Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Doorbusters

Strings of gray hair limply dangle underneath a Veteran baseball cap. LIFECHURCH is splashed on the t-shirt that stretches across his rotund body, and his kindly face is wistful as he talks about trying to contact a former classmate after several decades...

The scrawny, pubescent boy huddles on the bench, a bright shirt poofing around his body. Large rimmed glasses frame his eyes as they peer at the e-reader in his hands...

The wrinkled face of the aged woman smiles as she stands, her gentle hands resting on a monochrome outfit. "They're so cute," she croons at young children nearby...

"Well, there's not anyone sleeping under the bench today," an elderly gentleman mutters, as if trying to spark a conversation to pass the time...

A toddler-sized boy scampers back and forth under his mother's gaze as her eyes shift  from the child to the parking lot, to the doors that remain steadfastly closed...

Black duffel bags are piled next to the young man, clothed in black, who stands silently. A lone wolf, he hovers by the side entrance, away from the crowd that gathers at the front...

Suddenly, as if responding to a silent summons, the people begin slowly moving inwards. Towards the doors, towards each other. Someone glances at his watch, muttering. Seconds tick by as the crowd shuffles its feet. Short conversations spring up before awkwardly petering out. 

But then, he appears. Like a dragon, the gatekeeper guards a cavern of treasure. Reaching his long arm up, he touches the doors and they magically slide open. The people press closer. As an amoeba, they creep slowly-but urgently-past the gatekeeper, who stands alert and smiling at the entrance to the cavern. As birds launching into the expansive sky, the people pass through the doorway and launch into the tremendous space that lays before them. Some scurry to the computers, others to the desks, others to the activity room. They look for whatever treasures they have come here to seek. 


Here, in this refuge of the library. 

2 comments:

  1. heehee! Who knew that there could be a line-up even before the library opens? Kind of exciting, that is.

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  2. What a great description of this snapshot of humanity! I had no idea where you were going with that, but makes perfect sense. Love how the library is such a resource for different people for so many things.

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