A Moment With You

CHAPTER 3 | A Warm Stormy Night

There will be moments when what you desired most
(silently prayed for so hard at night)
would find its way right in front of you.
But, sometimes, when it does, you find yourself wondering
Is this all real? How did this happen?
It's scary and exciting at the same time...
because despite the worry how long that moment will last
we can only be grateful we are blessed to have it.

**********

It was all surreal. A night at the bookstore was all surreal.

Ray lay there on the bed staring at the ceiling. He tried to get his mind around the events that day, from the moment he traveled to when he found himself staying for the night in Eddie's room. It was something he never expected would happen... No! It all seemed like a dream. He just wanted to know more about the bookstore. That was the main point why he traveled to the countryside. Now, he was there. The bookstore was literally just below where his room was.

When Ray entered the bookstore earlier that evening with Mr. Kim, a word came to his mind -- "warm". The bookstore was warm, not in the sense that the heater inside was working in tip top condition but rather the place exudes so much warmth he can't help but feel welcomed and safe. He wanted to look around but Mr. Kim led him straight to the second floor where Eddie used to stay. He would have enough time to look around tomorrow, he thought.

The stairway to the second floor was piled with books on each side. He wondered how it was now operating with Eddie's absence. From what the Kims told him, Eddie managed it all before. When they reached the second floor, he was more surprised. It seems the Kims has kept it the way it was like when Eddie was still around. They did a great job maintaining it as if waiting for their son to come home.

"My wife has kept everything clean. She comes here every week with Alice to clean it up." Mr. Kim told him as he opened the door to Eddie's room. "You can sleep here. We've already placed the sheets and took out fresh blankets."

Ray peaked inside the room and saw a set of books on the left side corner of the bedroom, opposite the bed. There was a desk beside it and some notepads. "This was Eddie's bedroom." Mr. Kim suddenly explained. Ray turned to look at him who then smiled before turning to the hallway. "The bathroom is this way." he said and started walking towards the end of the hall where the bathroom was.

Ray followed Mr. Kim as he gave him a tour around Eddie's place. While everything seemed fine, he knew the old man missed his son and was trying to hold back the sadness from being there. All may seem normal except for Eddie... still, the whole house felt warm and welcoming instead of being cold and lonely.

Ray had been laying on the bed for a while now. Sleep seemed far from happening. He got out of the covers and decided to check out the books in the room. He started scanning the titles till he found one to read. He then pulled out the chair by the desk and started scanning the pages till he caught sight of a familiar looking brown leather covered journal on the desk. Ray closed the book and reached for the journal.

The journal looked exactly like the one he found earlier. Curious, Ray examined it. He then flipped the pages and found what seemed like an entry from four years ago. He checked the first page and saw Eddie's initials. Ray went back to the page he first opened and started reading the entry.

"You're finally home." The first line wrote. From there, Ray continued to read the entry.

You're finally home.