Renee rested the light brown hair in her bun against the corner behind her and snuggled further into the bookshelf. She was always considered a nerd with the way she loved books, and a weirdy because of how she loved to read them behind shelves, on the floor of the library. She felt safe, as if in a cave where no one could hurt her. Being 25, single, and successful, most people suspected she had grown out of the phase but she secretly prayed she never would. She opened the cover of "The Count Of Monte Cristo" for the third time in her reading life and dove in.
"What are you doing back there?" Little Seth called at the young woman hiding behind the book shelves then noticed the book in her hands. "Why are you reading? That's isn't any fun." He wrinkled his seven-year-old face in a grimace.
Renee's brown eyes ventured from the page to look into the little boy's face. She gave him a soft smile. "It's fun in my mind. And if you don't like reading what are you doing in a library?"
The little boy scowled. "Libaries have more than books ya know, I can get on the Internet and take care of my business!" he asserted. "Books are old fashioned, everyone knows that," he finished disdainfully.
Renee smiled at the boy. "Whats wrong with being old fashioned?" She drummed her fingers on the open pages of the book she had placed in her lap. "And what sort of business do you have to take care of?"
The little boy frowned as he struggled with the questions. "The future is hand-held devices. My daddy says so. He says by the time I'm grown up, no one will read books. My daddy works in technology, he's really smart," Seth finished with a proud smile.
Renee smiled sweetly at the boy. "Is that so? Well, I'm sure your father is really smart but I hope and pray we don't lose paperback books. Even if we do lose paper books, they will still be available electronically so we won't lose books altogether. Books are moving into the future with us." Renee relaxed against the corner of the wall and bookshelf. "Where is your father anyway?"
Seth stiffened, looking around nervously as small kids do when reminded of their absent guardians, and suddenly worried of the consequences of breaking cardinal rules like no talking to strangers and not to stray out of sight. Edging away he waved bash fully and disappeared around some bookshelves in search of his parents.
Renee closed her book and stood. She poked her head around the edge of the bookshelf in curiousity but the little boy had already disappeared.
~ G.G. Marshall & J. Lindsey Marshall
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