A Book Titled YOU

by HarryT

“Let me tell you about my day.” It occurred on April 1, 2025. The morning was dark, rain poured down, and lightning slashed across the sky.
I’m an antique book collector. However, let me assure you, I am not a nebbish. Rather, I am an outgoing guy who loves to travel and take part in exciting adventures. You may think it odd that my hobby is collecting old books, but so be it. However, this was a day that turned out to be not like any other.

It began with a call from Bill Avery, a local used book dealer who said he had an interesting old book that had just come into his possession in a shipment from England.

"I wondered," Bill said, "if you might be interested in seeing the volume and perhaps purchasing it for your collection."

“Yes. Indeed,” I said. “I’ll be at your shop this morning.”

I told my wife Sue about the book and that I was going to head out to Avery’s shop.

“Jim, there’s a terrible storm outside. Why don’t you wait?”

“Nah. Don’t want to risk losing the book to someone else.”

Determined not to miss my chance, I popped out the front door and opened my umbrella. The wind nearly whipped it out of my hand. I struggled to keep it from turning inside out. The rain felt like icy needles pricking my neck and my hands. I got to the car, opened the door, and ducked inside. The damp cold chilled me to the bone. I felt the wet soaking through my coat. I started the car, turned on the heat.

A new cold front turned the rain to ice pellets, which melted as they slid down my windshield as I drove to Bill’s shop. When I got out of my car, I felt tiny cold spikes pricking my neck. I pulled up the collar of my coat and ventured toward the front door of the bookshop. A bolt of lightning lit the street like the beam from a misguided search light.

I so enjoy the ambiance that Bill manufactured in his bookshop. It reminds me of walking into the 19th century. The shop has an aroma of a touch of earthy mustiness with a hint of vanilla that, together with the warm glow of the fireplace, provides a comforting feeling, especially welcoming on such a thunderous day.

Bill pulled the shop door open and said, “By gosh, Jim, come in. This storm is a hum-dinger. A real Nor’-easter, if I ever saw one.”

“Got that right,” I said.

Bill is a jolly, rotund man with rimless spectacles perched on his nose. He greeted me with his usual welcoming grin. “C’mon, take off your coat, sit by the fire. I just brewed some tea. Glad you could make it. I know you’re a keen hunter when it comes to old books. I didn’t think a little rain would deter you.”

“Yeah, Bill. You know my motto, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays a book collector from a rare find.”

“Memorized that one, did ya? Sounds familiar.”

“Yeah, somehow it seems to fit,” I said with a smirk.

“Well, Jim, be warned,” Bill said with a look of concern as he handed me the shipping case which contained the book. “I have to tell you that there was a letter in the case that said the book is no ordinary old book and it needs to be read with great care. Not that I believe this sort of thing. But the note also said the book has a special power.”

I smiled and nodded my head, assuming it was just part of Bill’s sale pitch.

After taking a last sip of tea, I put on my coat and tucked the case under my arm. The rain was still coming down like the proverbial falling cats and dogs. However, I was oblivious to another brewing storm—one not of the heavens.

Back home, I gave Sue a kiss and hurried down to my home office in the basement. I made a cup of coffee from the Keurig single cup machine Sue gave me as a birthday present. I hurriedly undid the straps on the shipping case and lifted the top. A beautiful, full calfskin cover, embossed with a single gold word, caught my eye. YOU. The word struck me as very curious. I thought, what a strange title. How would an author know me?

Intrigued, I took a pair of white cotton gloves from the middle desk drawer and opened the book’s cover. The first page was blank. As was the second. And the third, I was mystified and continued to flip pages until I reached the center of the book. As I laid the book open and stared at the center page, my eyes widened as words appeared, forming sentences that described the storm, my drive to Bill’s bookshop, and our conversation was appearing word for word on a page before me.

Then, to my amazement, the book began to predict; it wrote now comes your future. I shouted, “No!” I slammed the book shut, put it back in the case and plan to take it back to Bill in the morning.

Write A Review

This Sentence Starts The Story contest entry

Picture from Freepick at https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/close-up-cropped-shot-unrecognizable-senior-aged-male-open-old-book-turning-pages-sitting-table-closeup-mature-man-start-reading-novel-flip-through-pages-paper-book_22947008.htm

Pays one point and 2 member cents.

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.

I felt it best to not be told what lies ahead.

A Book Titled YOU

by HarryT

Browse Now