, "Curse" was his overactive mind that would often wander off into other worlds where he knew he could never reach or alternate realities that he knew where too absurd to exist or too difficult to even dream of achieving. This mind of his was one that could spend hours on end wondering about possible universes and mysteries about life that despite the frequent challenge of the subject, he could not figure out at all despite his best efforts. He knew full well just how far he could go if properly motivated or under the right circumstances but as you could most likely already guess, him being motivated or under the right circumstances were events so rare that he could almost affirm they never existed.


    He was always a creative person with a gift for writing. He never won an actual prize or anything of the sort, but he frequently received compliments for his poems and texts be it at school or amidst his friends and family. Aside from that, he didn''t have many things he could, in his perspective and understanding, be proud of.


    As far as he could tell, he was as average a man as he could be and, unlike in his formative years, his ambitions were as peaceful and grounded as they could possibly be. He did not have a wish to be extraordinarily rich or gain immense political power, rather, what he desired most was peace for his troubled mind and a place where he could live in tranquillityas he passed his days doing what he loved most whilst occasionally travelling the planet in order to witness more of the wonders hidden in the big deformed geoid humanity had to call its home in the amongst the stars of the cosmos, or simply, Earth.


    When younger, he dreamed of acquiring power and one day dominate a large piece of land and even build his own country or dominate the world! But, as reality dawned on him and his perception of the world improved, he reached the conclusion that grandeur was not for him and that he would rather spend his days in peace doing the one thing he appreciated the most, reading!


    When it came to reading, he was a fanatic! he did not discriminate against anything and read all kinds of books. He read books about fantastical adventures and explosive action, books that told of legends and mysteries of the world, works that displayed blazing romances and the complexity of relationships, countless texts that informed about technical matters and studies on the most varied subjects. As long as it was readable and he could understand the language, he would read it no matter what it was.


    Reading was the one thing that helped him through his days of depression that perpetuated its impacts on his persona transforming his personality into a far gloomier version and made his mind dance in thrill as he read something new or revisited something he appreciated. He was, as many would call, a bookworm.


    However, that part of his personality was not often displayed to the public. He was a very reserved young man with few friends that would mostly keep to himself and avoid exposure as much as he could manage. It was not known if it was due to his experience of with society or if he was naturally such a "quiet" person, but as far as he knew, he hated crowds and being exposed to them the most! and if he had to make a presentation in front of many people? he would not freeze, but he would hate the person that put him in that situation to the bones whilst imagining countless ways of how to destroy that person''s life.


    But why did he hate being exposed to the public you may ask? well, that''s quite an easy answer. that answer is the fact that Lucas''s figure was not one he appreciated.


    He did not hate his body per se as it was the only one he had and the single thing that tied his existence to this world and allowed him to experience this world and the many books he so much loved to read, but he certainly did not like his looks. His height was above average but not exaggeratedly tall as he was 1.84m (or 6 ft tall for those of the imperial system preference), he had a short and somewhat bulky light brown hair that he would either let his pillow brush for him or just simply brush it all sideways giving him a strange hairstyle that was stuck between an executive and a nerd.


    His eyes were light brown with faint hints of green in them that were very difficult to discern without proper lighting, and to his dismay, his left eye had a discoloration in the skin below it that made it seem like he had a white stain on his face when compared to the other eye. Although it was not a huge issue, every time he looked himself in the mirror and saw the thing he would more often than not sigh and curse his luck in his mind.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    His mouth was somewhat small and his cheeks were normal except for a single detail. Due to a curious condition that made them have a bigger concentration of blood than normal, his cheeks a red flush to them that went from slightly aside the nose all the way to his neck in a diagonal fashion that made him look healthy to most people and also made him look like he was always slightly blushing despite whatever mood he was on the moment. Also due to that same condition, whenever he made any sort of heavy effort, his face would grow scarlet in seconds and would stay so for a considerable time after the effort was over.


    His body was somewhat overweight but had a good distribution that usually passed people the impression of strong instead of fat, and the impression was mostly correct as he was indeed a strong guy despite being sedentary. The problem, however,was that combined with his sedentarism he also had asthma which, and that combination worked in a way that made his overall energy lower and his stamina just trash. And to his dismay, he really liked to run, but every time he did so his asthma would flare up and easily make him stop whilst gasping for breath as his throats muscles contracted and made the simple act of breathing a labor he could not easily surmount. But thanks to modern medicine, he always carried with him an inhaler for those annoying events where he would stop in the middle of the street gasping for breath thanks to a reckless dash or simply when his allergy to dust flared up and activated his asthma in a combo where he would sneeze for a few moments whilst his throat closed and made it that much harder for him to breathe.


    And today, was such a day where the phrase mentioned before and his self-attributed reputation of the unluckiest person in the world came proved themselves in his mind once more.


    His day started out pretty normal as he got out of bed around ten and got up feeling like he had taken a beating the day prior as his body ached all over due to his less than optimal sleeping position that gifted him with a stiff pair of shoulders coupled with a stiff neck and his back hurting more both combined.


    He lifted himself slowly as he felt his muscles work and his bones and joints snap emitting popping sounds as his body propped up and stood erect whilst his mind made an effort to catch up to his habitual moves as it was slightly dazed due to having slept two hours less than usual due to his excess in his nocturnal reading efforts the day prior. He let his head fall to both sides, only to turn it making a full circlewith his head as his neck let out several cracking sounds before a wonderful sensation of relief washed over his neck and made it heat up somewhat as a smile grew on his face.


    His good mood didn''t last for long as seconds after his ears perceived the ever so annoying voices of his brothers and mother gossiping about his sleep and complained that he ate the last few slices of pizza during the night. Despite getting annoyed, he spoke nothing and just went straight to the bathroom.


    He walked slowly out of his room leaving the mess his sleep had caused for later and with but a few steps he reached the grey bathroom door, gripped the doorknob and pushed it down opening the door before entering and immediately after closing and locking the door.


    He looked at the mirror that he was ever so familiar with and gazed at his own face. The white discoloring in his left eye made him frown somewhat as he sighed before opening the tap in the old cream colored sink beneath him that stood at the height of his waist and cupping his hands to gather some water. He bent down and washed his face with water a couple of times before grabbing the towel that was placed on a thin metal bar stuck to the wall right next to him and drying his face. He then proceeded to grab the soap that was next to the tap and rub his hands with it before washing and drying it with the same towel.


    He then walked back to his room and after tidying it up he walked to his, formerly known as the secondary bathroom of the house and now known as, makeshift closet and chose his a pair of pants and shoes promptly throwing it on his bed and shortly after browsing his dresser to choose a shirt, socks and underwear as he prepared himself for a bath after he ate his breakfast.


    Today was Saturday, and since he did not have any classes in college due to the recent holiday in the day prior and he did not have to work since he was unemployed, he decided to go to the local library to spend his days browsing the various books there and perhaps find something interesting to take home afterwards and further feed his habit of reading.


    Now, since it was long past the usual breakfast time in his home Lucas did not have much luck with breakfast. After his brethren devoured the delicious sweets his mother had prepared to eat with fresh bread and a freshly squeezed orange juice, all he was left with was a single bread with margarine and a cup of pure milk since he disliked coffee and there was no other option available to mix with the milk.


    He ate quickly and after cleaning the table and washing the dishes, he returned to his room and grabbed his clothing, entered the bathroom and locked it.


    Fifteen minutes later he got out fully washed and dressed. He wore his favorite band shirt that was black and had a huge stamp on the chest with the band''s art, and on the back, he had that year''s dates for the band''s tour which he had a few months prior watched the show that was on his country. He also wore washed blue jeans that were slightly big for him and would make him sometimes step on their bar, also, he wore black sneakers.


