The bookstore owner, an elderly man with a kind face, noticed Vansh's distressed expression and approached him.
"Interesting book, isn't it?" the owner said, his voice calm and soothing.
"Yeah, you could say that," Vansh replied, trying to mask his anxiety.
And asked, "By the way who wrote this?"
The owner smiled gently.
"Ah, 'The Game of Perspective' by A. L. Hale. It's a rare find. Not many copies were printed. You're lucky to have stumbled upon it."
Vansh nodded absently, his mind still reeling. He decided to buy the book, hoping it might offer some clues. As he paid for it, the owner handed him the receipt with a knowing look.
"Sometimes, books find us when we need them the most," the owner said cryptically.
Vansh managed a weak smile and left the store, clutching the book to his chest. He hurried home, eager to delve deeper into its pages. Once inside, he locked the door, brewed another cup of coffee, and settled into his favorite chair with the book.
As he read, he discovered a passage that mentioned the mysterious note and the shadow he had encountered. His hands trembled as he turned the pages, each revelation more startling than the last. The book described events that mirrored his recent experiences with eerie precision.
Vansh's mind raced. Could this book be a message or a warning? And who was A. L. Hale? He knew he needed answers, and fast. He grabbed his laptop and started searching for information about the author. However, there was nothing to be found—A. L. Hale seemed to be a pseudonym with no real identity attached.
Feeling frustrated but determined, Vansh decided to reach out to his friend Rohit again. He sent him a message explaining the strange book and about mysterious note and asked if Rohit could help him track down more information about the elusive author.
As he waited for Rohit's response, Vansh couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he glanced around his apartment nervously. The shadows seemed to dance menacingly in the corners of the room.
Just then, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Rohit. "All this happened and you are telling me now, when I had asked in the morning then also you didn't tell me about that note."
Vansh messaged "I was also not sure whether that happened or not. As everything is so mysterious to me and I don't have that note so that I can confirm anything"
Rohit messaged "These all things doesn't matter, do you think I don't believe you. I even get used to your habit of making note of every topic in fantasy novels as you think it may become reality"
Vansh messaged "You don't believe me but you will acknowledge me when it happen. Maybe what happening right now is also beginning of this."
Rohit messaged "Please don't get started again as all these is weird, man. There's nothing on this A. L. Hale. And there is no book with name Game of Perspective. Are you sure you are not dreaming or imagining things."
Vansh is shocked and messaged "How is this possible book is right in front of me. And I had read it and now you are saying there is no such book."
Rohit immediately messaged him while handling the situation "No bro, I mean maybe it's someone esoteric edition and maybe it's rare find."
Vansh got little angry and messaged "Then what the content, how are you going to explain that it contains the plot of game, even it contains some real-life events. And for God's sake don't say it's just coincidence"
Rohit don't know what to say. So, he just messages him "Okay I believe on you and try to search again. And bring that book with you tomorrow maybe we can find some clue from that which will be helpful.
Vansh calmed down and messaged "Okay I will bring this book tomorrow and we are going to catch who ever written this. We should solve this before something big happen"
Rohit replied "Ya we will find him and also find who had leaked information. Be the way I found an old forum where some people discussed the these type of esoteric book. One user mentioned many time there were a hidden message in the text. Maybe you should look for that?"
Vansh's heart pounded in his chest. A hidden message? He quickly picked up the book and began examining it more closely, searching for anything out of the ordinary. After several tense minutes, he noticed that certain letters were slightly bolder than the others. He jotted them down, forming a sequence of letters that seemed to spell out a location: "Elysian Park."
"Could this be a clue?" Vansh wondered aloud. He knew he had to find out. Grabbing the book more tightly he started reading again in hope to find more clue.
After reading again again he found there are few numbers whose font are different from other. Vansh wrote all those number on a piece of paper.
"2055"
"0606"
"1006"
"0110"
"1256"
Vansh decided to take this paper with him tomorrow when he is going to meet Rohit and his girlfriend. And see what the unexpected turn its going to take after decrypting it as you never know what happens next moment. Vansh kept the note in the book and started preparing for tomorrow. Vansh is in state of ambivalence as on the one side maybe they are going to find the clue about writer and other he is feeling like he has been continuously monitored.
Vansh also started relating its current situation with lots of other novels he had read. He started finding notes related to those novels in the stack of notes. After finding all those notes he started compiling all those into one and after that named it " The One".