Read in order to live [Errol & John]
For a while he had felt out of place in this new city. Every little anomaly kept him on his toes. He'd observed with reserved incredulousness all the noise and colours and vivacious people on the streets, half-wondering if this was some vision of a dystopian future (the irony of the past re-created wasn't lost on him) that he'd wake up from.
But the uneven bricks that lined the buildings he walked past were rough and cool under his fingers. It didn't seem so strange to be out of place after all when everyone else seemed to have their own quirks and stand out in their own ways. A conformist in a city of individuals could pick up rather quickly that everyone was as out of place as he was.
He'd wandered about aimlessly, turning this way and that, learning something new around every corner until his feet brought him to a glass window with city guidebooks on display.
When there was a soft jingle at the door he looked over his shoulder and glanced at the bell before making his way over to the display counter. The array of fiction behind him was admittedly tempting to look at but for now he needed to know more about this place.
Flipping through one of the books he'd picked up, he seemed more curious about the texture of the paper than he was about the actual contents printed between the folds.