UNMASKED || JIKOOK ✅

2.

As I made my way to
Main Street in downtown,
I couldn't help but smile.

It really was a picturesque
little tourist town with
adorable shops.

There was an art gallery
that sold art from local artists and the window displayed
several pieces from an artist
who had painted some of
the prettiest spots in Busan.

A jewelry store carried
gorgeous handmade pieces
with colorful stones
mounted in unique designs.

And then there was
Quixotic Books, the first of
the stores to draw me in.

"I'll be right there, hon."

Smiling at the overly familiar greeting, I called back.

"No rush."

Perusing aisles of books
never got old for me.

I could shop and sit if there
was a cozy place to sit in a bookstore for hours, doing nothing but reading books, flipping through the news
paper, checking out the magazines and drinking coffee.

A book lover through and through, I read any genre
I could get my hands on.

nonfiction, fiction, romance, suspense, sci-fi, horror,
fantasy and more.

If the writing was good,
I'd take a chance on it.

Artfully decorated and put together, the store was a fun maze of literature and from
what I could tell, it had a
little bit of everything.

When I'd pushed open the
door, I'd noticed the Building
For Sale sign with a twinge
of disappointment.

I hoped this little gem would
not be closing anytime soon.

I approached a little table
toward the front of the store which contained the latest  bestsellers and just about jumped out of my skin
when I heard a squawk,
followed by. "Hello."

There settled on some sort
of bird perch was a colorful parrot, bopping up and
down as it watched me.

Chuckling, I couldn't help
but respond.

"Well, hello there."

"My milkshake brings all
the boys to the yard."

Was the bird's reply.

Smiling I shook my head, completely entertained
by the cute little thing.

When it bobbed again on its perch and tilted its head as if waiting for me to respond, I laughed but felt it was wise
to keep my mouth shut.

The parrot squawked at
me again and I heard the
voice from earlier call out.

"Ignore Rocky, He likes to
show off for new customers."

"One more second, I promise."

"No worries."

How she knew I was a new customer, I had no clue but Rocky obviously didn't like
his owner talking about
him, as he replied.

"Nobody puts Baby in a
corner."

I snickered at the intuitive
reply.

And truthfully, I felt a little
too compelled to try to out
quote my new friend, making
me wonder if I was that desperate for company.

I lived pretty far out of
town and I found I had a
lot of time on my hands.

I didn't know that I'd call
myself lonely but I knew a companionship wouldn't hurt.