all the trappings of a love story

better than fiction! Image from here.

There are moments when I feel more alive reading than I do when I go about my day. Books can make you feel that way sometimes - you can find yourself lost in the pages of whatever you are reading, going through the ups and downs with the hero. Yesterday was not one of them.

I was in a used bookstore finding more strange titles to add to my pile, excited to see all the authors I had yet to discover. I surfaced from my spine-scanning and was surprised to look into the eyes of a cute stranger, one bookcase away from me. He was dressed simply, in a blue shirt and jeans, his black backpack slung low on one shoulder. He had delicate features - kind eyes and salt and pepper hair cut close to his head. He was most likely amused by my apparent glee to be near books. When he saw me look up, he smiled in the way (I imagine) a fellow book lover would when in the presence of a kindred spirit. I was caught so off-guard that I had to duck behind another bookcase to hide my blush. In the space of a few minutes, we played cat and mouse inside the bookstore, looking over at each other through bookcases, hiding smiles behind books. It was like a love story come to life.

We didn't actually talk to each other - I didn't want to break the magical feel of that moment. I bought the books I held in my hand when I first saw him, to remind me that it's small moments like those that give birth to the most interesting stories.