As we were taking a not-so-relaxing hike through the steep hills, also known as streets, of Porto, we stopped to catch a breath. Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound, and out of a wall in front of us, a huge basilisk came slithering out.
Frozen out of our wits, we could just stand and stare at it, and pray that it had had a heavy lunch. However, our prayers seemed to be in vain, as the legendary monster saw us, and started moving towards us ominously.
Shitting bricks, we ran towards the one place where we know help would definitely be on hand, if only one would ask for it – Livraria Lello, the iconic bookstore frequented by JK Rowling before she started writing Harry Potter.
But just as we were about to enter the store to save our lives, a huge bouncer suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and blocked our path. “Can’t you see the sign?” he said.
We saw the sign, and shrieked, “Can’t you see that basilisk?”
But he refused to budge, and we had to start running again, escaping just by the skin of our teeth.
We were desperate by now, tired, thirsty, mortally afraid for our lives. And just as we were about to give up, a voice called out of nowhere, “Why don’t you come in?”
The voice belonged to a man in a hat, whose face we couldn’t see despite our best efforts. Out if options, we followed him into what seemed to be an old bookstore.
There, he pointed towards what looked like a gramophone speaker, and said, “Ask it for help, it will never let you down.”
The basilisk had entered the bookstore by now, and was making its way towards us. “Make it go away,” we shouted into the gramophone in unison, and lo and behold, the speaker started making a strange sound, and like a vacuum cleaner, sucked the basilisk inside itself, and then… took a loud burp.
“How…” we stuttered.
The man in the hat replied, “There’s magic in old books, and it recognized in the two of you, the love that you feel from deep inside for the written word. So, it sent me to save you.”
So the next time you are being chased by a basilisk on the streets of Porto, don’t forget to make your way to the Rua das Flores, where you shall find the Livraria Chamine da Mota. It could save your life.
jagahdilmein 