Once upon a torrid day, I tried to get away. From what? From boredom, because I was one of those few kids who can't find anything interesting to do during summer break. I couldn't play on the computer or read because it was boiling hot in the apartment and I didn't want to go to the mall because I had done that countless times already. And what's more, my friends were in some other countries, either tanning or skiing.
  One day, though, I decided to go exploring. After all, I had lived in the same city all my life and I still hadn't set foot in some parts of it. I commenced my journey in the city center, followed the main road for a while, turned right, continued straight ahead, turned right, then left, then right again and I ended up on a narrow street with old buildings on each side. After walking some more, something caught my attention. It looked like a small shop and the sign above the door said "Ioana's Club". I couldn't see through the windows because of the brightness outside, so I entered. I was greeted by wonderfully cold air and the smell of fresh coffee. Looking around, I saw many shelves filled with books and in the back, there were couches, tables, and chairs.
  "Hello." said someone behind me.
  Startled, I turned around to see a thin, kind-looking elderly woman. Before I could respond, she continued:
  " My name is Ioana and you may call me that. Welcome to my humble library. You see, I have bought all these books throughout my life, read them many times and I would like to give others the opportunity as well. You can look around and if you find a seemingly interesting book, you can borrow it after filling in completing a library form. Or you can sit down take a seat on a couch and read it here while drinking a cup of tea or coffee. I saw beverage serving bookshop when I traveled abroad many years ago and I thought it was a good idea"
  I agreed, thanked her and started admiring her impressive collection. She had novels printed in the 1950s and others as recent as 2017. They were well organized by genre and then in subcategories. I picked something out and read for a few hours. When I left, out of habit, I said: "See you tomorrow". For a split second, overwhelming joy was seen in her eyes. I was true to my word and in the next few weeks, I visited "Ioana's Club" every day. After a while, I came to realize that she hadn't opened a library only because she loved to read, but because she was lonely and she considered books opportunities for socializing. So I suggested that we talk about what I had read and she gladly accepted.
  But then, in August, I spent 2 weeks at my grandparents' house in the countryside and when I returned to "Ioana's Club", I found it closed and empty. The books and their owner were no longer there. I stood there, lightning-struck and confused. As I turned to leave, I almost bumped into a middle-aged woman walking her dog. She recovered more quickly and asked:
  "Are you the young lady who has been visiting Ioana?
  "Yes. Do you happen to know why she left? "
  "She moved to Spain to be with her family... You should know that she was awfully sorry that she wouldn't see you before leaving. She greatly enjoyed your company."
  I returned home with quotes like "You don't know what you have until you lose it" and "Enjoy it while it lasts" bouncing around in my head. I suppose they are right. Also, I never knew you could find an extraordinary place, spent a lot of time there and have it disappear, all in 3 "boring" summer months. But there I was, feeling empty at the end.

Last edited by Cristina.without.h (2019-01-28 19:27:28)