Claudia at the Book Shop
Martin wakes up and finds himself lying naked in a field of tall yellow grass. He is aware of the scent of honey, and of the silence. THREE-MINUTES of SCI-FI
Martin stands leaning against the red brick wall in front of his house, running his fingers through his hair. Somewhere in a corner of his brain are the sounds of barking dogs, taxi horns, the boys shooting hoops in the weedy lot across the street. The afternoon air is sweetened by the aroma of focaccia and cannoli from Giannini’s Bakery. Someone upstairs is singing.
In his hand is the crumpled note he’d found pushed under his front door this morning, a note from Claudia, the quiet girl at the bookshop in the alley down the street. He’s nosed around in the dusty little shop from time to time, but he doesn’t know what to think about this note. He reads it again. It says, “The time has come, Martin.”
The time has come? What’s that mean? he wonders. What’s she talking about, the time has come? What does she want? Martin is a smart man, funny … even a little handsome, in a way, but he is shy and can be a bit slow when it comes to women. They are somewhat of a mystery to him.
He walks down the street, turns left into the alley and goes into the bookshop. The bell tinkles over the door. The place smells like glue, like old wood and floor polish. No one is in the shop except Claudia, who is standing on a ladder. She turns and smiles.
“Hey, Claudia.”
“Martin. Thank you for coming in. I have been waiting for you.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Waiting for a very long time, actually.”
“You have? Okay … ”
Claudia comes down from the ladder. She puts her hand on his shoulder and says, “Wait a second.” She goes to the front door and locks it, turns the sign around in the window. CLOSED, it says. Without speaking, she takes Martin by the hand and pulls him through the beaded curtain into the back room
Martin wakes up and finds himself lying naked in a field of tall yellow grass. He is aware of the scent of honey, and of the silence. He shakes his head, making no sense of what he sees. He slowly sits up and looks around, pulse racing. How did I get here? What is this place? Yellow grass surrounds him as far as he can see, no trees, no buildings, no roads. The sky is a dusty blue with a faint sun. No … four faint suns.
Claudia lies sleeping in a grassy nest just a few feet away. Her large basket is tipped over, books spilling out. In this instant Martin realizes he has never really looked at her before, not really. How has he not noticed how beautiful she is, her long hair like copper in the haze-light. He wants to cover her nakedness, and to cover his own, but there is nothing but the yellow grass and the basket of books. He crawls to her, and lightly touches her cheek. She awakens and smiles up at him.
“Claudia! What has happened to us? Where are we? Do you know?
“Don’t worry, Martin, we’re all right. Lie down with me and rest a while. They will come for us soon.”
They wrap their arms around each other and curl up in the soft dry grass, waiting, not speaking.
As the suns begin to move down the sky, they hear a call. “Kláhhd-yah! Where are you? Kláhhd-yah! Kláhhd-yah?”
Claudia sit up, “Yes, Bráhhm,” she calls, “We are right here, brother. Over here!”
Claudia and Martin stand in the grass, hand in hand.
Bráhhm approaches and wraps his warm arms around both of them together. “Kláhhd-yah, welcome back! It’s been so many weeks, sister. I thought you would never return to us.”
“A long time, yes,” she says. “It was more difficult to find him than I expected, but now we are here and all is well.”
“Where are we Claudia,” Martin asks, dazed. “Where have you taken me?”
“You were lost, Máhhr-tan. You wandered away and forgot us, but I found you, my friend and I have carried you safely home.”
I didn’t expect that ending, and now you have another short story that begs to become a Novella! More, please. 😁
I remember this one. I think I like it more this time. Thanks for reposting it, Sharron! Could there be more to this story?