The Wrong Bookshop

Lucas ordered a coffee and sat in the empty corner of the café. He took out his book and tried to read. But the man at the next table was watching him.

Lucas si objednal kávu a sadol si do prázdneho kúta kaviarne. Vytiahol knihu a pokúsil sa čítať. Ale muž pri vedľajšom stole ho pozoroval.

"That's a very old edition," the man said. Lucas looked up. The man was wearing a heavy jacket, even though the café was warm. "I used to sell books like that one. Around the corner. The shop is gone now."

"To je veľmi staré vydanie," povedal muž. Lucas zdvihol hlavu. Muž mal na sebe hrubú bundu, hoci v kaviarni bolo teplo. "Kedysi som predával takéto knihy. Za rohom. Ten obchod už neexistuje."

"Gone?" Lucas asked. He felt awkward, but he didn't know how to leave the conversation. "What kind of shop?"

"Neexistuje?" spýtal sa Lucas. Cítil sa neisto, ale nevedel, ako ukončiť rozhovor. "Aký to byl obchod?"

The man laughed quietly. "Old books. Forty years. Then the building was sold to a bank. The bank closed too, three years ago. Now it's a clothing store." He looked out the window. "Every time I pass by, I forget for one second. I almost go inside."

Muž sa ticho zasmial. "Staré knihy. Štyridsať rokov. Potom predali budovu banke. Banka sa tiež zatvorila pred tromi rokmi. Teraz je tam obchod s oblečením." Pozrel sa von oknom. "Vždy keď tadiaľ prechádzam, na jednu sekundu zabudnem. Takmer vojdem dovnútra."

Lucas closed his book and listened. The man did not ask for anything. He just wanted to tell someone about a place that used to be there.

Lucas zatvoril knihu a počúval. Muž o nič nežiadal. Chcel len niekomu povedať o mieste, ktoré tam kedysi bývalo.