Urano Motosu loved books. Psychology, religion, history, geography, education, anthropology, math, physics, geology, chemistry, biology, art, language, fiction... Books were filled with the knowledge of all humanity and she loved them from the bottom of her heart.
She felt rewarded whenever she read a book packed with facts and trivia new to her. Looking upon worlds unbeknownst to her through maps and picture anthologies made her feel the intoxicating bliss of her world expanding. She was even interested in old tales and myths from foreign countries, as she felt like they gave her a glimpse into different cultures of ages long past. They were rich with history and she couldn’t count how many hours she had lost to unraveling their mysteries.
Urano loved the distinctive scent of old books packed into the storeroom of a library, and even the dusty air enticed her so much that she would always head straight for the back rooms of whichever libraries she visited. She would slowly fill her lungs with the old, musty smell and look over the aged books, feeling elated from that alone. Of course, she also loved the smell of new paper and ink. She had fun just wondering about what would be written on those pages, what new information awaited her.
Above all, Urano just didn’t feel right when her eyes weren’t scanning the lines of a book. In order to survive she always kept a book close at hand, whether she was taking a bath, using the bathroom, or even just walking around. She had lived this way from childhood to her college graduation, clinging to books with such fervor that everyone who knew Urano called her “that weird bookworm.” They said that she loved books so much it was damaging her life.
But Urano didn’t care, no matter what they said. She had books, and that was enough to make her happy.
A large truck passed in front of Urano, spewing the smell of exhaust behind it. The warm wind flew past her, rustling her bangs. But she paid them no mind. All she cared about was hurriedly holding down the pages of her book before they flipped and she lost her place.
“Urano, c’mon, that’s dangerous. Stay close to me.”
“Mmm...” Urano pushed up her glasses and gave a lazy response, focusing more on the words in front of her. She noticed that her rustled hair was getting in the way and quickly brushed it aside. An exasperated sigh drifted into her ears and she felt someone pull on her arm, a little hard. Her brows furrowed.
“Shuu, that hurts.”
“Complain all you want. A little pain is a lot better than getting hit by a truck and dying, yeah?”
“That’s true. I wouldn’t want to die from anything but an avalanche of books.”
Urano wanted to live her entire life surrounded by books. If possible, she wanted to spend her whole life inside a book storeroom, where there’s no sun to damage the pages but just enough airflow to keep things comfortable.
Time not spent reading books was time wasted.
Even if people said her skin was gross and pale and laughed at her for being weak due to lack of exercise, even if her mom yelled at her for forgetting to eat, she had no intention of ever letting go of her books.
If she had to die somehow, she may as well die getting crushed by an avalanche of books. That’d make her a lot happier than a slow death in a hospital bed. Urano sincerely believed that.
“I’m always telling you not to read while you walk. If I weren’t here, you definitely woulda walked straight into the road and died in no time. How about a little thank you?”
“But I say it all the time. I’m so, sooo thankful.”
“That don’t sound too sincere to me.”
“I am, I am. It’s thanks to you that I can read books while doing chores, Shuu. But even if I did die, I’d ask a god to reincarnate me so I can keep reading books in my next life. Isn’t that smart? Ahaha.”
“Life ain’t that convenient, moron.”
Their conversation continued until they reached Urano’s house. Shuu entered with her rather than going into his own house next door. As they were childhood friends and went to the same daycare, they had been raised like siblings practically since birth. He always referred to Urano’s place as home, and nobody questioned that.
“Mom, here’s what you wanted. I’ll be in the book room. Call me whenever dinner’s ready.”
“Right, right. What about you, Shuu? Is your mother planning on making anything?”
“Nah, I’m eating here tonight. She’s got work. Urano, I’m borrowing your TV to play some games.”
“Uh huh, go ahead.” Urano raised her voice so Shuu could hear her as she headed straight to the book storage room left behind by her father, who had died when she was young. She opened the door and turned on the lights.
The book room had a window for ventilation purposes, but it was tightly covered by a thick light-blocking curtain to protect the books from sunlight. There were bookcases packed with books on all sides and a desk with a huge stack of books on top of it, as Urano had bought so many new books that the shelves couldn’t hold them all.
Urano smoothly sat onto the desk chair without looking up from her book, and kept on reading. Suddenly, her vision shook. She concluded that an earthquake was happening and kept on reading as always. The shaking was harder than usual, which made it difficult for her to read.
Her brows furrowed and she looked up, frustrated at the earthquake, only to see books dominating her vision.
“Hyaaah?!”
Books tumbled from a tilted shelf and rained right down onto her. Unable to dodge them, Urano could only stare with her eyes wide open as she was buried beneath them.