    After that, he spoke to his mother about going out, went back to his room and fetched his keys, wallet, earphones and phone as well as his glasses and quickly walked out of his home.


    The town he lived in was a modest one. It was somewhat close to the rural region and existeda hundred kilometers away from the state''s capital having only a one hundred thousand people in population. Despite that, it was a well (ish) developed town that thrived in the tourism business and had its main product the wine and a strange plant whose name he could not pronounce correctly that could be eaten and was quite well known in the region as an expensive delicacy.


    As he walked he plugged his phones on and started browsing his phone to choose a soundtrack for his walk, and after a few minutes of browsing, he ended up choosing his favorite band''s custom made best hits playlist. He slowly walked through the streets, and as usual, he observed the people around him.


    He watched as they went about their lives, be it hurriedly or leisurely and imagined how different their lives could be, judging from their behavior and speech. As his mind wandered off to the possibilities of these beings he ended up tripping and although he didn''t fall, his glasses did. He hurriedly bent down whilst cursing his mind for his stupidity and picked up only to find out that his previously pristine glasses now had scratches on the lenses that did not impair his vision but made the sight quite annoying.


    Then, as he traversed a crosswalk a reckless driver almost ran over him and if it were not for his timely reaction he would have at leastquite a number of broken bones or even died as the imbecile ran over a red light. Afterwards, the sky that was tranquil filled with white clouds quickly changed into a dark grey sky that threatened to rain that rumbled as thunder exploded and lightning crackled, soon after, the rain started to pour massively as if the sky was enraged.


    "REALLY NOW!? RAIN!?" Lucas shouted angrily as he started running.


    He had not grabbed his umbrella when he left his home, and since the weather was quite good, he never would have imagined that such a ferocius rain would actually hit him.

 La Maison du Vin

    As annoying as the situation was to him and as frustrating the knowledge of what was about to happen with his body was, Lucas just kept running. The last time such a hard rain fell and he allowed himself the leisure of walking slowly in the rain as his clothes became drenched he got himself pneumonia and took two full months to fully recover from its effects, and as such, despite knowing that his asthma would be triggered and that the wheezing tight throat hell that was the experience would soon occur followed by aching all over his body and a drastic drop of stamina to the point where he would feel his already heavier body due to the rain-soaked clothes feel like it weights twice as much as before, he just ran with all his might.


    The library was still a solid ten minutes away at his current speed and although it was still considered quite close in general terms, to him and his trashy stamina this distance was an absolute nightmare. Running recklessly and without warming up first like he was doing was a stupid idea above all else and he knew it. At best, if he adjusted his running and reduced his speed, he could keep running at a moderate pace for five more minutes, but considering that he wanted to dodge pneumonia to the best of his abilities he found himself with no other choice but to speed up and find a place to rest, dry properly and take his asthma medicine.


    "Can''t....let....pneumonia....again....not....enough cash....to buy medicine...and patience...to recover...."


    As his breathing began to get heavier and his throat began to lock down making the act of drawing fresh breaths a colossal effort, even his thoughts began to slow down and match the rhythm of his breath. It was a process he was too familiar with at this point. First, his shoulders would get stiff and feel incredibly heavy, and as that thought crossed his mind they rapidly became so. His shoulders slumped downwards as his back began to, ever so slowly, bend down.


    Then, heat would build up in his body and temporarily increase his movement with the collateral effect of increasing his sweating ratio to the point that in seconds he would be dripping with sweat. First, it was his chest that heated up. He could easily feel the pain in his muscles fade somewhat as the warm feeling spread from the center of his chest and went outwards and mere instants after the sweat began to condense in the area with a hot feeling to them that let him easily distinguish the beads from the rainwater.


    His armpits came right after together with his forehead. The friction of his arms moving and brushing against his ribs just sped up the sweat condensation process together with the feeling of heat that would soon enough spread to his shoulders, arms and neck. As the forehead sweated soon followed his face. Thanks to his unusual cheek condition, his face flushed scarlet in instants and he seemed as if his face would produce blood through the skin at any moment. The only exception was the discolored skin around his left eye, in contrast to the rest of the flushed red face, the discoloration only seemed to become even whiter, resembling a deformed small blot of white ink in his face.


    Afterwards, his back began to heat up, and as the pain on it subsided somewhat Lucas used the moment to contract his back muscles and straighten himself releasing several cracking sounds and a marvellous sensation of relief as his spine got back into place.


    "Haaaah...."


    A sigh escaped his lips as a smile crept on his face amidst the overheating turmoil that his body felt like right now. But then the familiar ritual continued as the rest of the effects he was all too familiar with played out. His chest then quickly started to hurt as his heart sped up to the rate that it felt like the effort it was exerting was so grand that it was giving light jabs at his chest cavity bones from the inside.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    His feet started to hurt and feel gross as his socks and sneakers filled to the brim with rainwater and his pants got even heavier as they became soaked with water all the way to his underwear. As his body entered in overheating standards and pain spread to every muscle, coupled with his short breath that was starting to make him feel dizzy, Lucas suddenly saw a few meters away from him a sophisticated bar that his brain quickly identified as a new expensive bar that had heat control inside that just recently opened.


    "A chance!"


    He sped up a bit further and in a few instants, he reached the blue door of the surprisingly small bar that as he thought for a bit more he classified as more of a pub than an actual cheap bar that he was so used to see in his town. It was a blue glass door that had a metallic black handle attached to it and had a beautiful white calligraphy engraved on it that said "La Maison du Vin". He had a slight knowledge of French, so he immediately recognized the meaning of the words.


    "The wine mansion?"


    At this point he didn''t care much if he would have to interact with possibly annoying people and just pushed his doubts away together with the blue door and entered the place. The instant he did a smile rapidly crept into his dripping wet face as a warm and fragrant gust of air that carried the thick and pleasant smell of wine with it washed of him.


    There were but three steps to reach the counter inside. The ground was covered with a smooth and surprisingly, at least in Lucas''s perspective, clean crimson carpet that gave the whole place a feeling of being stuffy and warm. Contrary to his expectations though, there was no customer inside and the only person besides himself inside the place was the owner that looked at his with a slightly shocked expression as well as a pitiful gaze in his eyes.


    His eyes met the owner''s and for an instant, the both of them stood silently gazing at one another. As if coming out of a trance, Lucas nodded his head and spoke a short greeting.


    "Good Afternoon"


    His voice came out raspy and out pained despite his best efforts to hide his current asthma crisis, which immediately gave away his condition and the owner not being deaf or brain impaired, obviously noticed his struggling disposition and said.


    "Come in, have a seat"


    Lucas didn''t stand any ceremony and quickly sat on one of the three benches across the counter, choosing the centermost one. The owner being a smart businessman then spoke amicably.


    "Don''t worry about buying anything, for now, recover your breath and dry up for a while. I know how having asthma in a surprise rain like this feels like"


    Lucas then looked at the man surprised and silently gazed at him as if asking.


    "You have asthma too?"


    The owner noticed it and smiling replied.


    "Asthma is something I have had to deal with for a long time now, so don''t worry. I understand your struggle"


    Lucas gave a short nod and went silent as his body slumped over the counter and his deep breaths sounded out inside the store. His eyes were barely open and his head was leaned on his arms as his heart began to slow down. The temperature inside the place grew a tad higher as a hot wind blew from the ceiling unto him and he could feel that his body was already slightly drying, despite at a really slow speed. But, considering his current condition and state, he could not complain about as at least he was drying and erasing the danger of catching pneumonia again.


    As his breathing stabilized, Lucas could still feel his air absorption capabilities were still reduced. He then produced an L shaped white plastic asthma breather out of his pocket that he had luckily remembered to bring along with him and put it in his mouth, pressing the button on top of it and releasing a quick and shot burst of pressurized gas inside his mouth that travelled straight to his lungs giving a cold feeling as it passed through his throat. He held his breath for a few seconds to let the medicine take effect and then released it with a pleasantly relaxed sigh.


