Reader's Cove

1

Wind danced throughout my hair as I walked through the streets. Everything was foreign, even though I moved here around 4 weeks ago. I refused to come out of my apartment, and that's how I liked it. I had books and coffee supplies that I thought would last months. Turns out it took me barely 4 weeks to get through them.
There I was, walking through the street at eight in the morning on a Tuesday. You'd think that it would be packed shoulder to shoulder, right? In reality though, it was calm. To be honest, it freaked me out. As I walked, I noticed the emptiness of the street more and more. Until I turned the street, because then the street was filled to the brim with people. It was like a different world, and people really ran around in this one. Children were wrapped up in bundles thicker than the ice that coated the streets, hopping along next to their parents. Women with their phone pressed through their ear surrounded me, and I could feel a sinking feeling step in. Don't panic Amelia, everything will be okay! I couldn't believe my own thoughts, and I quickened my pace. Somewhere- anywhere other than here would be better now. I could feel my senses being over loaded and it felt as though everyone was staring. The children's giggles were amplified, as well as the women's heels. The taxi honking as it drove past, a cop car speeding by. It was all too much.
I opened a door to a building- and was met with the peaceful silence. A man who looked to be in his fifty's looked up from a copy of The Hobbit.
"Well good morning, how are you doin' today?" He asked. His voice seemed sweet, as if the poisonous world hadn't gotten ahold of him yet.
"...good morning sir. I'm doing fine." Be calm, Amelia.
"Okay then. I'm Mr. Kenneth, the owner of this fine place. And you are?" I wanted to respond, but my throat got caught in my stomach, and my tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth.
"....Amelia..." it came out lower than a whisper, and I didn't expect him to hear me.
"Well Amelia, is there any kinda coffee you like? We have mocha lattes, plain ol' black, and some other things. We even have tea, and I just baked these gingerbread men this mornin' for the Christmas season!" Mr. Kenneth happily chirped. Thank god he has coffee.
"Could I get a coffee, your choice, and a gingerbread? I'll try them..." The man just smiled, and got to work. He handed me the coffee and wrapped the gingerbread man in candy-cane parchment paper. It all was fresh and reminded me of my grandma Laura'a kitchen.
"Here you go! And just in case you don't know how this place works, it's a book café- sort of. You can bring your own book, borrow one off of the shelf, or buy it! It is usually quite quiet in here, but that's only because of the fact that I just opened." His words made my mouth water. It was a book lovers paradise! A ding broke my trance as I turned to see whom had walked in.
The rest of the morning was spent looking through the wide collection of books that were spread apart on two large dark oak bookcases on the left and back wall. There must have been thousands of books, because some of these books were written this year, others older than dust. My thin fingers glided nicely along the book's spines, and then I stopped. I pulled the book off of the shelf, inspecting the title. The Wind's Whisper ? Sounded interesting. Why I stopped I'll never know. I sat down on the couch in front of the book shelf, starting to read rapidly. Each page I turned was better than the last, and I couldn't stop.
Something tapped my shoulder, and I looked up. Who tapped me? I thought.
"Ameliaaa~?" I turned around to see Mr Kenneth. " I've closed shop. Do you need a ride home? I'm getting a taxi."
I thought about it and shook my head. The clock above the fireplace read 10:00 pm, and I carefully placed the book back and gathered my things. "I'll be back tomorrow sir."