Destiny's Choice

Descending past the first floor shop to the basement, Chris plans to retrieve the books he classified earlier today, displaying them in the store for tomorrow's opening. Groping for the lamp on the old oak desk near the stairs, he also feels for matches in the top drawer. The light is welcome, illuminating the box of books. One still lies on the top shelf. The sight of that book is first startling and then alarming. He is sure he took them all dowm. Has his troubled mind become so clouded that even the most menial tasks elude him? "Don't think." He scolds himself aloud, unaware that he is having a P DOME moment."Just get it." Instead of finding the safe, wooden ladder which he used before, he steps on the bottom shelf, catches hold of a corner post, and pulls himself, on tip-toes, high enough to reach the book. This brings instant disaster. His weight pulls the old wooden bookcase away from the wall. He tumbles backwards to the floor under posts, boards, and books from the lower shelves. Uninjured, he pushes and shoves his way clear of the debris. The whole fiasco happens in a matter of seconds. As the shock wears off and as he gathers up scattered books, he notices that the anchor stone is still attached to the frame.The stone, he sees, was wedged into the wall without morter. Time and attrition have expanded the opening causing the fall. Why was such a stone inserted? This is a curosity to him. He carefully studies the stone's face for inscriptions, thinking it might be a corner stone of sorts. Finding none, he looks to the hole in the wall. Is there a secret chamber? He slowly lifts the lamp, in trembling hands, toward that black void. What will he find? He doesn't know. Yet, he knowsa turning point has been reached. The accident has broken through his melancholy mood. He is alert with anticipation asthe lamp comes closer to that mysterious opening in his basement wall.