Carle's Dream

There are connections to a world unknown to most in a small hidden alleyway of any large city. Some say it's parallel, others say perpendicular. The magic makes the city a place of wonder for those without special abilities. But there is something more unique than the magic the city holds, and that are the things you can find in any city: the stories the walls witness. People going about their lives as best as they can: loving and hating one another. For even in the magical world, no one knows what life is all about. But people know one thing: that life holds many words.

On the corner of Lexington Lane, a small cozy bookstore stays ignored by the travelers passing by. Nestled between two modern infrastructures selling the latest magical tech, the bookstore is the remaining evidence of the street's past. At one point, students from the local school would line up in front of the doors, waiting to get their hands on the required textbooks. But, due to the invention of e-readers from the other side of the portal, books are becoming obsolete. So now the restless old store bricks crumble, and the floorboards creak of boredom. The only company is the wind that soothingly pats the old brick walls.

Carle, the shopkeeper, looks out from the mahogany counter, sighing at the sight of everyone ignoring him. Alone and lonely, he wonders whether keeping this family business was the right thing to have done. He didn't want to take over. He had other aspirations, to go out and see the world. There is just so much magic still left to be discovered even in 2022. But as he peered into the eyes of his dying father, he knew he couldn't say no to not keeping his family's legacy. Though he also knew that he couldn't tell his dying father, the legacy was already crumbling. No one is reading as much, and if they are, it is most certainly not magical text. After all, who wants a book that shoots water or bullets at you? Carle sighs. He isn't usually this down, but today has made it especially hard to be cheerful.

Carle glances at the open letter sitting next to him as if the edges were mocking eyes, reminding him of a life that could have been. A grand journey, he can still remember when he turned down his brother's offer. It was exciting, to say the least, but fear caught the better of him. Fear of never actually finding anything. Fear of abandoning his father's wishes for the result of nothingness. Now the letter mentions long-lost magical artifacts. And maybe it's not really about doing right by his father. Perhaps it's the fear of the unknown that ultimately stopped Carle. It prevented him from going to a university farther than the close-to-home one. Just as it stopped him from telling his father how he truly felt about the book store. And just as it prevented him from asking Jessie out.

Carle is a mix of emotions. Sadness. Jealousy. Bitterness. He knows subconsciously he never took a step on the daring side. And now, there is physical proof of his cowardness. What pish pash! Carle swipes the letter with sudden anger and needs to destroy the mockery!... But Carle stops... He cannot destroy the letter….It is the only contact from his brother, Lane, for three years….Carle feels lonely again. Sad again. A sigh later, Carle goes back to staring out at the street, a tear dropping down as he wonders if he will ever have an adventure in his life?