The auction, the book and the afterlife
An auction? No! She had never been! Though she had watched hours and hours of Bargain Hunt, Flog it, Antiques Road trip and the sorts. What else to do in retirement!
Linda read the information on the poster stuck to the post office wall.
Antiques Auction in support of the local hospice. That was something she could back up.
She finished her shopping, all the while thinking about the poster. In two days’ time in the salvage yard. Lind knew where it was, walking distance from her home. She hadn’t been there in years though. God knows how it might have changed!
While having dinner with her cat, Rum, she watched a recording of Bargain Hunt. Yes siree, she recorded them! Linda had her favorite experts and completely despised others, although she did not allow herself to dwell too much on negative feelings. Not good for her blood pressure.
Linda fell asleep on the couch with Rum purring softly next to her heart.
While sleeping she had a dream, weirdly, narrated by Tim Wonnacott, legendary auctioneer and presenter. She did not really remember the dream, but it was a good one and Linda started to think about the auction more and more.
When the time of the auction came, Linda was one of the first people to gather outside the door, in the small industrial park where the salvage yard was located.
When the doors opened and the participants queued to write their details down and get their numbers, an unexpected feeling of elation swept over Linda.
She hadn’t felt like this in a long time and was surprised to see that she can still feel.
Sometimes even feeling can be forgotten in the mundane quietness of life.
The space where the auction was taking place was huge, filled with all sorts of things, old furniture, crockery, paintings, even old clothes, of course, books. It seemed that everything had been crammed in that space, alongside the eager bidders.
Linda found a corner where she could sit herself and looked around her absorbing it all in.
She did not really like crowds, but the industrial space was so large that although there were quite a few people in it, they did not feel overwhelming and Linda found herself quite enjoying the atmosphere.
The auctioneer was this imposing, tall man. Dressed in a shabby suit, all crumpled and looking like he had just been unpacked from an old box himself.
When he spoke though, his voice was so commanding and carried over all the audience that you could not, not pay attention.
‘And remember, this is all for charity! Let’s start with our first item!’
Things were moving so fast, that Linda needed a bit of time to properly understand the sequence of things. Everything was so much faster than on the telly.
When she had left home she had made herself, and Rum, a promise. She will bid on something. She had to bring back something from her quest. To prove she really had been there.
A lovely pink Murano vase came up and before Linda could gather the courage to bid on it, it was already gone.
The bellowing auctioneer was going through the items like wild fire, and Linda started to panic that soon it will all be over, and she did not get the chance to bid on anything.
Then it came up! A 1920 edition of Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens and illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Linda forgot everything, most of all herself and she bid fiercely.
Surprisingly, the other bidders did not feel the same excitement for the book that Linda saw as a treasure. She bid for it and in the end, after a few heart stopping moments, got it at 188 euros.
Linda was bewildered and elated. This had been one of the most exciting experiences she had had in recent years.
When she went to pay and pick up the book, a well dressed man was waiting near the reception desk and hurried towards her.
‘Hello!’
Linda took a step back unsure of how to react.
‘My name is Liam Moore, I run the library here in town. So nice to meet you!’
Linda automatically shook the hand he had extended, but inside her all she wanted was to take her book and run home, but the man walked into her personal space and did not seem keen to leave.
‘Can I help you with something?’
Linda decided to get rid of him.
‘Actually yes, you can!’
‘The book you bought …’
Linda’s heart shrunk to the size of a plum.
‘… was a donation from our library and I read it last. And I am embarrassed to say I think I forgot a photo in it.’, he blushed under the ageing, almost transparent, skin.
‘It is of the old house I grew up in, silly really … I just don’t have another and the house does not exist anymore.’
Linda smiled at him and when he was talking about the photo she could see her childhood home and was transported there also.
‘I see, no worries, let me just get the book.’
The photo was indeed in there and the man beyond grateful to have it back.
‘Can I tempt you to a cup of tea in the library? I can show you the other old books in our collection.’
Linda did not trust new people, but a good library was beyond her powers to resist.
As it turned out, the library needed volunteers to help care for the books. Linda could not resist that either, and when a book restorer visited once a month, Linda made it her duty to be there, learning all she could about restoring and caring for the books.
Gary, the well dressed man, became her friend, and often, she would accompany him on library tours all over Ireland.
At home, Rum took a liking to the large green fairy book, and often would be found sleeping on top of the bookcase where it was housed. Linda got this idea that Rum knew it was special and he was jealous of it, so he just made sure he was there, in the point of interest, so he can steal the show when needed.
He needn’t worry though, Linda’s heart had expanded, and now, there was more and more place in it for all of them.