Norbert’s Marvellous Book Emporium #4

Norbert arrived at his shop at 7.45 as he did every weekday. Today was different, it was snowing, yes, the first snow of the year and with an icy wind blowing up the high street, making it difficult to walk in a straight line. Outside the shop was a young girl looking through the window, her hands firmly stuck in her pockets, and a scarf wrapped around her head. “Good morning,” said Norbert.

“Good morning,” the young girl said, her teeth chattering.

“Are you OK? Would you like to come in out of the cold? I can make you a hot chocolate if you like” Norbert stood in the doorway holding open the door, inviting her in.

“Thank you, I would appreciate it.”

The girl sat in front of a gas fire while Norbert made hot chocolate.

Taking a sip, the girl smiled, “That’s good.”

“I have a special ingredient I bought on one of my trips. Norbert held up a muslin bag, shaking it.

“So, what brings you to my shop this early on such a cold morning?”

“My friend came here, and she can't stop talking about it, so I thought I would come and experience it for myself.”

Norbert scratched his chin, sensing that something was not right. “It is not for everyone, you have to be careful about what book you choose, and something.” He pointed his finger. “I tell everyone, it is the story that determines your return.”

“What do you mean?”

"How remiss of me, I apologise. My name is Norbert; may I ask yours?" He extended his hand.

She accepted it and shook it firmly. "Eliza. A pleasure."

“Eliza, what a good name it is.” Norbert looked around the room as though he were searching for something. “Arr, yes, Eliza, it means a pledge to the gods, or Joyful,”

 Eliza smiled, “Yes, I remember my grandmother telling me, can you tell me what you meant about the story determines your return?”

“What I meant is that when you step into the booth carrying a book, if the story believes you are worthy, it doesn’t just accept you, it draws you in completely. In that moment, the booth becomes a gateway, transporting you into the very heart of the story. You’ll find yourself wherever the story needs you most, whether it’s a distant kingdom on another planet, a hidden city in the jungles of the Amazon, or a forgotten battlefield, and you’ll be given the task that only you can fulfil.

“And has there ever been any issues where someone hasn't come back?”

Norbert was taken aback, “You mean,” he instantly looked at booth number one, “James, yes, I remember James, it has been two years now”

“Two years to the day,” Eliza said, “James was..., is my brother, and the last we heard was he was coming here to pick a book, and that was the last we heard of him.” Eliza fell silent.

Norbert passed her a tissue to wipe her eyes. “Thank you”

“Do you know what book he took with him?” Eliza quizzed.

“Yes,” without checking, Norbert said, “Gulliver's Travels.” And looked again at booth number one. A A4 sheet of white paper was cello-taped to the glass panel, which read

“Out of order”

Eliza rose and walked to booth number one. She placed her hand on the glass panel. “I want to go in and find him,” she said with vigour.

Norbert, was taken aback, “No one has ever gone into a booth while it is occupied, I don’t know what the outcome would be”

Eliza had walked over to the hundreds of books on the shelves, skimming the titles as she walked past. “Here, Gulliver’s Travels,” turning to show Norbert, “I see booth number two is vacant. Shall we?”

“I cannot go with you, I must stay and look after the shop, but you are quite welcome to go and look for yourself.”

“Very well, I will,” Eliza opened the door and walked in, not knowing what to expect. The room whooshed around the wooden ceiling, soon became blue sky, and a soft sea breeze replaced the walls.

Eliza looked around. To her right, she could see hills in the distance and on her left a sandy beach that ran for miles. On the beach were people, small people. She opened the book and skipped through the pages, “I must be in Lilliput,” she said, kneeling so to speak to the small people. Eliza took out her phone to find a photograph of her brother James. “Hello,” she shouted, not knowing if they could hear her or speak English.

A man sat on a horse shouted back, “Hello, we can hear you, ok, no need to shout.”

Eliza smiled, “Sorry, I have come looking for my brother, James. Have you seen him?” showing the man on the horse the photograph.

“Yes, yes, I know him, James, he was here, many moons ago, he stayed and helped us rebuild our defences, but alas, he has gone on another adventure, he crossed the great lake.” The man pointed across the water.

“How do I cross the lake? I need to find him?”

“With your long legs, you can walk across; it will take you two moons, so I would suggest you stay by the shore.”   

“That way,” Eliza pointed.

“Yes, that way.”

“Thank you for helping. I will go now.”

Eliza walked three steps into the water; it came to just below her knee. As she walked on, it soon became dark, so Eliza climbed a few rocks and found a safe place to stay the night. Leaning against a tree, she opened the book and noted that after Lilliput, Gulliver visited Brobdingnag, the land of the giants. In the night, strange noises could be heard, unaware if they were birds, wild cats or mystical creatures, Eliza tried to get some sleep.

