The winding road, with a boulevard of trees looked welcoming. A yellow rain of flowers on either side left a subtle perfume in the air. At the end of this winding road, stood a wondrous piece of architecture- the town’s library. The sandstone building’s arched turquoise blue windows made it stand out. The windows had the most beautiful stained glass that glinted in the soft morning sunshine.
Dew was still fresh on the patch of lawn around the ancient library and old Eleanor walked towards the door. It was time to open the library for the day. She’d been the running the library for as long as anyone in the town could remember. The door creaked open and she walked in, every day with the same excitement. Eleanor’s desk was always tidy and in the perfect spot near one of the huge windows. Her mornings were always busy making sure all the records were up-to-date and the inventory maintained. Old Eleanor was bent over but she would muster all her strength and shuffle as fast as she could through the aisles of books. It would take all morning just to cover maybe a small portion of the endless library. Oh, the number of books the shelves held and that too dating back to times immemorial! But Eleanor knew each one of them like the back of her palm.
One would think Eleanor’s library had little or no visitors but this quaint little town loved their reading time. Children, youngsters, people of all ages would come in, searching. Her kind and intelligent green eyes would peer at them through her oval spectacles and smile fondly. Then she would needle through the shelves with her dainty wrinkled fingers, pause, look again and exclaim when she found something special for the reader.
Stories of fairies, dragons, kingdoms, brave warriors, knights, people, magical creatures, the curiosities of science, philosophy, languages around the world, culture, life from different eras and so much more was found in these books. Some of the books had fragile spines, fading leather binding and yellowing brittle pages. Some had a lone ink blotch or a stain from a beverage someone had been drinking while poring over the book. Many of the books had tiny notes scribbled on the sides- maybe by a student who was studying, a writer looking for ideas, a researcher or a reader just wanting to spill their thoughts.
These scribblings, creases, and stains were stories within the stories the books held- quiet stories that stood in the shelf, waiting for Eleanor to hand them to the next earnest reader.
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THE LITERARY AFFAIR 
Elanor and her prized library! Wish I could be there and stay drowned in the alchemy of books, though your words did send me there temporarily!
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Yess, to be there at her library seems so blissful. Thank you:)
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Beautiful writing Leha. You transported me to another world.
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Thank you Sonia!
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It’s amazing how you can see and write about ‘quiet stories’ that aren’t often talked about. Eleanor wouldn’t approve of the ink blotches or beverage stains though, would she? 🙂
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Haha thanks Varsha, yes she wouldn’t approve much, but she’s grown to love her visitors so she made peace:)
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I had a smile while reading this post. Libraries are my favourite places in the world and you have captured the essence so well!
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Aw Harshita, thank youu
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The rain of flowers and the dew… You create al mesmerising world with words.
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Thank you so much!
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How beautifully you write Leha, loved the quiet story, books and library 🙂
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Am happy you enjoyed it:)
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Magical! Reminded me of Ollivander and Harry’s first experience getting a wand of his own.
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Oh I love that scene. Thanks Suchita:)
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Amazing! I want to be that next earnest reader.
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Haha, me too! Would be great to visit her library.
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Love the beautiful title, Leha. I go mental when I see books being vandalized by jottings and stains. I am sure Elenor does too, at least on the inside. What i wouldn’t give to spend a day at her library though!
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Haha, me too Mayuri. And Eleanor must feel the same too.
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Lovely post! I was regular going to library while i was preparing for masters in journalism. lobed the way how you conveyed this. “quit stories”
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Wow that must have been a blissful experience!
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The library is so beautiful and so are the stories within those stories
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