[M4A] Speakeasy [Script fill] [Narrative] [Public Performance] [SFW] [Anniversary] [Defiance] [Breaking the Law]

I walked towards the nondescript business just down the street from where I had been standing. It was a book store, although it had seen better days. Haven’t we all, though? Fewer people were interested in books these days. Maybe it was unusual that it actually had a few people going into it the last hour or so, especially this late in the evening on a Friday.

I walked in, and it didn’t look that busy at all. There was barely anyone in sight, other than an older woman standing behind the counter, and an even older man putting books on the shelves.

It wasn’t a library, but for the moment it seemed appropriate to speak in hushed tones. The woman behind the counter spoke softly, confirmed that feeling when, as I walked up to her, she asked if she could help me.

I looked around nervously. I’d never had the courage to come here before. The last decade had made that an issue. I almost turned around and left, or asked if they had some book, except my brain blanked on the title of one I might be looking for.

I found the strength after a moment. “I’m looking for… a dedicated space.” The woman smiled softly. “Aren’t we all?” She turned around and walked to a bookcase set in the wall just to the side of the counter. Looking around furtively, she reached out for one book and pulled it towards her a little. This caused the bookcase to swing open with just a slight creak, revealing a dimly lit staircase behind it leading down.

There was no going back now. I started down the staircase. The stairs were old, worn with time and the passage of countless footfalls. It had been built in response to a different set of laws long ago, but places like this had become newly relevant.

I heard the bookcase start to swing back behind me, and over that, the woman’s voice saying “Happy Anniversary”, with irony evident in her voice. I wished her the same, trying to match her tone. And then the bookcase closed completely with the slightest of clicks.

Written by the brilliant u/homersoc_
Read by u/fischji

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