Song of the Firebird

Twelve

A/N: Since the work is undergoing constant editing and a couple of chapters had to be ripped off, here is a double update :)

Happy reading, folks!

Though it was located in one of the biggest malls in the city, the business was stooping to the lowest extreme. The trend was changing and Kiara, on the other hand, was too stubborn to not accept the change.

Nowadays, who read books in the paper format, other than the schoolkids? They would resort rather to a much easier option - the Kindle. One little device, much more books could be carried wherever one wished to. A portable bookshelf, indeed. The device might be pricey, but the books were sold in wicked offers. Only the people who wanted to touch the paper and devour the words, besides the creepy sniffing of the papyrus (old books used to have the musty smell that might be quite addictive for someone) visited book shops like hers. With rising concerns over the production of paper and its impact on the natural resources despite recycling wherever necessary, Kindle seemed a sustainable option.

The mall had just opened that day. Kiara had hoped that moving her shop to the mall would bring more customers. And boy, she was so wrong. She would rather invest in Natasha's café and was waiting anxiously to buy her friend's stocks if she made it a franchise. Quite a dumb friend she had, Natasha seemed contented with that single outlet. That girl needs more people on her side, Kiara thought. She also hoped that her friend would keep the baby, thereby getting her the post of an aunt, when she couldn't even bear a child in her womb.

Kiara, amidst the miniscule profits, always encouraged people coming to the mall by arranging events on vintage collections and cards, stationeries, best buys, tarot reading, limited edition sets, local authors' works, plays for children and even anime-con, periodically, to improve her sales. Sometimes, her cash registers showered her a bulky sum in those weekend events than her usual day business. No pain, no gain, right. She liked the weekdays more than the weekends. On trek days, she offered extra discounts on Fridays and closed the store for at least a couple of days in a month. After closing her shop everyday, she would hit the gym. Later, the bed. Her schedule was so simple and she did not want to change. Her favourite part was visiting her dad on the other side of the city and joining him for dinner in a new diner in their every single outing.

After checking the set of books that arrived last Friday and placing them in respective racks, she placed up some discount boards in a few sections. She moved to the easel-sized blackboard, and wrote one of her favourite lines from the book, Everything is Illuminated, 'I am very simple to enchant.' She also put some advertisements outside the door about giving out vouchers for every ten bucks spent. She then placed the book-stacks décor with a sorting hat and round rimmed glasses on the top. She could not wait for the attack on her store by the book-loving species. The moment she felt comfortable with her arrangements inside and outside the store, she switched on her computer checking last day's CCTV feed. Contented about what she saw, she opened her bag and munched on a cereal bar while waiting for her employees and customers.

Monday crowds were sparse. People usually arrived after lunch, mostly for the vouchers and offers. Few school kids crashed at the back of her store where she had arranged a bunch of private cabins to encourage reading. Only one would fit in a close-cushioned cabin and it was pure heaven. The kids usually doze off after reading and she was not at all bothered about it.

Kiara cajoled few of her connections to invest in her store's stationery section. Crafted pens, pencils, clays and notebooks, science projects were super duper hit. During holidays, the artists community also gave away hand painted portraits and they were sold out even before the holidays ended.

Kiara checked her watch. 10 30am. With only thirty minutes to change the sign to open, she picked up the book, The Cliffhangers by Sabin Iqbal. One thing she profited personally from the store was her nourishing a healthy habit of reading. Being the cloud-gazing dead-last in her schools and university, she began picking up reading for fun. With time, it had become a habit. She read fictions in the morning and the others after sundown and night. Thanks to them, she stopped spouting nonsense and enjoyed a parallel world as a reader. She now acquired the position that all the book-lovers had envied. Lucky b*tch.