As Bastian approaches the cafe, he notices the same black wolf-like dog that he saw flee from behind his moms car earlier. He found it a little strange but he decides to ignore it.
After getting his donuts and coffee for his dad he walks out of the cafe and down the side walk. With his game boy in hand and not paying attention to anything around him, he crashes into an elderly looking guy with a box full of books, causing Bastian's game to fall and break apart on the concrete. "Aw man!" Bastian grumbles and picks up the fractured pieces. "Look at my game it's totally wrecked!" The man looks at him as if he doesn't even care. "Well maybe I did you a favor." The man suggests.
"A Favor??" Bastian looks up at the man. "Well if you play them games long enough you'll scramble your brain." Bastian doesn't hesitate before replying. "That's what's my mom says. She's in the hospital." The man then raises his eyebrows in slight concern. "Oh, I hope she's okay." "Oh yeah, me and my dad…we're just waiting." Bastian says. The man gives a small smile and nods. "Look, I… I think I owe you for that game, my shops just over there." He says picking up his box of books again. "Come on, I'll help you pay for it." He says motioning for Bastian to follow.
Bastian picks up his bag and crosses to the other side of the street. As they approach the shop, Bastian examines the sign on the glass window that reads "Coriander's Curiosities" in a shining gold font, revealing the man as 'Mr. Coriander.' "You don't lock your door?" Bastian asks. "Ah I'd just loose the key." Mr Coriander replies.
"Corianders Curiosities..what name is that for a store?" Bastian asks. "Well I was thinking about naming it 'Reds Readable's', but the only Red I know can't read." The man says as he gathers some books from the box to put away. "Readables?" Bastian questions. "Books, you're familiar with the concept? Don't answer that, otherwise my mind will go spiraling into a black hole of depression." He says before Bastian can say anything.
"I know all about books, my mom illustrates them and I've read every one!" Bastian says taking off his hat." This catches the man's attention. "Ah, then you and I are kindred spirits." Mr. Coriander says as he turns around. "We are?" Bastian asks as he continues to follow him around. "Truth Seekers, adventurers, daredevils!" Mr Coriander expresses. A look of awe appears on Bastian's face as he smiles. "Cool!" He says quietly as he looks down. "Magnificently cool!" The man replies back. "You see, there are as many passions as there are people…
…and my greatest passion, is books." He says looking proudly at his bookshelves. "But I wouldn't have pegged you for a reader, the way you were going on with that game." Mr Coriander implies with his hands folded in front of him. "..but you know what they say about first impressions." He adds. "No" Bastian says. The man laughs, "Neither do I. But even though "they" say it, it doesn't mean that it's right." Mr. Coriander says as he starts to walk across the room. Bastian turns around, following him to the cash register. "Yeah! Who do "they" think they are anyway?"
"My sentiments exactly." Mr Coriander replies. "So what do you think, maybe we could make a trade." He says while holding out his broken game console. "A trade for what?" Bastian questions. "Well I get your useless broken game and you get a story. Anything you want, complete with beginning and middle." Bastian looks confused. "What about the end?" The man scrunches his face. "I hate them, especially when the stories good." He says. Bastian scans his eyes around the room again. "But all these books are old…I just got that game, it's the latest version."
"Well I can't compete with that." The man says as he opens his pretty much empty cash register. "Another slow day for literacy. I have to go upstairs and get some money. You browse around without buying anything, like most of my costumers." He motions, slightly disappointed. Bastian still smiles as he watches him walk upstairs as he starts to look around more in the shop in amazement.
As he continues to look at all of the books and random artifacts, he comes across a huge mammal skull with horns on a top shelf. "Woah, neat!" He stares with awe. "Is this real?" He asks. And without hardly any hesitation, he takes off his gloves and attempts to climb the shelf and take it off, causing a stack of books to topple to the ground. Bastian exhales nervously as he steps down. Looking at all the books that fell, one in particular catches his eye, the golden glow of The Neverending Story. He picks it up and sets it on a stand, blowing the dust off of it. "The Neverending Story..?" He questions quietly as he opens it up.
Has he continues flipping through the pages he eventually sees one moving picture in a box on a page. The moving image shows the black wolf-like dog from earlier with glowing eyes, jumping what it looks like out of the book. This causes Bastian to jump and fall backwards on a chair behind. Just as Bastian hears Mr. Corianders footsteps coming down the stairs, he gets nervous and starts to run out of the shop. "Everything ok down there?" The man asks as he approaches the bottom of the stairs before hearing the bell of the door opening.
Mr Coriander walks a little closer to see where he went. Before looking at the ground at the scattered books as he sees The Neverending Story glow himself. He picks it up and looks out the glass door again. Just then, in that exact moment, he knew he would be back.
Running out the door, Bastian runs out of the bookshop, even leaving his donuts in there. As he arrives back at the hospital, Michael is talking with a doctor in the other room as Bastian hurries to the one Laura is in. "Mom..?" He says softly as he walks in. "Hey mom…" he continues to say before realizing that she is unable speak with the oxygen tube in her mouth as the ECH machine beeps. Bastian reaches his hand out to touch hers, wondering if she will respond.
The doctor then points out to Michael that Bastian is in there, and that he shouldn't be. Michael hurries in the room to comfort him again. "I really wanted to talk to you before you saw her…" He says and sighs. "Is it ok if we talk like this in front of her?" Michael replies; "I don't think she can hear us." Bastian looks down. "I know mom, I know she knows were right here beside her.." Michael looks over at her. "I suppose it's possible."
"What are we gonna do?" Bastian asks. "…what do you mean?" Michael replies. "Well we have to do something dad..if she knows we're here, she's gunna get mad if we sit around and do nothing..trust me she hates that.." Michael puts his hands on Bastian's shoulders. "Listen, there's nothing we can do, except pray for her…and…be brave.." Michael says as he walks out of the room, Bastian following.