The scent of freshly baked bread wafted through the open windows of the cozy bookstore The Turning Page. Rain pattered on the cobblestone street outside, making the afternoon gathering more comforting. Inside, the motley crowd huddled around a worn-out, overstuffed armchair, with cups of steaming tea clutched in their hands. There was Agnes, the retired elementary school teacher, sipping her chamomile. Beside her was Ben, the young barista from the cafe next door. Rhea, the artist, sat with her glasses perched on the tip of her nose as she fixed them. Amelia, the owner, a bookworm with a good nose for a good story, held up a dusty first edition of Alice in Wonderland. She found a strange message written inside.
"Oh, there's something here. It says, 'For Beatrice, who followed the rabbit down the wrong hole,'" Amelia exclaimed.
"That's...strange," muttered Rhea, peering at the message over her glasses. "But what does it mean?"
Ben tilted his head. "Maybe it's a dedication from the author?"
"Hardly," scoffed Agnes, rolling her eyes. "Lewis Caroll wouldn't put something like that in a book he was selling."
"Maybe it's a clue about a hidden message in the book!" said Ben enthusiastically.
Agnes snorted. "Hidden messages? This ain't some top secret code, Ben."
Rhea, however, seemed intrigued. "Actually, there are hidden messages in quite a few literary classics," she countered. "Edgar Allan Poe loved to use cryptography in his stories."
The conversation segued into a lively discussion. Was it a child's playful scribble? A code for something more sinister? Or perhaps a literary reference they were all missing? Who knows.
To be continued.
