Norbert’s Marvellous Book Emporium #6

  Norbert’s Marvellous Book Emporium was the most magical shop on the high street. Every day, children lined up outside, waiting for their turn to step inside and discover new adventures. The shop was always busy, and there was a buzz of excitement in the air.

It has been three months now since the for-sale sign went up. Norbert had noticed a woman sitting on a bench across the street. She came every day with her sandwiches and a flask, watching the shop with a smile.

Norbert greeted Emma, who followed him in. “Hello Emma!” Norbert said cheerfully. “Are you ready for another adventure? Last time, you helped Robinson Crusoe and Friday!”

Emma smiled. “Well, I actually came to ask you something…” she began.

But Norbert was already ahead of her. “Yes, you can start today!” he said, handing her a mop. “There’s been an underwater adventure in booth six. Can you help clean up?”

Emma laughed. “How did you know I wanted a job?” she asked.

Norbert winked. “I just had a feeling!”

Emma got to work in booth six. She could smell the salty sea air and saw sand, seashells, and lots of seaweed on the floor. It was like the ocean had come right into the shop

Just then, the door to booth five opened, and Eliza walked out. “Eliza, what are you doing here?” she asked, surprised.

 Eliza grinned. “I have just come back from three days with James, you know, he decided to stay in Gulliver's World, he now has a family.” The shop door opened, and the woman who had been sitting on the bench came in, “Mum,” Eliza cried.

“So, this is your mum?” Norbert asked with an inquisitive look.

Eliza showed her a small muslin bag and smiled.  

She turned to Norbert and said, "Beryl, nice to meet you." They shook hands, and she asked, "Can we have a chat?"

“Sure, come into my office.” Both Beryl and Norbert walked into the office, while

Eliza helped Emma, soaking up the water, “What's going on?” Emma asked.

“Well, you’ve seen the for-sale sign?”

“Yes, I’ve been worried for weeks, not just me; we’ve all been worried,”

“My mum contacted the estate agent, and she found out. Norbert owns the business, not the building, and the building owner wants to sell and move abroad.”

“So, if the owner sells the building, what will happen to all the books and all the adventures?” Emma was looking anxious.

“This is something my Mum has been thinking about, how would she visit James and his family, if there is no book shop?” Just then, the office door opened, and Norbert let Beryl out first; both were smiling.

Norbert addressed the group, Eliza, Emma, and several other children, two with their parents, and all came close to listen. “As you are aware, the building has been up for sale, and it has been playing on all your minds.”

Some of the children hesitated, and the sound of shoes shuffling and heads nodding was noticeable. "Well," Norbert extended a folder, "Mrs Cartwright."

“Oh, you can call me Beryl,” she smiled.

“I’ll get straight to the point, Beryl, has bought the building, and set up a trust fund in the name of Norbert’s Marvellous Book Emporium.”

There was applause and cheers, people hugging each other, and then came the tears.

Emma asked, “How, how did she afford it? Wasn't it expensive?”

Eliza took out the muslin bag, opening it, she showed Emma a golden nugget, “This is how, each time I visited James, I have brought back a golden nugget. We have sold them, and this is what mum has bought the building with.”

There was a clatter and a bang from the bottom of the shop. Door number three burst open, smoke filled the shop, and everyone looked around. “What on earth is going on?” shouted Norbert. All the excitement had stopped.

David fell out of the booth, “Help. Help, Paul is stuck. There was a loud bang, the earth moved, and Paul fell down the shaft, stuck, and I had nothing to get him out.”

Norbert jumped into action; he swished past children and adults like he was ice skating. Emma saw him flick his fingers, and all the bags behind the counter shimmed until one from the back came to the front. “Eliza, I think you're the best one for this. Here, grab this bag.”

Eliza’s hands shook as she accepted the bag from Norbert. All around the shop, worried expressions from the children, parents, and even Beryl, who had just rescued the Emporium, now watched anxiously. Smoke drifted up from booth three, and David’s urgent voice rang out: “Hurry! Paul could fall!”

Eliza followed David to the booth, clutching the bag. As the door closed, the smoke spun around. Causing a tornado effect, then with a flash of light, the booth disappeared.

“Where are we?” Eliza asked.

David showed Eliza the book that had chosen them. 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth.'

“Seriously,” Eliza shook her head, “I hope he’s not underground”

David stopped, “The book chose us, and we wanted Bram Stoker’s Dracula.”

They walked on to the entrance of a shack built on the side of a hill.

Eliza opened the door to the shack; it was badly lit and smelled of smoke and bad eggs. “What were you doing here?”

“It's all gone wrong; we meet up with Professor Otto Lidenbrock, Alex and Hans.

They were going to take us to the Volcano, and then a storm came, we got lost and took shelter in this shack.”

“How did Paul get trapped?”

“The earth shook, and he fell down the shaft. I can't reach him, he’s too far down.”

