Chapter Six - Bookstore: Prophecies, Puzzles, and the Self-Help Section Showdown

CHAPTER SIX

Bookstore: Prophecies, Puzzles, and the Self-Help Section Showdown

I WALK INTO the bookstore like it’s a sanctuary.
Cool air. Quiet jazz. No screaming toddlers or mall pretzel steam.
Books line the walls like wise old men in cardigans.

Immediately, an employee asks,
“Are you looking for anything in particular?”
I panic and say, “Yeah, uh… do you have any books?”
She stares at me. I stare at her.
I walk away before the awkward crystallizes.

I head toward the Mildly Unsettling Spirituality section.

A book titled “How to Know If You’re Real” falls off the shelf.
I pick it up.
It says, “If you’re reading this, you’re too late.”
I put it back.

Nearby, an elderly woman is arguing with a child about the meaning of life.
The child is winning.

In the Self-Help aisle, I find a book called
“Stop Asking Questions, Just Vibe.”
It’s 300 pages of the same sentence:

“Everything is fine unless it isn’t.”

On the next shelf over, I see a book I definitely didn’t write titled
“How to Forgive a Vending Machine.”
The blurb on the back reads:
“One man’s journey into snack-based betrayal.”
I buy it.

I sit in one of those soft bookstore chairs that makes you feel like you should whisper even your thoughts.
Across from me, That One Guy appears again.
He’s reading a coloring book but he’s using highlighters.
He nods like he knows me.
I nod back like I wish I didn’t.

I get up and wander into the puzzle section.

There’s a jigsaw puzzle titled:
“The Final Image Is Different Than The Box.”
Tempting.

I open a random book in the Mystery section and find a note inside:

“You left your wallet at the gas station. But that’s not your biggest problem.”

Oh. Okay.

I put the book back upside down and walk out.

On my way out, the cashier winks at me and slides me a bookmark.
It says:
“You’ve been here before.”

I believe her.

Outside the bookstore, a group of teenagers is trying to summon courage with a cinnamon pretzel.
I don’t know what that means.
But I respect it.

Totally normal.