• ““Ah, the lovely book store of Avalon Road,” smiled the black haired girl, waltzing into the store and up to the old man at the counter. He smiled and pushed his round, gold rimmed glasses up his multiple folded nose. The girl smiled and waved at the man. “Hiya Mr. Dolerio. Any new books today?” she chirped happily.

    The old man smiled and nodded. “I think there’s one you’ll like in the back,” he whispered, extending his boney skinned finger towards the small doorway in the bookstore wall. She tahnked the old man and sprinted into the back, searching high and low for a book she hadn’t read before. Elizabeth had read almost every book in the store. Even all the old ones that had rotted off the shelf, she had read them all.

    “Thus little red riding hood went on her way...” she recited as she searched the over the top bookshelf in the very dark back of the store. Her eyes traveled along the spines of various books when she came across a black spine with no words across it. “What’s this?”

    *~*~*~*

    The boy gasped in a breath. He started to become slightly dizzy. He hadn’t run so fast in such a long time. Being caged like a bird had really deprived him of his senses. But he was unfortunate to slow down. He had lost sight of the angel that came to his fathers’ factory’s walls. “Damn,” he cursed under his fatigued lungs.

    He whipped his head left and right, but no sign of the black haired angel that had touched his sullen heart. His averted his eyes to the crooked brick streets and sighed. ‘She’s always out of my grasp,’ he thought at he seated himself against a moldy crate to catch his breath.

    The young man watched the people walk by him. His dark eyes softened and a small grin came across his face. He watched the people, something he was never able to do. He saw a young couple just talking next to him, an elder man cleaning the front of his little wooden stand of produce, and a bunch of young children playing a game of ball. He noticed one thing they all had in common that he never had. Happiness. But that happiness made a spark inside his heart. It gave him a warm feeling to see others unlike him. He didn’t understand quite why he felt that way, but he did. And he liked it.


    He closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. Even through the smog, the air was much more healthier than it was inside all the time. “What an amazing place it is,” he whispered. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked quietly down the carless streets.

    *~*~*~*

    Elizabeth stared and wondered how a book could be nameless. She tugged on it gently and pulled it out of it home on the shelf. She looked at the blank cover and jumped down from the rickty ladder. “A nameless book?” she questioned particulary the empty air. She opened to the first page. It was blank as well. She flipped through the whole book. Nothing. Not a word but on the last page. It was hard to read but she could make it out clearly. “The Beginning,” she said.

    This peaked her curiosity. The beginning. Most books she had read ended with “the end.” The beginning. What was beginning? A war? A fight? She had so many questions that no one could answer. She sprinted to the front of the store and set the book down on the counter. “Mr. Dolerio, why does this book have no words in it?” she asked. The old man grinned.

    “I haven’t a clue myself Elizabeth. I haven’t a clue,” he answered. She pouted and sat on the ground in front of the counter, starring intently at the cover of the black book. She gave a quick, frustrated sigh and picked herself up.

    “I’ll take it.” She slammed the silver coins down on the counter and grinned her bright grin. The old man gave a hardy laugh.

    “Take it. It’s free of charge,” he said, taking the few oins and placing them back in her hand. She looked at him confused. “You need the money anyway,” he whispered and winked. She smiled as her eyes gave a sad and happy look.

    “Your always being so kind to me Mr. Dolerio,” she smiled, giving him a light kiss on his cheek. The old man just smiled at her waved her off as she walked out of the store.

    *~*~*~*

    Now, here is the difficulty of the story my dear readers. I know what you’re thinking. “When will they meet each other?” Am I close? If not, here is how they meet my dearies.

    *~*~*~*

    SMACK!

    Elizabeth had swung the door open so hard she had maneged to hit the young man in the face as he walked down the street. Elizabeth jolted and quickly knelt down beside the white haired boy. “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention,” she apoligized as she grasped the teen’s strong hand. A wave of electric flow had suddenly connected.