The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 13: Bookshop

You walked up to some of the major bookstores in the shopping mall, but frowned, not walking in. Steve gave you a questioning look at that. "I thought we were going to buy books next?"

You nod, but just give the store a frown. "Yeah, but not here," You said, giving a sad sigh and turning to Nat and Clint "Are there any bookstores here that are not modern?"

Nat blinked a bit confused. "What's wrong with the modern ones?" She looked a little lost too. But Clint gave you a grin. "I think I know what you mean," He said and gestured for you and the group to follow him "You are in luck, there is one not far from the mall"

Bucky looked worried at that. "Clint, we were told to keep to the shopping center!" He looked around at the people still watching your group like you were all celebrities. You guessed at this point that the others probably were.

"It's close by! Don't worry!" Clint said, leading the group out of one of the back exits of the shopping mall. Leading you down a less busy street before quickly ducking into an ally.

And there you saw what you were looking for.

You might not have brought many books in the past, but whenever you did, you always brought them from a place like this.

This was a bookshop.

Bookstores were normally big, had the most popular books, and were overall just another store. Most of the time half the space had already been dedicated to other stuff than books.

Bookshops, on the other hand, were all about the books, they didn't only have the newest book that sold the most copies, they had all kinds of books, some even second-handed.

Places like this cared about the stories and knowledge inside the books, not about what some editor from a magazine deemed the top seller of the month.

You walk in excitedly, taking a deep breath. Ah! The smell of old and new books! The smell of the wooden floor and railings. No fake floral smell from some air freshener.

The shop was a lot like a library, with armchairs, and tables in different places for you to settle down with a book you were thinking about purchasing, and no pop music playing over the speakers.

This was truly a book nerds' paradise.

You turn to give Clind a big smile. "Yes! This is exactly what I was looking for!" You say excitedly.

You then noticed the look in Loki's eyes, how they became big and sparkled more than before. It reminded you of a cat who found something fascinating. You suspected he too was a book nerd, and this was his first time in paradise.

"Clint, why have you never told me of this place?!" Loki asks, looking at all the books around him, soaking in the atmosphere. "You never asked," Clint says with a simple shrug.

You have a giant grin as you grab Loki's arm, dragging him into the dungeon of bookshelves, explaining excitedly about how things were organized here differently than in a store! Designating one of the tables to place the pile of books you know you're gonna end up with.

You are happy when you recognize some books, most of them being completely the same as the ones in your world, but a few do seem to have changed. You grab your favorites and some of the changed ones, curious about how much they have changed.

And then there are the completely new books. Stories you never read before, both from authors you knew and some you didn't. You are quickly creating a rather big pile of books for yourself.

You notice Loki has also made himself a rather big pile and give it a quick look, getting the gist of his reading preferences. You start adding some books you knew to his pile, and after a moment of him examining your pile, he does the same to yours.