The hinges of the old door argued theatrically as Aidan entered the store.
The morning rain was cold and carried a chill through the protective layers of his coat but the physical warmth and familiar surroundings comforted him on this early spring day. A faint steam of breath swirled behind him like smoke as he moved inside. He flicked the light switch as he always did; the warm yellow glow bringing the little shop to life as he stepped around the closing door but preoccupied in thought never noticed the open book laying in the center of the isle just up the stairs.
Rain always made him feel a bit melancholy but it felt a little stronger today. Ottawa springs were always unpredictable but he had hoped for some sun, it was after all his day and he would gladly have given up any gift to have felt it's warmth.
A sudden clunking noise made him jump back slightly and he called out awkwardly into the empty room.
"Hello?"
No one replied back but that didn't help to alleviate his unease and Aidan stood with his hand on the door ready to run. As he reached into the folds of his jacket for his phone another clunk echoed from the opposite side of the room.
"I hope you're having a good laugh!" he called out nervously charging up the stairs and around the corner of the inside wall, his fist curled into a ball ready to strike the intruder.
Instead he was surprised to see a book by Ernest Hemingway - The Sun also Rises laying on the floor.
The coincidence on the subject of the sun wasn't lost on him as he knelt down to pick it up. It was then he noticed another book a few steps away.
"What the?'
He slipped the Hemingway back into place and moved down the row, his pulse increasing.
The book lay open with the spine sticking up in the air, as it came into focus Aidan stopped. He bent over slowly and picked it up flipping the book over cover to cover reading the title. Happy Birthday to you - Dr. Suess.
"I can't believe this is happening."
The door chimed as he made his way to the register and Aidan looked up to acknowledge a petite lady in a blue overcoat that had just entered.
He placed the book absentmindedly on a random pile and called over to her.
"Good morning Mrs. Boyce."
"Just came in for a book on humming birds Aidan, I want to start a garden this year for them."
"Let me give you a hand, I think there are few over on the other side that would be perfect.
Alena Boyce disappeared suddenly, as if she had stumbled but her head popped up again just as quickly.
"This was on the floor," she held up a book and waved it around. Aidan could see the title as he got closer; Gardening for humming birds....
"This is getting weird." he muttered.
As she was paying, several more books fell to the floor in different areas around the store. Alena either didn't hear or pretended not to notice which suited him just fine. He didn't feel like explaining something he didn't understand himself.
As the door closed Aiden found himself alone once again but instead of feeling any kind of relief, the strange activities were too troubling and he shuddered at the thought of what needed to be done. He inhaled courage along with a deep breath and began to move cautiously between the shelving in a quest to see what had fallen.
Aidan picked up each book, collecting them in the crook of his arm as he went. There was a book on National Parks of Canada, several music books had mysteriously spread across a table and spilled onto the floor, a book on theatre directing and an advertising poster for his Mom's River Resonance Chamber choir fluttered down from it's place on the bulletin board. In the travel section there was a book on Australia and another on the History of Jerusalem.
He was lost in thought as he pieced together the significance of each, leaving the WHY to someone else when the door chimed again. A Fedex driver raced over handing a small package to Aidan and he opened it as quickly sliding the contents out into his other hand. It was a copy of Rigby the Sled Dog's Christmas story with a note that said simply, Thinking of you on your day - Happy Birthday!
As he finished reading the note another book fell from a shelf in the back corner and he smiled.
"I wonder who that could be from?"
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