The Magic of Stories

7 - Plans

My stomach dropped. "You think I should do that?"

They exchanged a glance and nodded, but this small sign of mutual understanding didn't make me feel better at all. Not about them developing a relationship, and certainly not about my role in the upcoming event.

But I was here to earn my keep, and if I'd have to deliver a speech, I would. "Fine, if you won't complain about the outcome if I stammer my way through the text. You should provide me with some basics information to start from Paco, like your biography. Also, it might be best if I see the pictures of the exhibition before I decide on the theme of my presentation."

"Sounds reasonable—it would be awkward if you talk about climate change in front of pictures of vintage cars." His wink sent another heatwave to my face while I tried to figure out if he was serious about the cars. I couldn't tell, but I hoped he wasn't. They would be nudes, right? Not in a public place.

He had mercy on me. "Don't worry, I will send you a link and give you access to my collection. Marjorie and I selected the pictures and the prints are being made this week, so we can't change much at this point. But I have two or three spares to exchange a picture that doesn't fit the room or if it bothers you."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty tough, I think." But I really hoped I could relate to his art. "I just would like to know what to expect—it's your exhibition, after all." I scribbled my email onto a sticky note and handed it to him. "Here you go."

With another wink, he slipped the note into his shirt pocket. "Let me know what you think. I'm curious. Anything else we need to discuss?"

"What did you have in mind for the catering?" Conny handed him a leaflet. "This is the deli we usually work with."

Paco didn't even glance at the paper but put on a dazzling smile. "I'll leave this in your capable hands, as I'm sure you know best what works."

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure? Then I suggest the vegetarian choice, with rye bread and a local wine."

"See? I knew you would choose the right thing. Thank you."

Conny shook her head and picked up the planner. "Alright, I'll leave you to discuss the technical details. Just make sure you don't plan to hang the pictures during the busy hours or while we have a class visit."

We both nodded, and I watched Paco as his gaze lingered on Conny's back with dreamy eyes. His crush was even worse than I thought first.

"You are quite fond of her, right?"

He sighed and turned to me. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, yes. But I doubt she knows."

"She's too caught up in her grief, and I respect this. Her strength and loyalty are things I admire about her. But I shouldn't burden you with this on top of your workload for the exhibition, sorry."

"It's fine—I shouldn't have mentioned it, and it's also not my business. We were talking about hanging the pictures. What's the plan?"

"Oh, this should be no problem at all. As soon as I get the prints, we can do a trial run and then hang them in the morning before the opening."

At my sceptical look, he grinned. "I've done it before, don't worry. Marjorie has a clever system in place for this kind of event, and she always calls me in for the installation. That's how we got to talk, and she asked to see my collection. In the end, she offered me an exhibition of my own, which I'm very grateful for. I don't expect to sell many pictures, but if I can get a few orders, it will help me get a step closer to my dream of independence."

After we fixed a time for the trial run, he left me to my library duties. I checked my email twice, but he hadn't sent me the link yet, and I kept wondering about his art.

Towards the end of the afternoon, the lamp in the classic section flickered again. I stopped in the middle of the aisle and looked out for an otherworldly guest. Cat sat in the same corner in front of Pride and Prejudice.

"Cat, why the dramatic effect?"

He glanced at the offending light. "It's not my fault. Whoever placed this in the centre of the friction zone had a special sense of humour or—who knows, it might be a deliberate attempt at creating a beacon between the worlds."

"So it's doing the same on the other plane?"

"Nothing is the same on the other plane, but I can't show you, can I? Many have tried to visit our world and few succeeded. Or none."

I couldn't help wondering. "Not even Carroll or his famous Alice?"

"Ah, you're jumping to wrong conclusions, my dear Lynn. Just because he was fascinated by the fact of another reality doesn't mean he ever crossed over. Give the man and his imagination some credit—he may have glimpsed a few creatures, but his stories are his own invention."

While I sorted a few books back into their slots, I tried to process this additional information. "I think I get the concept, or the gist of it. But you still haven't told me what's up with Luca and why the two of you are so keen on me playing the matchmaker for Conny."

Cat hopped from the shelf onto my book trolley and allowed me to push him into the next aisle.

"What's wrong with helping someone finding love?"

I heaved a voluminous encyclopaedia back onto its shelf. Who in the time of Google needed so much accumulated wisdom on paper? "It's meddling with their lives. Besides, how do you want me to proceed?"

"Just get her to acknowledge Paco at that event of his. Make them spend time in company by letting them run a small errand together, like folding paper napkins into tiny birds or something."

This didn't sound too bad. Although I couldn't see Conny and Paco folding napkins or how I'd task them with it. I might find something else.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. But you still didn't tell me why you want me to do it."

"We can't do it ourselves, can we? They don't even acknowledge our existence."

He had a point, but it didn't explain his interest in Conny and Paco. "Hm, I can see the Cheshire Cat as someone who takes an interest in meddling with some random strangers' feelings."

"That's not very nice of you, but I'll forgive you. Many things have been spread about me, and not all true and favourable. Besides, Conny and Paco are not random strangers, but regulars in this friction zone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. So, if your motives are altruistic, what about Luca? Why is he so interested in them?"

Cat squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them wide to give me his emerald stare. "Now Luca is an altogether special case."

"And why's that?"

"Ah, did I already mention it is possible for a human to glimpse an inhabitant of our plane? In a dream, perhaps, if they fall asleep in a friction zone. Most of the time, they'll forget about it when they wake up. But with some people, those with a vivid imagination, an impression may linger."

I nodded. "It sounds weird but makes sense, I guess. Still, it doesn't explain why Luca is engaged in matchmaking."

Cat snorted. "As I told you before—when someone writes a book about a being from our world, it opens up the equivalent of a door for us."

He groomed his paw while I waited for him to continue. "Right. The more readers think about a protagonist, the stronger their connection to this world gets, facilitating the switching over. That's the normal way things happen, but Luca is a unique case. My theory is that his story was abandoned, never finished, and this left him stuck halfway between our world and this one."

(1930 words)