Southworld (Part 6 of 7)

Richard walked, hands in pockets, down 37th street, alone.  His life had taken a serious south turn in the last week that had come as a complete surprise.  Things had been going so well, for so long, that this series of unfortunate events was almost surreal.  Within one week, Richard's wife had left him for another man, his car had been stolen and subsequently totaled and his house had burned down.  Richard felt inclined to turn toward some sort of deity for solace, but his spiritual journey had left him, as of late, in limbo.  

Richard turned onto North 46th Ave. and continued in the rain.  The sky had just begun to turn dark and even the most modestly lit storefronts looked inviting.  Richard stopped in front of a very old and dilapidated bookstore, paused for a moment, and then went in.  A single small bell announced his entrance but that was all.  The store appeared void of any other human being.  A musty smell permeated the air and a thick layer of dust covered literally everything in the store.  Even the floor betrayed a neglect of attention, showing Richard’s footprints alone.  The sign outside, a faded open sign, singly declared the legitimacy of Richard’s presence.  Richard strolled through the nearest aisle.

By the end of the aisle, Richard turned back to retrace his strips to the front door only to come face to face (metaphorically speaking) with an extremely fat, extremely short man.  He actually looked much more like a troll but since trolls did not exist, Richard assumed the next most logical thing.  After a muffled gasp and a slight bite on the tongue, Richard grunted a type of "excuse me."  The man just looked at him for a moment and then smiled.  "I'm glad you are here," he finally said, "I was beginning to think you weren't going to find us."

The look of puzzlement must have been overly apparent, as the short man continued.  "We have been waiting for you for quite some time now," he continued.  "Your path had been quite circuitous, but definitely beneficial.  Personally, I believe the timing is quite good."  Richard cleared his throat and stammered, "Uh, I don't think I know you, ummm or this place...I was merely walking by," his voice trailed off.  The other man chuckled.  "By Osiris, no," he breathed, "no one ever merely does anything.  All things happen by plan, of that I am sure.  Maybe this will help."

The man shuffled over to the wall and flipped several light switches.  The change in environment was almost overwhelming.  It was as if Richard had his eyes closed the entire time, to only just now open them.  Everything became extremely bright.  There was no more dust, no more gloom, no more mustiness.  Gold, ebony, ivory and velvet shimmered from every corner.  The grays, browns and blacks had been replaced with a crispness Richard had never experienced.  Immediately, Richard turned his attention to the dingy front door through which he had come.  Now the door was a deep mahogany red with gold hardware, the surrounding windows glistened, yet still revealed the dark street outside.  "Oh no, don't go back out there," the short man said, almost pleadingly.  You've come so far and have found us.  Come this way," he said, taking Richard by the arm, "there is someone you must meet."

The man led Richard past countless bookshelves, reaching well past three stories tall.  They passed through a set of ebony colored doors with silver hardware.  The room they entered was fully carpeted and contained tapestries on all the walls, displaying scenes of ancient Egypt in hieroglyph form.  Richard stopped, almost in a trance, trying to take it all in, trying to make sense of it all.  A warm, heavy voice, threaded through with an accent Richard could not place, shook him from his trance.  "Hello, Richard," it said.  "I am so glad you are here. Thoth told me that you would come. I hope you make this spontaneous visit an official one."

Richard stood speechless in a combination of awe and confusion.  His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but he said nothing. "You have been searching long and hard," the man continued, "and now you have come to us.  I am Nectarfius.  I hope that you find in me a dear friend.  Come this way, you have more to see."

Nectarfius pulled what looked like a keyless remote from his pocket, pointed it toward the east wall and clicked the silent device.  In same, silent fashion, a tapestry slid to the right, while the wall behind it, slid to the left.  The opening led to a small hallway opening into a massive auditorium, filled with people.  "Join them, Richard, they were once like you, but have now found the answer."

Richard paused and then entered the hallway.