A Page a Day bookshop had a sign saying “Open” but people continued passing by on the busy sidewalk outside. The tiny shop rarely attracted even a glance from the potential patronage. It had no advertisements, no flashy window displays. Books were stacked in the windows instead, showing off diverse and wonderful titles to those who actually paused in their wanderings. Occasionally, a cat would sit upon one of these stacks to observe the outside world or, as more often the case, to take a nap in the warm afternoon sun.

                If one were to venture inside the shop, they would be hit with the scent of old books and good coffee the moment they opened the door. The tiny space was crammed with shelves overflowing with their content. Signs had once been posted up to clarify which sections contained what but now they were faded or concealed by stacks of books that reached as high as the young girl who owned the shop could reach.

                When said girl wasn’t stacking books precariously one on top of the other, she could be found sitting in a rather large, comfy chair behind a desk littered with books and one ancient cash register. Usually, she was flipping through one of the books her store sold with a cat purring softly in her lap. A mug of heavily creamed coffee or black tea was usually never far from her reach either.

                If one was extremely lucky, she would greet said customer as they walked through the door with a soft smile before returning to the book currently in her hands. Usually, one received a grunt of acknowledgement while she turned the page, too absorbed in the story it held to bother glancing up. It was the second greeting that welcomed the man into her shop who would help her write her very own story.

                She just didn’t know it at the time. Well, at the time she would have much preferred another cat to inhabit her shop but that’s getting ahead of the story. The proper place to start is, as everyone knows, at the beginning. And, the beginning, for this reader in particular, starts right after clicking the next button.