I'm not her - One thousand and one pages (15.)

Anna looked back at the old lady, whose face had not moved a muscle and whose eyes had an icy coldness that at first glance did not do her any good.

I must do something, and I must do it quickly! Anna thought, and with that thought she set the little one down. But the little girl immediately reached for her again. The young woman and owner of the shop smiled gently at her while she reached out and stroked her cheek, until the next moment she realized that it was a mistake.

"You are looking for a replacement for your daughter, my dear," continued the uninvited guest, who had known how to take a painful dig at Anna from the start. Anna closed her eyes for a moment while taking a quiet breath.

"Finish the tables," she huffed, opening her eyes with that. She glanced at Michael, who gave the impression of a lion, always ready, to protect his daughter.

"Well, you and I will go to the back so we can have a quiet time to talk," Anna continued, but this time, the words belonged to Madame.

*

"Then we are agreed, I expect the first repayment tomorrow, and lest you should say I have no sympathy or anything of the kind, I will give you till tomorrow evening," said Madame Omelgl, in a voice that carried no objection with it, but Anna scarcely perceived it.

Her mind was desperate, and her mind was reeling as perhaps it never had done before. Where on earth am I going to get so much money so quickly? The young woman was so lost in thought that she barely heard Madame stop in the middle of the shop and continue her speech.

"You have a really nice place and the name! Hmm, I must say, really imaginative - A Thousand and One Pages," she paused to look around carefully again. At the same time, Anna felt bile rising up inside her, but outwardly she stood rock solid, two steps ahead of the supine woman.

"Very well, we're done here for the day," Omelg continued with a hint of bitterness in her voice as the shop owner somehow failed to respond to her words. Without saying anything else, she made her way to the glass door with a brisk military stride.

Anna was slowly beginning to think that this little fight was over for once, when suddenly the old lady stopped and looked thoughtfully, if a little pensive, at Michael and little Julia, who were sitting at one of the tables.

The little girl was looking intently at a book, which Anna was glad for, as the little one seemed oblivious to the world around her.

"Young man," the madam spoke, pausing for a small moment to make her next words sound more dramatic, or rather, she wanted to achieve that and unnerve the persons in the shop. She might even have succeeded if...

"With all due respect, ma'am, but whatever you say to me, I will not listen to you. You should have known that a long time ago," Michael said, setting down the mug he was currently holding. He did all this without taking his eyes off the old woman.

Anna stiffened at his words, but an incredible and, to her, terrifying thought popped into her head.

They know each other!