It had taken nearly a full day of going back and forth across the city, and Desmond had nothing much to show for it except an empty folder where he had kept the resumes and the vague promises of being notified 'the next time they were hiring.' He didn't need to be a guru to figure out that sign didn't mean he'd be working for any of them soon.
Des let out an exasperated sigh, I don't know how many times I can do this song and dance.
He was sitting outside of a WacDonalds after being told the same lines as earlier, munching on a small basket of fries, pretty much the only thing within the meager meal budget at the moment. With an inward sigh the man contemplated how he had gotten here to begin with; all the different choices he could have made before it reached the point where he was turned down by Wac'D's and with only enough pocket change to afford some deep fried carbs for dinner.
Suddenly the world was filled with white and gray feathers, with an alarmed squawk Desmond jumped back from where he sat on the curb, nearly falling on his back as he scrambled to his feet. A juvenile gull stared back at him with glassy black eyes and a bunch of fries stuck in its beak.
"Great!" He hissed through clenched teeth, "Now even flying bin scavengers are taking advantage of me..."
No longer feeling all that hungry he kicked the remaining fries into the grass, letting the young gull's friends get a fair chance at the remaining scraps. It didn't take long before it had all disappeared except for the cardboard box.
A few of the birds scattered as he reached down to retrieve the empty dinner box.
Looking back down at the gulls spurred a realization of sorts. Spotting the gray gull who first knocked the fries out of his hands Desmond knelt down beside it. It was staring back at him with beady eyes, it tilted its head to the side as if puzzled, probably seeing if the human still had more fries on him somewhere. These birds don't just wait for opportunity to come along, they seek it out, even making it if there's none...
Pulling the card the crazy old man had given Des last night from his pocket, it's corners now felt blunted by how often it had been held, as if it had been drawing him in... He didn't want to try and tempt more trouble by getting involved with the stranger or his 'friend', but if it meant an opportunity to fix things in his life Desmond really couldn't afford to not jump at the chance.
Flipping the card over to see the details on the back there was something a bit peculiar, there was no email address or company website to follow. Odd, most small businesses have at least something more than a telephone number and address...
One quick Google search left nothing that quite matched the name or description on the card. The address however had been legitimate though, as it pointed at a real street, one that was apparently close enough that he only needed to take a single bus ride to it from Des's apartment too... A coincidence maybe but how would the stranger have guessed at where I lived?
A tingling sensation crept along freckled forearms as goosebumps sprung up. This felt like it was some kind of sick elaborate prank... but he couldn't not take the risk at the moment. If Desmond didn't get anything worthwhile to show before Fernando or any of his goons showed up looking to collect he was good as dead anyways.
The bus ride was rather uneventful, mostly due to how quiet things had gotten once the sun had set in this part of town. The route brought them past his tiny home and through another neighborhood until they was across the bridge and closer to the heart of Vancouver.
Anxious eyes gazed upwards as he watched the bright city skyline illuminate the low hanging clouds above, they didn't look too bad but he hadn't brought any umbrella this time so Des hoped they didn't release their payload too soon, the news report had said they weren't expecting any showers until tomorrow morning after all.
Turns out the news was completely wrong, again, as the moment he stepped off the bus the sky opened up it's waterworks. There wasn't many overhangs or awnings from the shops nearby to offer much protection, so as a last resort Desmond just dashed in the direction of where this illusive bookstore might be.
There wasn't any solid guarantee that it even existed, just an address and a promise from a madman that the owner was looking for someone like him to hire.
Maybe if I run fast enough I won't get as soaked?
By the time Des reached the location from Google his jacket had already soaked through, both arms were clutching a backpack between his arms in a vain attempt to keep the more delicate stuff dry. I probably look like a drowning rat clinging to a piece of flotsam...
Well, at least there was one thing going right today, the shop did in fact exist. It looked like something from Diagon Ally, with some signs about selling magical books and other nonsensical things. Must be advertising for children's books, who else would buy a book about Griffin Poetry?
Through the large glass windows a warm glow emanated, the soft orange light that cascaded onto the street seemed in stark contrast to the rest of the buildings nearby with their harsh florescent and neon.
As Des peered in all he could see were mounds of books piled nearly as high as the ceiling, most of them obscuring the shop's furthest interior, but it looked like there were many more shelves that reached well beyond sight.
Inside the window there was a brief glimpse of movement, it was only after Desmond looked harder at the pile of books did he realize that there was someone hidden behind the stack. Only the top of their hair could be seen above the tower, but as their head bobbed around for a bit as they finished with their task did they finally emerge.
From around a heavy stack of manuals emerged a slim looking girl, probably about the same age as himself, carrying a small stack of tomes back to the front desk. Desmond's eyes couldn't help but be glued to her as his own breath caught in his chest.
Her hair was a deep blue, near black, with a length that reached her lower waist, swaying back and forth like a gentle wave as she walked by. Her bangs perfectly framed her soft features, with pale skin and rosy cheeks she looked almost like a porcelain doll.
Her clothes were rather plain in comparison to the rest of her, but they had their own charm in a way. A black button up blouse with long sleeves matched the silver skirt that wafted back and forth with each step. Between the gaps of the skirt made with each step a pair of colorful patterns flashed, of small moons and stars along her leggings.
She carried herself with a sense of elegance, each movement careful and in smooth motions, as if moving a few books was no more than a graceful dance. None of the jerky or fumbling movements Desmond so often caught himself making.
As the young woman dropped off her delivery onto the wooden countertop she briefly paused, reaching up with a slender hand to brush away a lock of hair that had fallen out of place. Two perfectly shaped golden eyes looked down at something on the table, perhaps a list she was picking books from, long eyelashes fluttering as some dust from the ancient tomes settled, though that only made her seem more angelic, as if she had a pair of blurry wings behind her.
She's beautiful...
Realizing he was probably acting like a total creep Des briefly stepped back from the window before the girl or anyone else saw him gawking.
A steady heart beat pounding in his ear, but if that was from the girl inside or his own embarrassment at what he felt like was peeking in a way he really shouldn't have done he couldn't say. He wasn't a hormone ridden teenager anymore, his twenty third birthday was coming up for Christ sake!
Maybe he was coming down with a fever and his reaction was spurred on by some delusion, it was a sure bet that all the running in the rain and bone chillingly soggy clothes didn't help out his health. Pressing the back of a hand to his forehead confirmed that his temperature had risen a fair bit too.
Taking another look in the glass to see his reflection Desmond saw a pitiful sight of a soaked fool, as if he was dredged from the bottom of the Fraiser river. His short auburn hair had clamped down on his forehead, turning darker with its weight of water, making himself look like was an extra for the Adam's family. His glasses dripping with moisture had fogged up slightly, keeping his eyes partly clouded. He noted that his face had gone a rather bright shade of crimson, well enough to nearly hide his freckles.
I look like a creep...
Thankfully when he looked back inside there wasn't any sign of the girl from earlier, she had moved off to sort a different pile in the maze of books inside.
I hope she didn't see me out here! What even came over me like that? What if that was the owner's daughter and you just ruined your chance before you even stepped inside!
However no angry looking parental figure or anyone for that matter seemed to come rushing out of the store, ready to kick his scrawny ass into the ocean. For the moment it was just himself and the cold late autumn rain.
As he clutched at his bag he realized how stupid he was making this all out to be, it could be over in a few minutes and then he'd be back home in a nice dry cot.
Ah screw it, I'll just pop in, say 'hi', and check out if it seems too fishy. Yep, nothing can go wrong if I just check it out. How bad can it be?