Keith entered the guest room that had been set up for him. He had asked about his old room but the butler told him that it had been converted into a study room for the young Miss of the family.
He had a feeling that Madam Derrick had somehow took revenge on him for leaving his presence in the house. She was really petty if that was true. Keith had no plans to stay in his old room anyways.
The dinner was abnormally quiet. Most likely because Keith was there. Madam Derrick kept smiling at him like a good mother. She asked him about his studies and was surprised to hear that he got into a prestigious university with full scholarship. It was unlike her son, for whom they had to bribe the university so he could graduate with a good degree.
The food was appetising and delicious yet Keith didn't feel hungry. After lunch, he told his father he is going out for a walk in the town. He suggested taking Liam or Mark with him but Keith declined.
There was an everlasting cloud cover over Edenburg that day. It would probably rain tonight, he thought. Keith decided to buy an umbrella and a rain coat in case it rains while he was out.
Holding the plastic bag with the stuff he bought in his right hand, he wondered when this town would switch to paper bags. He had been an environmentalist back in high school and habits were hard to forget.
He caught sight of an old book shop and by impulse walked into it. The leather covered books and the soft covered books were placed on opposite ends. The dust made him cough when he took a book down.
Geography of Edenburg.
Very well, he found something useful in the first try.
"You might want to buy the new edition. This one talks about old Edenburg." The shopkeeper who was an old and wrinkly man, kindly suggested. He was also the one who gave him a strange look when he had arrived into the shop, just like all those others in the street. Did they know he wasn't a local? But he had lived here for six years. His roots were in Edenburg.
Sadly, he had forgotten much about it. More then forgetting, he had pushed it out of his mind. He was trying to forget it. A memory in his mind had been threatening to break out since he had arrived here but it had not been given the right stimulus.
He knew what old Edenburg was. After the town planning, much of the old buildings and squares had been broke down or sealed. New buildings were made in it's place.
"No I think I'll go with this. I'm not new to this place."
Exiting the shop, he saw it was drizzling. The rain came earlier than he had predicted. He opened the umbrella.