    "haaaah...."


    The next breath he took was considerably easier to take and a satisfied smile appeared on his face as his previously tense facial muscles relaxed and the frown on his expression disappeared, giving way to a tranquil face that exuded bliss.

 The Butler

    His consciousness wished it could just drift away. He was so tired.


    Tired.


    Yes...


    Lucas''s life lately was just one tiring event after the other. He was at the last semester of college and thus, as much as he hated this affair, he had to make a graduation project and defend his thesis later on in front of a crowd and a few judging professors that would determine whether he failed or succeeded in graduating from this long course he spent so much time and had to go through so much stress to drag his exhausted mind forwards till the very end.


    The fact that he was unemployed didn''t help either since the, as he would frequently complain about, idiotic teachers would often demand class projects and other things that involved spending money which he didn''t like one bit.


    Plus, to make all bad matters worse his mind was an utter mess. It could easily be said that he was crawling his way into the finishing line in the most excruciating process possible to him, and him procrastinating frequently didn''t aid at all either. His motivation was zero and his energy was at the same level, he found all of this process a big and tormenting waste of his time since he had long regretted making this specific choice of college to take.


    But in any case, none of that mattered. His mother was constantly nagging at his about finishing since he was already so close and, as expected of any mother, was also constantly complaining about his inability to get a job despite his numerous explanations about economy and politics that were basically putting EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE COUNTRY in jeopardy.


    The politics in his country cause fear and the broken economy caused despair. There was nothing he could do about jobs or money due to the fact that he, as well as millions of others, was unemployed or like so many more in his country was getting closer and closer to unemployment or, if they were of a higher social standing, lose their careers or businesses.


    It was truly a tough time to live right now and his mother''s constant claims of his "unwillingness" and straight out "laziness" did not help him at all through these events. He knew he had to have patience with her and everyone else, but it was becoming harder and harder to endure in silence.


    It took Lucas a good ten minutes to stabilize completely and relax his body. His muscle tension diminished at the same pace as his pulse did whilst his breathing became easy and no longer did he wheeze. His clothes were not completely dry, but thanks to the controlled climate environment around him they were considerably better than they were when he entered the place a few minutes prior soaking wet from the rain.


    He no longer slumped on the counter but instead sat up straight as his head felt somewhat light. He shook his head a bit to help his focus return before observing the place he had entered out of desperation.


    The counter he was slumped on previously was actually quite beautiful now that he took the time to appreciate it. It was a solid light brown wood piece that resembled the natural patterns you would often find on recently cut wood that was carefully drawn out by whoever made this surprisingly beautiful and useful work.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Behind the counter were several wine bottles neatly lined in the metallic shelves enveloped by a material almost exactly equal to the red carpet on the floor making it look like there was a competition being held on those curiously looking shelves. Not only that but in those shelves, there were also other neat things like crystal goblets and metallic ones as well as several frames that held pictures of customers and the owner.


    There were also several books, both old and new, standing on the topmost shelf. He could see many classic titles and also many technical books about the processes of wine preservation and how to correctly consume a wine. There was one book that had a peculiar look to it and was considerably thick that, the moment he laid his eyes on it, made Lucas feel as if the book was calling to him. For a few seconds he couldn''t break eye contact with the book but after that, he feigned ignorance about the occurrence and continued to observe.


    Then he noticed that on the ceiling there were three fluorescent white lamps that were specifically pointed to the counter so that it was properly illuminated. The walls of the place were covered with a stylish royal purple wallpaper that was streaked with black and gold patterns that converged in several identical symbols that looked like weird medieval crests or crosses that Lucas felt familiar with but could not exactly remember where he had seen it before.


