- Miss. Miss. This is the last one!
I look up from my papers. She is standing 1 cm from me, repeating:
- This is the last one.
I see pride in her eyes, and also..sadness? And I have no idea what she is talking about: - What do you mean, the last one, Meena?
- This is the last book only, Miss.
And then I see the book in her hands: Cairo Jim, On the trail to Chacha Muchos.
And I get it.
The last one. You see, Meena has now read every single book in our library. She is proud of it but I can also feel her anxiety. Now, what is she going to do? What is she going to read? Because she is a reader, you know. Whenever I see her, she has a book with her. In class, she has a storybook hidden under her notebook, supposedly a secret..:-) And now, she is the only one of the kids who has read every single book in our library, and even though our library is not the biggest- we are still talking lots of books!
So, I can not wait. I have to let her know the good news today. Because we have more books! They are ready, waiting to come along for next time we all meet - in just a couple of days. Donations and gifts has made it possible. And even some brand new books will come! I break the good news, and I can see how this big smile is spreading on her face. Yey! It does not end after Cairo Jim finishes his Chacha Muchos adventures! There will be more books! More stories! The reading continues!
I head home, and I can feel this silly smile spreading around my face too. Ahh, those book-lovers are all the same around the world, aren't they?! But can you imagine - not having a book to read, when that is the only thing you really really want to?!
A good moment today dear reader! It feels great to see so much joy! The readings will go on, and so will my Mumbai tales. I hope you have had a good day! Thanks for ... well,... thanks for reading:-)
I look up from my papers. She is standing 1 cm from me, repeating:
- This is the last one.
I see pride in her eyes, and also..sadness? And I have no idea what she is talking about: - What do you mean, the last one, Meena?
- This is the last book only, Miss.
And then I see the book in her hands: Cairo Jim, On the trail to Chacha Muchos.
And I get it.
The last one. You see, Meena has now read every single book in our library. She is proud of it but I can also feel her anxiety. Now, what is she going to do? What is she going to read? Because she is a reader, you know. Whenever I see her, she has a book with her. In class, she has a storybook hidden under her notebook, supposedly a secret..:-) And now, she is the only one of the kids who has read every single book in our library, and even though our library is not the biggest- we are still talking lots of books!
So, I can not wait. I have to let her know the good news today. Because we have more books! They are ready, waiting to come along for next time we all meet - in just a couple of days. Donations and gifts has made it possible. And even some brand new books will come! I break the good news, and I can see how this big smile is spreading on her face. Yey! It does not end after Cairo Jim finishes his Chacha Muchos adventures! There will be more books! More stories! The reading continues!
I head home, and I can feel this silly smile spreading around my face too. Ahh, those book-lovers are all the same around the world, aren't they?! But can you imagine - not having a book to read, when that is the only thing you really really want to?!
A good moment today dear reader! It feels great to see so much joy! The readings will go on, and so will my Mumbai tales. I hope you have had a good day! Thanks for ... well,... thanks for reading:-)
It's so good to read another wonderful tale from your Mumbai tales.
ReplyDeleteAll your posts are indeed straight from the heart posts.:) :)
Lovely post Eli!:)
Thank you so much for your nice feedback Nikhil! It makes me so happy:-) Best to you:-)
DeleteAnd I am sure Meena would be overjoyed on hearing the news!:)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work!:) :)
:-)
DeleteI was feeling quite sad for Meena until you wrote that you'd more books. It would be terrible to run out of reading material. I am like that too. We are a family of readers in this house!
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased to have stumbled across your lovely blog.
Maggie x
Nuts in May
Yes, I think all readers can relate to that fear (myself included) May we never run out of books:-) Thank you for your kind words! All the best to you Maggie:-)
DeleteMy dear Eli , this is such a beautiful post. I can imagine meena'a joy when she realizes more books are on the way. I used to read a lot of books when I was a child.. They built a magical world in my mind and I loved disappearing in that world with a nice ,fat book. I love the way you write my dear, keeps the reader engrossed till the very end :) hugs.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for you kind words Pallavi! And for sharing! I can tell you are a reader too- just like Meena and myself:-) All the best to you sweetie!
Delete