Eliza opened the bag that Norbert gave her. Inside was a flashlight and two lengths of rope. Shining the beam down the shaft, she could see Paul. “Paul, my name is Eliza. I have come to rescue you. How are you doing?"

“Not so good to tell you the truth, I’m holding onto a beam that looks a hundred years old, and could crumble at any time”

“OK, can you get a foothold?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he cried.

“Can you secure your feet so that if we send down some rope, you can tie it around your middle?”

“Oh, yes, I can, just a minute.” Paul turned and pushed his feet forward, and as he did, the beam that was stopping him from falling twisted and moved. Dust and debris fell from above, covering him.

“Stop, stop,” shouted Eliza, “The walls are caving in.”

“I need to go down,” she said with a determined look.

“By my guest” said David, “I’m scared of heights”

After tying one of the ropes around the cabinet, Eliza dropped the other end down,

“Can you reach it?” she shouted.

“Yes, I have it,” Paul replied.

“He’s getting weak; I can hear it in his voice. David was looking over the shaft; his colour had changed.  

“Have a look in the bag, see if there's anything else,” Eliza asked David to get him away from the edge.

"Yes, a first aid kit, and there's a harness, oh, there’s two of them, the kind used for rock climbing or maybe abseiling," he said, handing it to Eliza. "How did Norbert know you'd need this? And why weren't they in the first time I looked?”

As she put on one of the harnesses, Eliza replied, "Alright, I'll go down and check on Paul. If I can, I'll tie the other end of the rope around him and then climb back up. I want you to hold onto the rope.” She paused. “The other rope, the one attached to me.”

“Yes, ok,” he picked up the correct rope.

Eliza’s heart hammered in her chest as she edged closer to the shaft. She turned around to face the shaft wall, lowering her feet to the next beam. As she did, her left hand moved lower. “Three points of contact at all times,” just as her instructor had taught her.

The rough stone scraped her fingers and boots, cold water trickling down the walls. Every breath echoed in the silence, broken only by the distant drip of water and the trembling rumble of earth. The beam of her flashlight pierced through the swirling dust, clearly revealing Paul. Clinging desperately to a crumbling beam, his face was streaked with dirt and etched with fear. Their eyes met, and in that moment, Eliza knew that every second counted.

“Paul, I’m almost there!” Eliza called, her voice echoing off the walls. She moved slowly.

Suddenly, another tremor shook the shaft, sending a shower of pebbles and dirt down on Paul. Eliza paused, heart pounding, and then pressed on. She reached Paul, who clung to the old beam, his knuckles white, his breathing erratic, “Paul, slow your breathing down, come on with me,” Eliza, took in a deep breath, “In, 1 –2 –3- 4, out, 1- 2 –3 –4, in 1-2-3-4, out 1-2-3-4, That’s good now. Here, let me help you with the harness,” Eliza said gently. She looped the harness around Paul, securing it the best she could. “David, get ready to pull!” she shouted upward.

David steadied himself and began to pull, with Eliza assisting from below. The ground trembled again, causing more of the shaft walls to crumble around them. A surge of water struck Eliza in the chest, spinning her around, as she corrected herself, trying to maintain her grip on Paul. It was exhausting. “Come on, girl,” she encouraged herself, “You can do this.” Shifting slightly to the right, the water now hit the shaft wall instead of her. “Pull, David, pull, I don’t know how long it will be before the shaft collapses.”

David was moving his hands and legs in sync with Eliza and making good progress. Then he stopped. “David, what’s wrong? Why have you stopped?”

“He’s too heavy, I can’t do it. We need help.”

Eliza thought for a minute, “David, listen to me, open the book...,”

David stopped her from finishing. “No, if I do that, there's no way of you getting back.”

“Listen, open the book, you will go back to the shop, make sure you keep the booth door open, and ask Norbert and the others to help you pull, it will work, I promise you”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, believe me, it will work.” Eliza had all her fingers and toes crossed.

David held onto his end of the rope and opened the book. The walls of the shack spun around within seconds; he was back in the shop. “Help, Help, please, someone help, I need you to pull on this. He passed Norbert his end of the rope.

“Come on, people, grab the rope.” All the adults and children held onto the rope and pulled, “Heave, Heave, and heave.” The rope went slack, and the line of pullers fell to the ground. Eliza and Paul appeared at the door of the booth. Both were covered in dirt and exhausted after their ordeal.

The crowd in the shop erupted in cheers as David and Emma helped Paul and Eliza out, safe and sound. Norbert smiled, his eyes twinkling with pride.

But just as relief swept through the Emporium, the ground rumbled again. Booth number three started to shake; Norbert stepped forward, raising his voice above all the excitement. “Close the door, close the door” Emma was the nearest, so she slammed it shut, and the tremors stopped.

“You’ve all shown courage and kindness today,” he announced. “With the kind heart of Mrs, sorry Beryl, the Emporium will go on for many years, and who knows what your next adventure will be.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.