literature

Reminiscence

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xthe-eleanorx's avatar
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Literature Text

The library always had a particular smell to it; she couldn't place her finger on it, perhaps mothballs or window cleaner. It wasn't a particularly good smell, but it was comforting. She wanted to look at her books, the ones that she wrote, the ones who made her who she is.

She was the only adult in the children's room. She had grown up in here; gotten her library card, checked out her first picture books, then her first chapter books.

She crouched down to reach the shelves, looking for her books.

There they were, right before Anne of Green Gables. She smiled when she saw the worn, broken spines and the ripped, plastic library covers.

She flipped through the pages that she knew so well, that she had spent months writing and rewriting again, late nights at her computer with cups of coffee, editing those sentences that just couldn't be phrased right.

She remembered how many times she had tried to get her book published, and remembered how much she cried when she got the first rejection letter.

She also cried when she got the letter that started with the word Congratulations.

And now it was all over, and she felt like crying again.

She held her book to her chest, she pressed her face to it an inhaled. It smelled like book, but it also smelled like more. It smelled like each child's house that it had been to, the hot chocolate or ice cream that had been spilled on it, the father who had read it aloud to the child who was still too young to read it himself.

And she was teary again. She didn't know why or maybe she did, but just didn't expect for this to happen. This was her life for a good twenty years, and just like that, it was all over.

'Are you gonna check that out ma'am?' Said a little voice coming from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder to see a little girl, no older than ten with stringy brown hair standing behind her.

She turned around and said, 'No, I'm not. Would you like to read it?'  

'Yes please! I've been waiting forever to read this book, have you read it?'

She stood up and handed the book to the girl who grabbed it eagerly.

'Yes dear, many times. But I'm done with it now-it's your turn.'
I know what I wrote this about, but I suppose it's mainly about what it means to you. It doesn't have to be about Harry Potter, but it is for me, this is my way of coping with the end of a legacy. And now I'm getting emotional.
(I know that the Harry Potter books don't come before 'Anne of Green Gables.' That would be the place for someone else's novels, if she had any.)

Is the emotion portrayed well enough?
Is the piece and/or ending too cliche?
Does the ending fit well with the rest of the piece?
Is the dialogue convincing?
Title help, please?
Thoughts/Comments?
© 2011 - 2024 xthe-eleanorx
Comments20
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Allyrah's avatar
Oh, I love this so much! :heart: It's Harry Potter for me too, I just started thinking about Harry Potter and Jo after a few lines and couldn't shake it. And it's so very beautiful, I am actually crying right now!

Yes, I think the emotion that it's the end of an era is portrayed very well, there's both happiness and sadness in it and I think that's exactly the emotions that should be in this.

I don't think the piece or the ending is too cliché at all, I think it is absolutely beautiful.

Yes, I think the ending fits, because it's like even though it's the end of an era it doesn't mean that it's the actual end, because people will always be reading those books, always, and it's a nice way of saying that they will live on.

And yes, I think the dialogue is convincing.

As for the title, I like the one you have, I think it works very well.

Other than that I really love your descriptions, like the one where she remembers getting her first library card or when she holds her book to her chest, because it's sweet and I think very realistic, I mean I was hugging "Deathly Hallows" to my chest after I finished reading it again now before the movie came out, so yeah... It's just quite adorable. I also love that it doesn't have to be Harry Potter, that it can be just about anything, that's really cool. I just really love this piece, it's absolutely amazing, thanks so much for sharing this with us! :hug: