The Spaces Between Pages
Into the hidden, unwritten, and unread stories abandoned in dusty shelves...
Few weeks ago, as I was browsing through the shelves in a local bookstores, I came across a picture of a couple, two people, a man and a woman, standing beside each other, smiling at the camera. At first, it was one of my many bookstores finds that I secretly treasure and archive, so I ignored it, but as I was going through my finds recently, I had to rethink the integrity of my assumption. To assume a man and a woman standing next to each other, to be a couple, in a romantic relationship seemed preposterous, but it was my first assumption nonetheless.
They could be friends, siblings, neighbors, colleagues, they could be anyone. Perhaps they died right after they completed reading the book in which I found their picture, or perhaps they were in fact a couple who married and lived happily ever after.
In the spiral of thoughts that followed, I had to keep aside all my other works and think of many possible outcomes of the lives of strangers who might or might not exist anymore. But their memory does, their smile is still alive, and is making someone think of their story. What could it be? If I left behind a picture of mine in a book and sold it, how would I feel if someone was thinking of my story, my life, and the reason behind my smile?
To say that God led me to find their picture is absurd and is against my philosophies, but I like to believe that everything happens for a reason. What was the reason for this? Perhaps it was a mere accident that is romanticized by an overthinker, or perhaps I might actually come across the people in the picture.
What would I do if I see them? If I meet them?
Of all the obscure answers like, walking away without speaking, or just looking at them with wonder, the one that felt best is to give them their picture, or at least tell them, describe it to them and ask them if they remembered it, and finally, get answers that would settle all my assumptions.
{In a world full of hopeless entities, the delusion of having a chance to meet them is a hope too…}
Every book that is out there tells us many stories, excluding the ones they are carrying in them. The story of the author, how the book came into existence, and where the story was inspired from. But of all the beauties a book consists, the one that carries the most memorable scars are the second hand books. The vintage colored papers, the brown spots across pages, the annotations of a previous reader, and at times, their pictures and other memories.
The excitement of getting a new book, with the aroma of fresh pages will never fade, yet the treasure of an old book, with a history of readers, who have left behind their mark will forever be a worthy possession.
~ C. Madan
(PS - My poetry collections are now available internationally, click here - Poetry)