Chereads / The Lost Curiosity / Chapter 9 - Bookstore

Chapter 9 - Bookstore

Chapter 09- Bookstore

Inside the mantur police station,

On the opposite side of the table was sitting a man named Krsna, silently looking straight towards the empty main chair. 

Behind him a couple of steps away a policeman stood in his grey uniform with a pistol in his hands aiming directly for the Krsna's head.

There was only silence in the empty hall of the police station but for some unknown reason the policeman was sweating from every part of his body, his grip on the pistol was loosening again and again due to sweat.

The policeman was continuously waiting for someone but the fear of the person sitting on the chair was evident on his face.

"Sigh"

Krsna sighed at his situation,

But Krsna was not too wary of the policeman standing behind him,

As he remembers from the memories of the original Krsna,

'The name of the policeman is Edgar karaltis,

Edgar has been a watcher of all crimes in the Mantur village for a very long time,

He may be cowardly and a liar type of man but everyone in the village is friendly with him'

But what was troublesome for Krsna was not Edgar but the person he just called a few minutes ago and now Edgar is waiting for that person to come here.

Mantur was not a big place where you could see new faces every day but it was not so small that someone could remember all the people living here.

krsna did not know who was the person coming here,

'Did a new police officer was appointed here that I did not know of?

krsna stopped thinking and patiently waited for that person to arrive,

Why think over the problem that will unfold itself in some time?

After a couple of minutes of waiting both present inside the police station heard footsteps entering inside,

Edgar's face lit immediately as he saw the person who had just entered inside,

krsna also turned his face and saw the person,

Her skin, a deep obsidian, was as enchanting as night, while her eyes, were a vivid shed of bright pink. Long, onyx hair cascaded down her back, vibrant pink flowers adorned her hair, a pop of color against the darkness.

'Miss Meera!'

Krsna stood up from a chair and looked at the beautiful woman standing in front of him as she looked at him in surprise.

'Why miss Meera here?

Krsna knew Miss Meera for years because she always bought flowers from him without missing a single day,

'But isn't Miss Meera work in a bookstore?

And from the expression on the face of Edgar, it was certain that Miss Meera was the person he was waiting for

As Krsna seemed confused with the unexpected appearance of Miss Meera, she approached him and asked

"Krsna, what are you doing here?"

 

"Something happened and I am here"

"What happened?" she asked curiously,

But before Krsna could reply Edgar the policeman shouted,

"Ma'am he is the devil worshiper, I saw with my own eyes the bloody scene in his house"

Miss Meera was stunned for a second to hear such words of allegations about the man she used to know.

From her impression, Krsna is a well-behaved and gentle flower seller, which is why she always used to buy flowers from him.

"What did you see for you to reach such a conclusion?" Miss Meera asked with an agitated tone,

"It was blood, all over the house and… and a giant word written on the wall with blood,

Madam…

Before continuing he paused for a second and then said again,

"I... I think this devil has killed those two"

"That is not for you to decide, remember your position and speak according to it"

Miss Meera held absolute authority over Edgar who was the police of this village for many years, this made Krsna confused,

'Miss Meera works in a bookstore, how can be she more powerful than a police?

Miss Meera is more than I have seen

Or is she perhaps a celestial?'

Miss Meera sighed and said again,

"Alright, dont worry about it, Krsna is not responsible for those things,

Call yourself down Edgar"

The policeman thought for some seconds and replied,

"I am sorry Madam Meera"

Miss Meera nodded and turned towards the Krsna and gazed at him with piercing eyes,

"What he said… is that true"

 

Krsna thought for some second to come up with an answer because he himself did not know that his home was in a bloody mess since he was present in the temple for two days.

"I dont know because I was in the temple for two days,

Temple keeper can confirm this"

Krsna defended himself from this situation.

"Lead me to your home," Miss Meera said immediately.

krsna silently nodded and walked toward the exit of the room but he remembered something and approached Edgar slowly and said,

"Sir Edgar, my flute please"

Before bringing him to the police station, Edgar seized all things that were with him, and the only thing Krsna had was his flute.

Edgar hesitated and looked toward Miss Meera and after Miss Meera nodded in approval, he gave back the flute.

Both exited the police station and started walking south from the police station.

After a couple of minutes of passing through houses built with stone masonry, they reached their destination.

In the middle, some people glanced at them but nobody focused too much on them. They were busy with their own work.

As he stood in front of his home about to walk to push open the door, Miss Meera quickly intervened,

"Careful" as she overtook him and pushed the door.

The thick scent of blood reached their nose.

Miss Meera entered inside without any delay, Krsna followed her and met his eyes was blood,

Blood was everywhere, on the table, on utensils, on the bed, on the floor, on walls, and on one wall a word written in blood 'NO'.

"Go outside if you dont want to see such a scene," Miss Meers said gently.

krsna did not argue that he could handle such things but silently walked out and stood silently outside his home.

krsna stood for about five minutes in silence and then suddenly a sweet fragrance entered his nose coming from his home, as he felt confused

A gentle voice came from inside,

"You can come in now"

krsna immediately entered inside and saw a very neatly cleaned room.

No single trace of blood remained in his room.

  Miss Meera sitting on the edge of the bed with one leg over the other,

Gestured Krsna to sit on her side on the bed.

krsna nodded and followed the instructions.

As he comfortably took a seat Miss Meera reached into her pocket and pulled out a small dark device of rectangular cuboid shape.

"Now be honest with me Krsna, I do not want you to get involved in some dangerous things, the more you cooperate more helpful it will be for you…

Do you understand?"

krsna nodded and smiled lightly. 

'It looks like I cannot hide this incident from Miss Meera'

Krsna told everything in detail to Miss Meera from the very beginning,

As how he felt depressed after receiving the news of the marriage of the woman he loved, the attack of an unknown monster, and how he suffered for seven days in his own home.

He did not reveal that he had reincarnated or anything about the light in the corner.

After he finished the whole story, he looked at Miss Meera and saw teardrops flowing from her eyes as her gaze was fixated on him.

"Miss Meera…." Feeling flustered Krsna spoke,

Hearing her name Miss Meera came out of her trance state and quickly tapped on the device in her hand and put it back in her pocket.

Then she whipped her tears by hand and said,

"Ok follow me to the bookstore, you have to meet someone."

And she stood up from the bed.

"Who?" Krsna asked,

"My boss" Miss Meera replied nonchalantly.

krsna nodded and followed her as they started walking on the same road from which they had come.

Soon they reached in front of the police station but they continued walking toward the north.

Soon they crossed the main road of the mantur village and reached in front of an old building.

The building is an old house with a pointed roof. it had two windows on each side of the door, designed in an antique style. Despite its age, the house is well maintained, preserving its historical charm.

There was no board on the building that advertised this building as a bookstore.

As Miss Meera pushed open the door, a muffled chime sounded from the bronze bell as she entered inside.

Once Krsna entered the building the warm feeling enveloped his entire body making him feel comfortable.

The interior of the bookshelf was very quiet, it didn't take him long to spot a middle-aged person seated behind the counter, reading a book. 

His shirt and trousers were entirely black.

In contrast to his dark, slightly messy hair, his skin was fairly pale.

His fingers were holding up a teacup as he gently flipped the pages of the book.

He quickly scanned the entire bookstore with his gaze.

The bookstore hall features well-arranged bookshelves covering the walls efficiently. The shelves are neatly organized, displaying a variety of books across genres.

The room is adequately lit, ensuring clear visibility for the customers except there was no customer present.

Toward the end of the hall, there is a counter, that serves as a focal point for transactions and inquiries.

The reading corners are strategically placed, furnished with comfortable seating and small tables, providing convenient spots for customers to explore books but still, there was no customer present here.