Today is an extremely unlucky day.

In just twelve days in Italy, he was pickpocketed twice. No one bathes in the same river, but his river seems to have been enchanted by WinX magic to stop flowing, so he was stolen at the same train station for two consecutive days like this.

Actually, he is not useless to that extent, he just likes to make friends to the point where everyone around him exclaims: “I have never seen anyone like you who likes people so much.”

He always treats everyone with the thought that all four corners are friends. But that doesn’t mean he will make friends with everyone around him. And it doesn’t mean he will be friendly to everyone who approaches him, especially those who come close to him with a thick stack of newspapers and a beautiful bouquet as if they had a purpose beforehand and sneakily put a hand in his pocket, but then were caught and politely pushed away. The group of people, including adults and children, looked like a real family, and managed to sneak away before being caught again.

But sometimes he will lose his guard. Especially in front of a young man with a bright and clean face but full of worries when approaching him and asking for directions. When seeing that person off with a cheerful mood after showing him the way that he himself didn’t know clearly on the paper map, he realized that he had also sent his wallet along with him.

In bad luck, similarly, the next day he was robbed near the train station. By then, he had to pull himself together to carry out the business trip seriously and be determined to be cautious with strangers, even though it was painful because it meant he could no longer express his sincere heart and might miss out on some interesting friends.

After twelve days between two cities and almost no work in Italy, he was satisfied with the perfect result and boarded a train to leave the country.

He could have taken a plane, but after completing that unstable business trip, he decided to reward himself with a one-week vacation. There is a music festival taking place in Salzburg*. He planned to leisurely visit Austria, stay for a few days, and then slowly return home.

The train departed just before 11 pm, expected to arrive in Salzburg around 4 am the next morning. He boarded the night train after a busy schedule on the last day with a relaxed soul but a body that no longer felt like his own. However, despite being exhausted, he stayed awake all night to chat with his travel companion when the person approached him in a friendly manner, because he is an extremely sociable person. But after half an hour of ‘small talk’, he succumbed to his drowsiness and fell asleep. He hadn’t even booked a hotel in advance, but because his eyes were heavy, he decided to find accommodation upon arrival.

And he relaxed and sank into sleep on an unstable train with pickpocketing rampant.

In less than a blink of an eye, he fell into a deep sleep until someone woke him up. He tried to open his tired eyes. His eyelids were so heavy that he could only see the person in front of him clearly after blinking a few times.

As a ticket inspector, it seems he is crossing the border.

The ticket inspector asked him to present his passport, so he nodded at him with his eyes almost closed as if there was a weight on top preventing his efforts to open his eyes, then reached out to search for his bag.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and the drowsiness immediately disappeared. The wallet was no longer where it should be.

The ticket inspector looked at him with a puzzled expression, he flipped through the empty bag that wasn’t his, but besides dust, he couldn’t find anything else. He turned to search for other bags in vain, even though he didn’t remember what he had put in them, but it was certain that there would be no new items appearing.

It should be here, it should be in this bag. And he only fell asleep for a moment. Could it be that he was dreaming?

The ticket inspector looked at him with a pitiful look, as if he had roughly guessed the situation by looking at that foolish face. Then suddenly the ticket inspector muttered: “Oh”, and picked up something that had fallen on the floor as if there were many other things hidden under the bed. It was a passport.

“I only need this.”

The ticket inspector examined the passport and politely returned it to him once again. He could only take back his passport with a stunned expression and muttered “thank you” out of habit. Then, he bent down to look under the bed to see if there was anything else that had fallen out, but there were only a few specks of dust welcoming him.

Perhaps the person sitting next to him might know something, so he turned his head to the seat next to him, but it was also empty. 

The ticket inspector looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Putting sleeping pills in drinks or even being drugged while sleeping is quite common nowadays. If you want to report a theft, we can help you. Are the missing items important?”

He shook his head in confusion, nothing was too important. The passport was the only thing he didn’t want to lose, luckily the thief seemed to have left it behind while taking everything else. He sighed, remembering that scoundrel who offered me a fruit drink before I fell into a deep sleep.

If anyone heard this story, they would probably laugh until they passed out. Being robbed three times in ten days. He has never been betrayed or deceived in business because he can see through everyone. Yet, sometimes he gets fooled by petty thieves in such a foolish way. Whenever this happens, his friends always laugh at him and tease: “How can someone with such sharp eyes not be able to see through those basic tricks?”

“By the way, sir, do you have a ticket for the next station?”

The ticket inspector asked while he was lost in his own world. He looked at him blankly, then awkwardly searched through the bags he had just rummaged through, but could only shake his head again.

Shortly after, the train stopped at the next station. A man jumped out of the door and walked helplessly to the police station inside the station.

Today is an extremely unlucky day.

He went to the police station and filled out a report about the theft, then slept in a corner until dawn.

In the morning, he stepped out of the police station, the summer sun shining brightly. Even though the shops had not yet opened, the sun had already shone on my unlucky fate.

However, the heavens do not favor anyone, because he still has his passport, so he can still travel freely.

But it seems that his smooth journey is irritating the heavens, so a bigger problem arises, money.

Even though he is not bound by anything related to nationality thanks to my passport, he still needs money to go somewhere. He planned to go to the bank, confirm his identity, and withdraw money there, but this place is like a small village near the border, it takes less than 15 minutes to walk from the train station to the city center.

It’s called the city center, but it’s just like any other shopping area in any other locality. Although there are a few banks, most of them are local banks. Even though he searched all the streets, he couldn’t find a bank that allows cash withdrawal. So he went into a nearby bank and asked, the extremely friendly staff made a call somewhere, then quickly reported that he could conduct transactions 6 stops away.

6 stops, it’s not too far, but for someone without money like him, it’s like a star in the sky.

He would rather open a bank account here and make a toll-free call to the company to request a transfer to that account. But thinking about it, transferring and receiving money abroad may take a few days, so he will have to stay in this town for a few days until the money is transferred.

But if he has to wait that long, he might as well sleep on the streets. Or should he wash dishes for hire? No one would hire a security guard for only 3 or 4 days. A better option would be to ask James to come here, but he suddenly remembered that he had an appointment with Tyler’s manager today.

He seriously pondered and started moving aimlessly, as he always does when he has something to think about.

This village is really small. It is a typical cozy and peaceful countryside. The border-crossing train only runs a few times a day and life here seems very gentle and comfortable, without the hustle and bustle.

Looking back, his parents are also living in a suburb like this.

Although my father is still attached to work and often goes to work at the company, his mother has completely retreated and quietly enjoys a peaceful life taking care of the garden in the suburbs.

When he grows old, maybe he should build a house like this and live in a place like this.

He quickly swept away his troubles and walked leisurely, quietly observing what was happening around him.

In the small, beautiful houses, flowers bloomed proudly on the small walls. Although it looked old, the road was extremely clean and the air was fresh and pleasant. Somewhere in the distance, amidst the quiet residential areas, there was a small cafe with only one silent customer, occasionally accompanied by the sound of birds singing mixed with the wind carrying through every alley.

There is also a bakery, a vegetable store, and a clothing shop.

Despite the rather bleak business situation, these small shops are always full of goods rather than just short-term trading, adding a bit of color to the small streets here.

And then a store caught his eye. It was an old bookstore. The entrance was so small that at first he didn’t even realize it was a bookstore. As he stepped up to the door, he thought that behind that long hallway there would only be about 3 or 4 bookshelves. But to his surprise, all the bookshelves were packed to the point that it looked cramped. The gaps between the shelves were so narrow that it was difficult for a person to pass through. There were also books stacked like mountains next to the shelves, and it seemed like they could collapse at any moment if he accidentally touched or pulled one wrong.

Behind the crowded rows of books, an old man with gray hair, who seemed to be the owner of the store, was sitting basking in the sunlight shining through the window frame. But sometimes his head nodded up and down, perhaps he was dozing off in a comfortable sleep.

