The donation
(Edited)
Source
Selling books has been his passion and reading them has been part of his job.
He began by setting up a table in the village square and putting there on weekends the books he bought second-hand to read them, as the economy prevented him from buying new ones.
It was a way to recycle money so that they didn't have to spend what they had earned in a hard week of construction work.
With time and the same dynamics of the business, people offered him books or left them there to pay for them when he sold them.
When the chaos came and the construction company where he worked went bankrupt, he ventured into selling books full time and every day.
At the beginning he could barely afford to eat, but the crisis led him to obtain very good pieces at low prices and even for free.
The first thing someone throws out when they move out or want to gain space in their home are books, it seems that these are the perfect candidates for sacrifice, the lambs to be hoarded for the sacred moment of ritual.
The table was transformed into a small shop and he spent his time reading when he had no customers.
He became a scholar of titles, he travelled day after day, through them, through years past, present and future, through all genres known and unknown to him.
It was gaining fame in the village and people from other places came to look for works they couldn't find anywhere else.
His used book business became popular in the square and the small shop was converted into a larger one, to which he added the odd antique piece, so that the lambs with leaves would not have so much to do on their own.
One Sunday morning an elderly man arrived there with his son, who was about fifty years old.
He was carrying a box that looked heavy and inside it was a collection of books belonging to an encyclopaedia with leather covers and voluminous volumes, written in a strange language, which he assumed to be some variant of German because it was similar.
He thought he wanted to sell it to him and was predisposed to say no, but surprisingly he told him she was donating it to him because she was going back to her land and they would be in the right place at her business.
He took them and placed them in a corner, without much emotion as he would eventually end up giving them to someone, as he doubted that some person would pay for them.
A week later, he decided to check them and was surprised to find that three of the volumes contained high denomination banknotes of the local currency between the pages.
His breathing almost stopped at the discovery, his ethics told him that he should return them, but the man would surely be resting on another continent by now.
He put them all together and the amount was enough to buy a car and still had half of it left over.
Without thinking too much about it, he bought a car at a popular but new price, divided what he had left into two parts, one would be used for a holiday with his current girlfriend, a survivor of many failed relationships, living as a couple was not his forte, and the other he left among the books to keep in the bank when he returned.
A week's holiday ended up turning into a fortnight, and after his arrival he was surprised to see police officers in his shop in the square.
He thought the worst, he had been robbed and the first thing that came to his mind was the money hidden among the books.
He got out of the car just as one of the law enforcement officers was leaving his premises with the money and this reassured him.
He got to the detective in charge and introduced himself as the owner of the business.
He replied with a smiling face.
- You are arrested for trafficking in counterfeit banknotes.
You didn't have to be a sage to guess that the banknotes inside the books were the cause of it all.
Inspired by idea number 14 of 50 Story Ideas. You can find them in this [Link](https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-fiction-prompt-6-50-story-ideas)
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You turned that prompt into a very effective story. The man, who had lived so well and had earned the respect of his community, falls prey to temptation. We are hoping, as we read, that he will not go to prison because he did not know he was trafficking in counterfeit notes. But, we do leave off understanding that the sad turn of events did not happen because
The cause of his problem was his own doing. He didn't feel the money was his, but spent it anyway. He was the instrument of his own downfall.
A well-told tale with a strong message. Thank you for posting this story in the Ind Well community.
Great take on the book seller prompt, @joseph1956. I love how the story progresses, and the unexpected outcome. One can conclude that at least he had a wonderful holiday before the truth about those bills came out!
No doubt she had them, thanks for reading me
A story told in such a way as to presuppose the unfolding of events, @joseph1956. It revolves so much around the books, titles, readings, themes, that on receiving the donation the reader thinks it's a collection of incunabula books in a strange language, rather than German...
And no... it turns out that it is not...
Well done!
Thanks for stopping by my blog
Hello @joseph1956 Lovely story and character. I can identify with him because I've discovered some interesting items in books myself that I picked up from the On-Sale rack at the resale shop.
Isn't it funny how even when a person knows who should be accountable for an action, the blame always ends up on someone or something else. "But for" seldom enters the picture.
From the moment he opened the book and discovered the currency, I knew something exciting in his life was about to happen. Spending the currency was only the beginning. Consequences were heading his way. Which direction the excitement would come from was the "ah ha" moment.
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I enjoyed it being a book lover myself.
Take care and have a good rest of your week.
Pleased that you liked my story. Thank you.
This is a wonderful story, one whose ending i didn't see coming at all.
The bookseller had painstakingly built not just a business but also a reputation. And all that is lost... In the twinkle of an eye.
You did a good job of leading us on, then taking that unexpected curve.
Good job @joseph1956, keep it up👍🏽
Thank you for reading me and being able to surprise you.
You are welcome. I'm glad i read it.