Strangers in Time

As Ignatius works, he thinks about his work as an air raid warden and the dangers of the shelters, both from the German bombs and the antsy population. He usually tries to distract children and calm families, but it’s difficult to ignore the tragedies occurring outside. The shop’s bell rings, and the short man, Cedric, enters. Ignatus waves at the spying Desdemona and pulls Cedric out of her sight. Cedric hands over more papers and asks Ignatius to perform his task with haste. In exchange, Ignatius gives Cedric Consuelo by George Sand with concealed pages of encrypted messages inside. Ignatius sees Cedric to the door and avoids Desdemona’s probing questions.

After Ignatius closes up for the night, he makes a cup of tea and ventures to the locked study, which was Imogen’s private space. A typewriter sits in the middle of a large oak desk with Imogen’s unfinished manuscript next to it. She was writing about the effects of war on people and the city before she died, and a blank page rests in the typewriter where Imogen left it. 

Ignatius lights a fire and sits in front of the typewriter. He plans to finish Imogen’s story, but he isn’t motivated.