Ode to a Bookstore

My first assignment in my English 106 class? Write a love letter to someTHING you love.

Wellll, now. That's something I can do.

Dear Bookstore,

My heart beats furiously every time I visit you, and I wait with baited breath in between our infrequent meetings. You will never understand the way you have invaded my senses. I dream of your smell, of the fresh ink and sharply creased paper, and the sound of hardbacks cracking open for the first time. I want to bottle your smell of anticipation and new paper and wear it every day like the most expensive perfume.

There’s a magic about you unlike anywhere else in the world. You may only be four walls, but inside you are filled with never-ending stories, twist and turns, encouragement and excitement. You spark imagination in even the most serious of patrons. Children can’t get enough of you: what a joy it is to come and let their imaginations wander away, visiting a different world.

You’re so comforting. I know that after a long, harsh day of the cruel realities of dentist appointments, rush hour traffic, and dirty dishes, I can always escape into your welcoming embrace. I know you will wrap me up in your warm arms and whisper sweet nothings in my ear, with a hot chocolate and a new release from my favorite author waiting for me.

 I know I can always be myself with you. You share my love for language; it’s one of the things I love most about you. You don’t care that I’m a dorky fangirl about certain authors and books. Instead, you rejoice with me and invite my favorite authors to come and visit, just for me. I could spend my entire life with you, Bookstore, and never know you fully. Even so, what I have come to know, I love most deeply. I never want to separate myself from you. Say you want me, too.

Fondly,
Holly