Gemotions

The old library smelled of aged paper and leather. Evelyn settled into her usual armchair, a biography of Marie Curie open in her lap. Mr. Hawthorne, the librarian, usually made his rounds on Wednesday afternoons, offering literary recommendations and sharing anecdotes about the books. Today, the space was quiet.

She turned the pages slowly, re-reading passages she’d already read. She traced the letters with her finger. She spent time in the science section, looking at all the different volumes. She studied the Dewey Decimal system.

She finally put the book back on the shelf. She decided to sort through the recent donations, organizing them by subject matter. She took the rest of the day to do so.

A young woman with a library card, and a note from the librarian, then came to seek her out.