They climbed in silence, single file, the occasional foot scraping a bare concrete step.
Lindon pressed his lips. It helped stop the trembling. This was his first ‘trip’ off the ward and he wanted to look around. To look at others for their reactions. But new or not, he’d learned enough to understand that it was better not to. He kept his head low.
A scent hit him. Like Grandma’s house. Last month. Eons ago. He blinked.
The stairs ended. He looked up. His eyes grew.
His heart, too.
A room of books.
Stories. Escape.
He knew he would survive.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Photo prompt © Ted Strutz
Na'ama Yehuda 
He knows stories are a door. But the door is into his own imagination
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Exactly. 🙂
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Stories can heal if their narrative is positive and can link to our own narrative. Lindon is facing his first trip outside the ward with considerable courage.
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Indeed he is, isn’t he? And I hope that he’d be able to relax his survival mode just a bit while in the company of books, and I am encouraged to know that there IS a room of books in that place. Because that is already a step in the survivable direction. 🙂
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Oh yes! I could feel his fear, his trepidation and then, his elation. Beautifully done…
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Thank you, my friend! I think there are few things one can hope to find at the top of a dreary staircase that are better than a room full of books. 🙂
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I have to agree with you!
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I really really REALLY like it when people agree with me. Especially friends. 🙂
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Of course! Why would they not when you makes such a great case for something 🙂
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Awww! Thank you. Hold on a moment – I need to widen my door-frames cuz my head just got too big … 😉
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Hah!
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😀
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🙂
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Aww, such a vivid account of his emotions.
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Beautifully done. Everything is made better with books!
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Thank you, and indeed, everything is made better with books. What would we do without books??? 🙂
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Well described character, Na’ama! I felt his trepidation then his joy at the prospect of escape through stories and his imagination. Wonderful, and mysterious at the same time.
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Yay! Thank you! A little mysterious, eh? 🙂 Still, I like that the universality of the joy at the possibility of being transported and saved by books was communicated.
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Yes, I found the mysterious surroundings of the characters details intriguing. Loved this one!
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Yay! I left some of it ambiguous on purpose. Partially because of word limit, but also because … well … 😉
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i could read his fear like a book. well done. 🙂
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Great comment! Thank you! 🙂
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That was outstanding. The fear, resignation and suppressed emotion were so clear and present, and then the elation. I love that you linked the smell to Grandma’s house. It shows, like the ‘escape’, that he is used to books and knows what they mean to him. This is a character I would love to read more about.
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Yay! Thank you for this lovely comment! I am so glad you elaborated, and gave this even more depth. Maybe one day there’d be more about this character … 😉
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I want to read it. 😀
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🙂
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I right enjoyed this story, the scent of books lovely
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Yay hurray to the scent of books. 🙂 It’s always made me feel at home.
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His apprehension is so well-described, along with the relief at discovering the books. I felt that he’d been struck down by serious illness but was now on the road to recovery.
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So glad both the apprehension and relief were palpable! Interesting to think of a possible serious illness – just as plausible as other possibilities! And, yes, the relief would be immense, wouldn’t it? 🙂
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What a fantastic ending to a story that I felt was spiraling towards a sad one: nothing like the wide open opportunities that books offer, thank you for the surprise!
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Thank you for reading and commenting! I’m so glad you came along for this little journey of a micro-story. And am gladder still that the surprise was a good one. 🙂 Yay to books!
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Even Napoleon agreed with you: “Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” 🙂
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Ha! 🙂 (though I’m not sure Napoleon will be my role model, I’d agree with him on that … 🙂 )
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I did say “even” 😀
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you did! 🙂
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I like where the scent triggered a memory of a safe place helped him understand that he was approaching another safe space.
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Yes! And even if he didn’t know where he was going or what the scent would mean for him, personally, the memory of safety, in of itself, can be a helpful thing. 🙂 (and … those of us who know the comfort of books, understand!)
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Na’ama Y’karah,
I so felt his anxiety. It makes me smile that he’s found a safe place off the ward. That’s huge. Love all the nuances in this one. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yay hurray — not for his anxiety, of course, but for the importance of having a safe place, especially in difficult times … and there’s not much to argue with about the loveliness of books in the service of respite. 🙂
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Yes! Libraries were my escape, books were my escape. This really touched me.
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Hi Eugenia! I’m so glad this spoke to you … and while I wish fewer children needed the escape of libraries and books, I am grateful that we had them. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
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