The comforting smells of ink and sawdust filled my nose as I skimmed the page. Today, I was on the tallest building and yesterday I was in the middle of the vast ocean. To me there was never a dull moment. Then as I read I heard distinctive sounds of footsteps as they echoed against their quiet surroundings.
“Why do you waste away here?”
I glaced up eyebrow raised as I met eyes with a small girl who stood head tilted to her side. She had strawberry blonde hair and freckles that were carelessly sprinkled across her tiny nose.
“What do you mean?” I ask shutting my book feeling it between my fingers.
“Well whenever I come here it’s so boring. People just sit quietly and read for hours! When I get older I want to travel the world not be cooped up in some small little library!”
I chuckled and beckoned her closer. “Who says I don’t travel the world?”
She looked at me curiously again waiting for me to explain. I smiled and reached over to my right pulling out a small leather bound book. Then I handed it to her.
“Every day I get to go somewhere new. France, Italy, big cities, small towns, you name it. Books are a place where people can escape. It’s a way people can learn about culture and history.”
I tapped the book in her tiny hands. “Books are vessels for imagination. Try it and you might just fall in love.”