    Lastly, he looked at the owner who regarded him with a welcoming smile. He was a man in his late forties that had a few white hairs here and there popping on his head as well as baggy skin under his eyes that made him seem a tad older than the general impression he gave out. His eyes were a very light brown that had some traces of blue in it that seemed to transmit a wise kind of vibe that made Lucas somewhat surprised.


    He was a tall man, at least as tall as himself. His physique was somewhat similar to his own but much thinner and neatly kept. He wore a pristine white shirt and a black waistcoat that had a single pocket on it with a golden chain coming out from it and linking to a golden ring strapped to the waistcoat above the pocket. He wore black pants and neatly polished black shoes that only contributed to the overall impression that the man was a butler or an old-fashioned man from England.


    "Well? How do you feel now?" The man asked.


    "Much better than a few minutes ago. Thank you for your patience." Lucas politely replied.


    "Don''t sweat it. I know better than anyone how bad it feels to be caught by a sudden rain whilst equipped with a sickness like ours" The man chuckled.


    "A terrifying option..."Lucas sighed.


    "I assume you can now talk properly. How about we have a chat?" The man offered.


    "But what about your costs in keeping me here? shouldn''t I consume something?" Lucas inquired suspiciously.


    "If you want, you should. I''m also using this place and since there are no more customers to consume and/or keep me company I don''t mind you staying here. Also, considering the look of the storm outside right now, I don''t think you actually have that much of a choice." The man replied.


    "What do you..."


    CRAAAACKKK BOOOOOM!!!!


    Lucas''s body stiffened as the lightning roared and the thunder rumbled in the stormy sky. He turned to look towards the door and saw that the pouring rain had only intensified and now made it absolutely impossible for him to head outside.


    "Well, that certainly did not go as planned." Lucas sighed to himself as he pondered about the rain.

 Fated Encounters

    "You''re right. I''ve got no choice in this matter." Lucas agreed.


    The owner silently nodded. He bent down on the counter and Lucas for an instant could hear a vacuum-like sound before a light appeared for an instant in the walls, casting a huge shadow of the man. He rummaged for a few seconds before returning and closing what it seemed to be the door of a mini fridge, and then proceeding to put two cans of cold grape juice and a small round cheese wheel that was already half consumed on a white porcelain plate on the counter.


    He then turned his back for an instant and grabbed a few paper handkerchiefs and put on the side of the white porcelain plate before producing from a drawer under the counter a small and very sharp knife that resembled a scalpel with a slightly bigger blade. Afterwards, he procured a packet of toothpicks and placed them besidecheese plate and then looked at Lucas.


    "Well, since destiny placed us in the same spot at this so specific time this must be a fated encounter." The man spoke, "Let us at least share a nice snack whilst we chat. Free of charge"


    "If you insist then I will not stand inceremony," he replied whilst grabbing a can of juice and opening it before point its opened tip towards the owner, " To fated encounters."


    "To fated encounters." The owner likewise mimicked Lucas''s motions and tapped the tip of his can against Lucas''s.


    "Cheers," both said in unison.


    After both taking a sip of the juice, the owner acted once more. He picked the small knife and began cutting in a precise and practised fashion.


    Tink...Tink...Tink...Tink.


    He cut the small cheese wheel four times separating four slices of it. He then picked two toothpicks from the packet and stabbed two of the slices with it, then he chose one for himself and proceeded to take a bite out of it.


    "Try one, I guarantee it is of the utmost quality."


    "What kind of cheese is this?" Lucas inquired whilst he grabbed the last toothpick for himself and brought the cheese slice to his mouth, quietly taking a tiny bite out of it.


    As his tastes buds took in the new taste, he found himself quite amused with the new information his brain provided him about the snack. It had a creamy and rich taste with a sweet and buttery tinge to it that made him, a fan of sweet things, very happy as a grin blossomed on his face. The grin did not go unnoticed by the owner which, in satisfaction and a slight tinge of pride, promptly replied.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "This is what is known as a havarti cheese," he said, "This cheese is considered a semi-soft type that has amongst its known features of being sweet and buttery with a rich and creamy flavorthat can become sharp as it ages. This one you won''t notice though as it is quite fresh."