When the sun came up, Eliza continued along the coastline, taking fruit for breakfast, and she noticed a change in the terrain. The trees were getting taller, and the grass was brushing against shoulders. By lunchtime, the grass was over her head, and she couldn’t see where she was going, so, stopping at a stream, Eliza read the next chapter in the book.

As she sat reading, a noise disturbed her. Looking up, Eliza nearly fell backwards. “Oh, my goodness, a giant.” Standing, she looked around, but all she could see was the grass, which was now over six feet tall.

Eliza walked for about ten minutes, and she came to a clearing,

“Psssst, Hay lady, over here” Eliza looked to her right. A young boy was standing next to a plant. “Come,” he waved his hand for her to follow him.

Looking around, Eliza had nowhere else to go, so she followed him. The boy stopped “I guess you're new here?”

“Yes, I’m looking for my brother, James,” taking out her phone and showing him the picture.

“James, yes, I know James, his sister, you say?”

“Yes, Eliza, can you take me to him?”

“Follow me,” the boy said, and walked for about half a mile until they reached a gate, which opened, and they walked in.

“Alto, who is this?” an older man asked.

Alto replied, “This is Eliza, she is James’s sister. I will take her to him”

As they reached a wooden house, Alto knocked on the door. It opened, and standing in the doorway was James. Eliza started to cry, “James, I've found you,” she cried.

“Eliza, is that really you? Oh my,” the hugged, James thanked Alto for bringing her, and they went inside the house.

“How, how did you find me?” James asked.

“I went to the book shop and asked Norbert.”

“And he remembered me?”

“Well, it is two years to the day you...,” She hung hr head low.

They hugged again. “Why did you never come home?” Eliza asked.

Both sitting on a wooden stool, James sighed, “I lost the book, and the first rule of book club is don’t lose your book.” 

Eliza raised her brows, “Sorry, that was a joke, yes, I did lose my copy of Gulliver's Travels. So I couldn’t come home. And I've been here ever since.”

A door opened that Eliza hadn’t noticed it before, and in walked a young woman, her long blond hair tied in tails hanging over her shoulders. She was the prettiest thing Eliza had seen. “James, who is this?” she asked.

“Mollyanne, this is my sister Eliza. Eliza, this is my wife Mollyanne”

“Wife, wife. Mum will be furious she missed a wedding.” All three laughed.

After a meal and a good catch-up, the question was raised. “Will you be coming home with me?”

“I cannot, Eliza, this is now my life, I have a wife, a house, a good job in the gold mine, and” he patted Mollyanne on the stomach, “In the spring we will be a family.” More tears fell.

Eliza was getting tired, so Mollyanne showed her to a room where she could stay the night. “Let's chat in the morning.”

The next morning over breakfast, James started the conversation, “Look at what I have here, Eliza, a beautiful wife, a home, a child in the spring, why would I want to go back to that world?”

“But James”

“Sorry, Eliza, do you remember what it was like for me, the pressure of fitting in, not having the best trainers, not having the up-to-date phone. Phone that makes me laugh, we have no internet, that means no Wi-Fi, and best of all, no social media.”

Eliza knew her brother wouldn’t be going back with her. She remembered the problems James had with his mental health, always stressing out, panic attacks, the fear of not fitting in, and social media; the world would be a better place without it. Yes, this is a much better place for James, his wife and new family.   

Thinking about going home, Eliza asked James, “Did you really lose the book?”

James opened a drawer and took out his copy, “Here, take it back with you. I'm sure Norbert will be pleased with its return.”

Eliza and James hugged each other. “Oh, before you go, here,” he passed her a muslin bag. Open it when you get home. Give my love to Mum, and I’m sure you can come and visit in the summer, you could bring Mum with you” More tears and laughter.

The walls of the home started to spin and shudder. Seconds later, Eliza was back in booth number two. Opening the door to a full shop, children of all ages are waiting to get into a booth for their own adventure.

“Well, my dear, you are back,” Norbert said.

“Yes,” she smiled, “James asked me to return this,” she passed him James’s copy of Gulliver's Travels, “I don’t think he will be needing it.”

Norbert thanked her, saying, “Not all adventures are solving puzzles of fighting crime; some are to get peace of mind, so you can move on, and my dear, you can always visit your brother.”

“That would be nice,” Eliza thanked Norbert, then took the short walk home. After explaining to her mother and reassuring her that they could go and visit in the summer, Eliza opened the small bag James gave her. Inside was a gold nugget.

(To be continued)