A bookstore that seemed to only have flies and mosquitoes visiting all day, but unexpectedly there was a customer standing inside. It was a young man wearing a hat that covered half of his face and carrying a sports bag. As if finding an interesting book, he stood in front of the bookshelf and flipped through the pages, one by one. It was surprising that at this time there was still a bookstore like this open for business, and it seemed like the owner was still very happy, not because of anything else but his passion for books.  

He was a book addict. And he used to be just like the owner of this place. He always wanted to travel everywhere to search for and collect old books, and the joy of owning a rare book seemed indescribable. So there was a time when he even established a company specializing in trading and exchanging rare and hard-to-find old books, but as predicted, the company quickly went bankrupt. It was true that a company couldn’t be run solely on love and passion without generating profits.

In the end, he inherited his father’s business and managed a company that made huge profits, but he still carried out the collection and sale of old books on a personal level.

That’s why he loved old bookstores like this, and if the bookstore was struggling, he would sincerely pray for its success.

“What kind of books are here…—”

He glanced at the bookshelves attached to the wall outside the store and clicked his tongue when he saw the books being exposed to direct sunlight. He looked through those books and gently brushed off the dust on them. Usually, old bookstores in a rural village would have all kinds of messy books. Even if they were categorized by topic and then grouped by author, they wouldn’t be much better, but at least it was better than having novels stacked next to music books like this.

He sighed.

He didn’t expect anything when he saw the books being exposed to the sunlight, but it was still heartbreaking to see them in such a state of decay. Surely after a hundred years or more, these books would become invaluable.

He patted the back of the book with a feeling of sadness as if he had just witnessed a scene of a child being abused by their family. If it were a child, he could have reported it to the police, but he couldn’t report someone for ‘abusing books’.

At that moment, his hand suddenly stopped on an old tattered book.

His eyes widened as if there were springs inside and could pop out at any moment. His mouth automatically opened and couldn’t be closed like a robot running out of battery.

[730 Days of Loneliness – Holt Rumpels.]

He pulled out the book with trembling hands and carefully flipped to the back page of the old tattered book to check. [The 1944 edition – Hattenhardt Publishing House].

Oh my god!!!!!

The German edition of this book by Rumpels was banned and destroyed in 1944. Meanwhile, only a few copies survived and a few foreign language editions were published in very small quantities in neighboring countries a few years later. It was no longer reprinted and it was also very difficult to own a copy, even from other countries.

But this is the 1944 edition. And it’s a German edition!

His hand trembled, how could he find such a treasure in a simple and rustic old bookstore in a small town in a remote village?!

Right now, he sincerely, wholeheartedly, and with all his guts, thanked the pickpocket. If it weren’t for that guy, he wouldn’t have come to this train station and wouldn’t have had such a heartwarming encounter.

I want it, I got it! I want it, no. I have to have it!

He caressed the leather cover of the book over and over again. What should he do now? All the excitement faded away, revealing the initial problem. He didn’t have money.

Even when the book is torn to pieces and can be sold cheaply, he still has to pay about 5000 euros for it. If he didn’t lose his wallet, he would be willing to pay a few thousand dollars to own it. But now he doesn’t even have a penny, let alone 5000 euros.

If he can’t buy it now and has to wait until he has the money to come back and buy it, what will happen if someone else wants to buy it before him? This is a treasure so it wouldn’t be surprising if someone buys it right now.

He holds the book tightly and stamps his feet on the ground, even wanting to jump up immediately.

“What the…”

Once again, the spring in his eyes takes effect.

[Ensemble – Henry March]

“Ugh… eughh”

His breath is choked.

The attire of Henry March – dominating the literature of the second half of the 19th century. It is written on a literary foundation that philosophers have praised endlessly, and he has also been crazy searching for it.

He hastily pulls out the book. His heart seems to want to beat ba-dum ba-dum. He thinks it wouldn’t be surprising if he collapsed from a heart attack right now.

Thinking of that, his eyes widened again. Regardless of being broke or anything else, he decides he must search through this ruined treasure first.

****************************

(*Salzburg is a city in Austria, located near the German border. It’s famous for its stunning baroque architecture, the Salzburg Cathedral, and as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The city is also a gateway to the Alps and a popular tourist destination, partly due to its connection to “The Sound of Music.”)