    The pair then began to chat about various topics. They spoke about politics, sports, religion and even spoke about the meaning of life itself whilst enjoying the cheese and canned grape juice. All that took them quite a long time as the conversation lasted for two whole hours without them noticing at all how long they spent chatting.


    As they finally did notice the time, and also noticed that the snacks were thoroughly finished, they stopped. Lucas was ready to go out after thanking the man for the pleasant conversation when once more a very familiar, and especially annoying, sound rung in the air once more.


    CRAAAACKKK BOOOOOM!!!!


    The lightning and thunder roared furiously once again and the fierce rain continued. It seemed that he would not be able to get out of the place any time soon. Thanks to the heating Lucas had completely dried up and was, in fact, feeling really warm and comfy. He was quite reluctant to try and face the rain, and as such, he sat down again and this time he fetched his wallet and took out his bank card before speaking.


    "Well...I don''t see myself getting out of here so soon and considering that I might as well appreciate what you''ve got in store"


    "That''s the spirit!" The owner nodded and laughed.


    "So, what kind of beverage would you recommend for such a rainy day where one finds himself stuck in a fateful encounter?" Lucas inquired.


    The man smiled lightly and turned to his shelves, analyzing his products with a pensive expression.


    "A good wine for a wet weather..." He murmured.


    The man occasionally picked up a bottle and held it in his hands thinking. It took a good ten minutes and ten bottles before the man chose one and placed it in the counter. It was a very standard dark green wine bottle with a paper like a label that said "2005 Hendry Block 28 Zinfandel".


    "This is a good one for a day such as this." The man said.


    Lucas quickly paid for the bottle and the man provided a glass for him to drink it. Lucas then told the man that drinking alone was quite boring and that he would appreciate the company and the man quickly understood the meaning of the words and grabbed a glass for himself before opening the bottle and carefully pouring a glass to each of them.


    They silently drank for a few minutes in respect for the wine. They took their time to taste the wine very carefully and after a good while of silent appreciation the owner finally spoke.


    "I noticed that you have been paying attention to my books."


    "You did? heh, I guess I''m caught red-handed," Lucas chuckled sheepishly, "Are those books for sale or are they just for exhibition?"


    "Those are my favorite books which I read quite often and are not for sale," He replied, "But if you like we can make a deal for one of those."


    "A deal?" Lucas inquired full of suspicion.


    "Well...not a deal per se, but a bet." he replied.


    "What kind of bet?"

 The Crimson Book

    The man turned around and slowly fetched a book from the top shelf. Lucas did his best not to give any tips about his true desire but nonetheless, almost as if he had his soul seen through by the owner, he grabbed precisely the book that Lucas felt a strong urge to get no matter what.


    He turned and showed him the book. It was quite old but extremely beautiful and, just like respectful antiques which Lucas was quite often fond off, it was well preserved to the point that the only thing that gave away its ancient origin was the lettering style and the fact that the pages were, albeit almost unnoticeable, slightly yellowed.


    It had a crimson leather cover that made the book seem like it had its cover made out of solidified blood. On the edges and corners of it, a layer of gold and tiny golden pins gave the whole aesthetic a vibe of royalty and mystery to the point that Lucas felt a slight pressure that made him slightly dazed just from looking at it.


    He had the feeling that if he took the book in his hands right now, something incredible would happen. Unconsciously, his hand stretched out slowly and tried to reach for the object. The owner noticed this and smiled, quickly retrieving the book right before Lucas''s index finger could touch the corner of the thing.


    Lucas snapped out of his dazed and laughed embarrassedly. The owner chuckled and spoke.


    "These books are quite special. They are antique books that are, as far as my knowledge goes, unique in this world. Most of the times, the customers do not even notice the existence of the top shelf. The rare times they do actually notice it, they quickly shrug it off as an old man''s hobby and forget about it. However, aside from yourself, none had ever become so attracted to them as you have and this further enhances my belief that these books are more than what they seem."


    "Special? More than what they seem? What precisely do you suspect these books to have? Magic?" Lucas laughed awkwardly trying to shake off the feeling that the book before him was indeed supernatural.


    "Precisely." The man said mysteriously.


    Lucas''s mind shook a bit as his heart skipped a beat. His body began to involuntarily tense up as wild ideas began to form and his powerful and imaginative brain flared up with fantasies.


    For all of his life, aside from the times where he was either busy or distracting himself from reality with things he enjoyed, Lucas always felt that life was quite dull. Yes, he knew that his worldview was still not wide enough for him to say that life was boring per se. Rather, He was most of the times awfully bored and sometimes even reached the point of thinking that his existence was just a prison of the thing he hated most, Boredom.


    His dream was to be able to travel the world so that he could always be busy with learning and experiencing. And as many could guess from his mindset, all of that was just so that he could keep himself from getting bored. Being bored, at least to him, was just as if one lived a living death.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Due to his many years worth of reading and his extremely well-developed taste for the fantastical, No other thought could emerge in his mind aside from a single extremely hopeful desire.


    "Could this be my chance to escape this boring reality for good?"


    He then immediately saw himself wielding the power of a god as the book flashed with colorful lights. The earth trembled and quaked at his commands and the wind flowed in the direction he desired. No harm could come to him as he was invulnerable and no one could oppose him as the might was all his. He was invincible!


    After a few seconds of fantasizing, Lucas''s mind returned to reality. He coughed to try and create a distraction before continuing the conversation.


    "And what kind of bet do you have in mind?"


    "Well...since this is such a special occasion I shall make a special wager," The man said, "The book''s value is unknown since I happened upon it by chance and did not pay much for it despite the feeling that it is invaluable. That considered and the fact that you are quite a good company for a stormy day like this one our wager shall be like this,"


    "If you win, you can take the book. If you lose, you buy another bottle of wine and drink it with me." He stated.


    The butler-looking owner extended his hand with a playful and somewhat mysterious grin on his face, his eyes slightly squinted as a genuine interest sprouted in his face.


    "How does that sound?" He proposed.


    Lucas kept silent for a good while. His mind fiercely running as he struggled to come to a decision. On one hand, he had to consider that buying a single bottle was already his limit, since it was expensive enough, and spending anymore was something he could simply not do without facing a consequence later on. On the other hand, an immeasurable feeling of loss and grief sprouted on his mind every time he considered rejecting the wager. After a good five minutes, Lucas grabbed the man''s extended hand and shook it with gritted teeth as he said.


    "How will we decide this then?"


    The man placed the book on the counter after putting a cork in the bottle they had just opened and place the items they had just consumed previously in the dishwasher and trash can respectively in accordance to their nature. He then opened a drawer beneath the counter and grabbed a small black metal box with a golden spades symbol.


    ~pop~


    He opened the box with a slight soundand revealed its contents. Inside the box was, placed in between a red protective material, a black deck of cards with beautiful golden engravings that showed the suit and number or symbol of the card. With a practised move he dexterously drew the deck and began to shuffle it.


    "This deck is quite special and pretty expensive," The man laughed, "It is made of obsidian tiles that have been carefully polished and engraved with gold and it has been in my family for at leastone hundred years.


    "And it is precisely with this expensive thing that we''ll play a good round of blackjack."


    "Blackjack?" Lucas inquired astonished by the simplicity of his challenge.


    "Yes, Blackjack. The first one to accumulate three victories wins the wager. Simple no?" The owner smiled.


    "Too simple. What''s the catch?" Lucas questioned.


    "No catch. I figured that if we are to decide a wager, we should do it in an entertaining way." He replied.


    "Okay then, Its a deal then!" Lucas laughed as a grin arose in his countenance.