A Chance Arrival
at the Gate

The Sample That Got You Here

He wasn’t supposed to be there. He was walking aimlessly, deep in thought and found himself standing there and staring in.

It was one of those bookstores that felt like it belonged to another time. No sign on the door, no hours posted. Just a window fogged over from the inside, and the faint scent of old pages spilling out into the cold evening air. On the outside of the door, there was a heart traced in red. Is that lipstick? He wondered how it got there. As he touched it, the door squeaked open.

Without thinking, without choosing, he found himself moving forward and entering the premises. His eyes adjusted to the lighting and scanned the entire room, recording everything he saw into memory, or was it retrieving.

There was no one behind the counter, just rows and rows of shelves leaning into one another like old friends whispering secrets to each other. The floor creaked under his feet as if warning him to tread lightly. Yet he felt invited to keep going.

And there it was.

A book, left open on a table as though someone had just been there reading it and recently walked away. The pages didn’t flutter despite the draft from the door still settling behind him.

He felt drawn to it and magnetically moved over to where it was. Hesitantly, and very slowly he folded the book shut. On the cover, embossed in worn gold, were the words:

The Gate In Between

At first he stared at it for what seemed like forever and then he picked it up without meaning to and the pages flipped to the contents.

It was a story book, maybe many stories. The first line read: In search of the unnamed…

What is this?, he thought … Who is this about?, Who wrote this? After he read the first chapter … he had to know more …

This book even had him sitting there and contemplating…What is the unnamed?

Hmmmm …..

He got up and walked over to a mound of cushions and rearranged them. He was now very comfortable and couldn’t wait to read the next chapter.

By the third chapter, he forgot about the bookstore entirely.

He forgot about the cold.

Forgot what day it was.

Forgot who he thought he was supposed to be.

And as he read and turned the pages, he felt a strange sensation, just behind his ribs, like something was unraveling.

He was in deep when he thought he heard someone calling his name. Tomas. He got distracted and looked up.

There was no one there. He went back in.

And before he knew it, he had reached the end of the book, but it wasn’t. He now knew there was more to this and that he was part of this journey.

This was just the beginning ….

On the next page was a handwritten note in ink that hadn’t quite dried yet:

“The gate is now ajar. Will you push it open?”

He heard something. Someone was approaching.

And when he looked up, someone was there.

Standing on the other side of the table, the book he’d just finished was also resting in her hands.

She was smiling like she’d known where he had just been and where he had arrived.

Who was she? What was this familiar feeling? He needed answers …. and he knew the book had them!

From Shahiroz

This story is based on an actual event in my life. And here is the actual picture that this story is based on.

This free reader presents the introductory story on the web. The complete book remains available separately.