Walls

A clap of thunder rumbled so close to me that my teeth rattled as I ran through the door of my favorite bookstore. To leave the comfort of my cabin with weather like this is insane. For the life of me I can’t figure out why I have done it. Except for this inescapable NEED to be in this store. 

It’s THE stereotypical used, dusty bookstore with the token lazy yellow cat to complete its ambience. I have known Old Man McKelvy, it’s owner, since I was a child. As always it warms my heart to see him. Tomkins (the aforementioned token cat) immediately begins to wind himself between my feet on his continual mission to make my face kiss the floor. His purring is Old Man McKelvy’s doorbell & a broad smile slides across his face as he sees me. 

“Little One, wait till you see what I got in,” he says excitedly. From the under the counter where he sits, he whips out a graphic novel with unusual thickness. “He has been waiting on me to come in for this,” I think to myself wondering why.

I have been collecting comics since I was a child when my Grandpa gave me my first Superman as a birthday gift. As I have grown older the collection has grown larger, containing comics & graphic novels from all genres. But Old Man McKelvy knows that Superhero fiction captivates me. 

As he proudly slides it over to me my eyes lock on the cover & I am mesmerized. He says, “It’s a beauty, isn’t it”? His tone reminds me of Golem’s love for the ring as I wonder if I can afford something so beautiful. 

“It’s yours Little One. I don’t know why but everything inside me tells me it’s meant for you. And since I paid not a nickel, neither shall you”. He goes on to explain that upon arrival this morning to open the store he spots something rolled in parchment. A kind of paper I have never seen. He wraps it the way he found it & hands it to me. 

“Pops, I don’t know what to say,” I stammer enthusiastically. “Are you sure”? “Absolutely,” he snaps. “I know it’s yours like I know it’s storming outside”. Hearing Tomkins purr loudly, we realize another customer has arrived. I thank him profusely & scurry out into the maelstrom, finding my way to my humble abode. 

I can hear my dog Dakota from a distance voicing her desperate plight of being abandoned by her human. Opening the door, I am greeted by her dramatic relief, happiness & I sense a bit of scolding at my “being gone forever”. I appease her need for attention & then turn mine to my prize.

Dakota finds her place beside me in the recliner as I gingerly remove to wrapping, sitting it aside as if the swaddling is laden in gold. The book is made of leather, seemingly ancient & adorned with strange symbols. I crack the cover to see a hand written calligraphic note. “Delve not, Traveler if cowardice swells within thee". 

“Well that’s a preface I've never seen,” I think to myself. 

Suddenly a strange hum feels the room. The book grows warm in my hand. As Dakota runs for cover, anticipating some sort of doom, the fireplace surges with fire I did not start. My living room is all of the sudden illuminated so brightly I squint. 

With a resounding boom that shakes my cabin I feel electricity rising from my feet, culminating in my solar plexus. Clutching my chest, I am lifted from my chair. Levitating for just a moment then suddenly dropped like a rag doll to the floor. 

Worried that Dakota may have met with the same fate & knowing that such a fall would have hurt her I jump up to find her. 

As I gaze toward my bedroom, knowing her favorite hiding place is under the bed, I then find myself standing beside said bed. To say I am startled is the understatement of the year & I begin to peruse the path I should have walked. Where once there was a solid stone wall between my living room & where I stand, I only see a shimmer of what used to be. My eyes lift & I realize I can see through every wall in my house. As this realization dawns, the walls pop solidly back into place. 

An idea slowly creeps in & I think about seeing through the walls again. Lo & behold they slip into the shimmer allowing me to see all the way to the outside. Oddly I think about how beautiful the birch trees are circling my property & like magic I am standing beside the trees. “Like magic my ass,” I blurt out to no one there. 

Testing this new ability, I look toward the cabin, thinking of my kitchen & poof! Sure enough, I’m standing in my kitchen!

“Oh my God”! Thoughts of how this can be practiced race through my mind. If I can peer through walls think of the things I could eavesdrop on. But better yet, I can see through walls & then suddenly pop into the room... I could land in a bank vault! I could load my pockets with as much money as I can carry & no one would ever know. Thinking even broader I could use this power to...

As rapidly as my selfish thoughts take hold, they are swiftly followed by a knowing that if I pursue only selfish gains this power will slip away as fast as it came.

Collecting myself I go gather my shaking chihuahua into the safety of my arms & plop back down into the comfort of my chair. The fire has settled back down to a realistic height. The hum is gone. The book lies on the floor where it haphazardly fell when I unbelievingly levitated. Scooping it up I just sit a moment letting it all sink in. Dakota snuggles into her spot beside me while I open the book. 

“Bestowed are thee now with those gifts which inside always dwelled,” is the opening sentence. Knowing that the life I once knew is no more I begin the task of studying how everything has changed & the rules therein.