This little boy I know
He loves to read
People call him a voracious reader
But that’s not the half of it
The books love him back equally
In fact, the books have a voracious appetite for him!
He opens a book to read
And the strangest thing happens
The book opens its mouth wide
And swallows him whole
Oh yes, I’ve seen it happen
Each time he receives a book he has ordered
Opens the wrapping lovingly
I swear I think I saw the book salivating too
After that, no one sees him for days or weeks
Depends on the book
Some books are tomes
And it takes a while for him to journey his way through
Sometimes he emerges for wee periods
But you cannot see him whole
There is a book-shaped outline around him
And you see a glint in his eyes
Caused no doubt by the juices in the book
Depends on the book, really
Sometimes he seems like a patch of gray
Sometimes he glows like the Sun
Other times he has a phosphorescence
And some days he just looks vague and mysterious
And during those times
You can see that he is in a tight spell
Spellbound by the book
You feel like he is shapeshifting
Into the characters he met in the book
And one fine day he finally emerges
Having gone through every labyrinth, word, character, and letter in the book
A complex process where he has digested the book
And the book, him
Then the book gently spits him out
He looks worn out but happy
The look of someone who just finished the journey of a lifetime
You can see that he has had an exhilarating time inside the book
Hair askew
Glasses fogged
Clothes disheveled
But his eyes, his eyes
They tell the real story
The story of his journey through the book
The utter joy of being swallowed whole by a book
Of being totally inside a book
Few can tell such a story
And if we are lucky
He will write about the book
But you cannot separate him from the book
You see he lived inside
So his story and the book’s story get beautifully intertwined
Like a little girl’s tightly braided hair
He has become one with the book
Inspired by bibliobibhuli.
Originally published on Medium.com at this location.
Anu Anniah Writes 