She went to the bookstore
She wandered down the aisles running her fingers over the spines, inhaling the scent of ink on paper
She took her time, reading each title and occasionally pulling the book out to get a glance of the cover
She hadn’t left the aisle yet, but already had three books in her arms, she knew she should go, but it couldn’t hurt just to look at one more shelf…
She smiled as she picked another that seemed promising, and though it pained her she forced herself off the ground, and clutching the chosen ones to her chest she made her way back down the aisle
Before she left, she turned and whispered a farewell to the ones she hadn’t chosen, promising she would be back soon
At home at last she threw her bag down, set her books on the side table, and took off her shoes
She changed into her favorite sweats and floppy sweater, pulled on her fuzzy socks and threw her hair into a bun
Bouncing with excitement, she picked her glasses from the kitchen counter and after putting them on her face grabbed a few cookies from the cookie jar
She filled the kettle and boiled the water getting a mug down and a tea bag ready
She poured the water, grabbed her cookies and tea and sat them on the table in the living room before turning on the fire and turning the lights on dim
She picked up just one of the books and a cozy blanket and snuggled into her favorite chair
Hungrily her eyes soaked each and every word up as they began to twist into not just sentences, but another world
Now the little remains of her treat have been forgotten, the last few sips of her tea have gone cold as her eyes dart across the pages, her hands flipping the pages
She can hear her brain telling her she should get some sleep, she has work early in the morning but she shoves it to the back of her mind, this is much more important
It’s late into the night, the fire has died down and she’s made another cup of tea, but she won’t go to bed, not yet just a few more pages…
She finishes the book, closing the covers together and staring at it in wonderment
A happy ending was always nice especially when you had to go through all that bad to get to it
But then it hits her, it’s over, there’s no more, she has just said goodbye to her new friends
She clutches it to herself, staring into the darkness around her
She takes a few minutes reliving her favorite scenes, smiling at the quotes she will remember, and then allows herself to stand
Placing the book upon her shelf she stands back proud of having added another achievement, another world, another friend
As she drifts off to sleep she dreams of good and bad, of true love and lies and betrayal
Exactly Madi, well said.
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