Part 2 of my short story, you can find the first part on my timeline. ‘Pssst.’ A raspy voice called from the darkness. ‘Kid. What you got there?’ Eli jolted. His gaze darted around the mounds of rubbish. His father had moved on ahead so he knew the words hadn’t come from him. The shadows of twilight played tricks on his eyes, maybe they played tricks on his ears too. He shook his head and climbed up to the top of the trash mountain for a vantage point. A trash can sat at the apex. Clang! Eli jumped. He could’ve sworn he saw the lid move. The rickety metal bin lay a few feet away. Silent and inconspicuous in its dented clothing. ‘Oh,’ Eli said as the lid lifted. A small man’s pointy face popped up from the confines of the bin. He squinted at Eli, sniffed and twitched his brows, an action that sent repercussions in the lid he wore for a hat. ‘I said: Kid, what you got there?’ Eli’s heart jumped, for a second he thought the trash man meant his book, but the man indicated with a dirty finger to the wire poking out of his pocket. ‘S’nothing. Just some wire.’ ‘Copper wire?’ ‘Um. I guess so.’ ‘I’ll tell you what, Kid. You give me the copper wire, and I’ll take you to the Library. Real deal Kid.’ Eli’s eyes widened at the thought. The Library? This man knew the library? He glanced in the direction his fathers body had lumbered down and then back to the trash man. His father seemed to like the copper. He said it had value. But, surely a trip to the Library is valuable too. All the untold ideas he might learn, the adventures he might go on. His heart skipped a beat. The words he could learn to read. He patted the square lump in his inside pocket. Its sturdy shape reassured him. Alice would approve, he thought. And the pirates. He was sure they would approve too. ‘C’mon, kid. I don’t got all night. Things to do, you see, and places to be.’ ‘I approve,’ Eli said and handed the man the wire, it’s metal burned hot in his palm as he let it go. His palm stung for moments after he released, a reminder of his decision. ‘Deal,’ The man said as he caught the wire. He stood up to his full height that reached up to Eli’s belly button and threw off the lid. The metal crashed to the floor loudly, Eli was sure everyone in the tip heard. ‘No time like the present. Off we go. Follow me.’ The little man lowered himself down the trash can until all that could be seen was a wisp of hair on his balding head. The head shuffled to one side. ‘Down there? That’s just a trash can,’ Eli said. Hollow words echoed back up. ‘Nonsense. You know as well as any that one man’s trash, is anothers treasure. Jump in. Here we go. Places to do and things to be.’ Eli climbed over the ridge of the bin. His fingers slipped on the mould and grime. He fell a little harder on top of the man as he intended. ‘Sorry,’ He called. But it was too late. The impact knocked both the trash man and Eli further down until they were wedged together at the bottom of the trash. It smelled like last weeks lunch made up of dirty socks. Blech. What a silly thing to do. He should never have trusted the- ‘Kid. Let’s move mountains.’ The trash man shoved Eli in the ribs. Ouch. The trash can teetered, then toppled over with a crash and a thump. The air in Eli’s lungs vaporised as they hit the ground together, squashed inside the circular bin. They rolled down the mountain. Round and round, jolting painfully over bumps. Eli’s brain swished inside his skull like laundry in a washing machine. Just when he thought it was too much, they hit a wall. ‘Oof.’ ‘Here we go, Kid. The Library.’ A cool wash of fresh air pushed the stink out of his nose when the small man scrambled out. Eli hurried close behind. Bright blue lights made Eli squint. He brought his hand to his brow and gasped. The Library was magnificent. Glass windows lined the enormous building, casting magical reflections every time he moved his head. One big word, lit up in blue. It’s soft blurry halo pulsed in time with his erratic heart. Eli breathed in deeply. The air was fresh, the atmosphere alive. He could almost smell the books from here. He turned to the trash man to say thank you but found him gone. Just a street full of bustling bodies and clean faces. His face flushed with heat and he inspected his grimy fingers, dirt between the nails and darkness in the knuckles. He wiped his palms on his coat. The hard bulge brought his attention down and he patted the book and nodded his head. He took a step forward, then another and stopped. A body bumped into him. An apology rushed out to the passing shadow, gone swiftly into the night. He tugged on his coat hem and bit his lip. He took a step, then another and kept going until the whoosh of the glass sliding door whizzed by his face. A blast of icy cold air hit his nose and he sniffed, eyes wide. He was here.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 04:33:59 +0000
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