The Wings Of A Caged Bird | First Draft

chapter 30: grandpa's library

A/N: Sorry to make my comeback with a filler chapter 😩 I was supposed to post this back in September smh. Please bear with the bad writing and my fangirling over Japanese literature.

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"Wait, grandpa is an editor?"

My jaw falls as I watch Tiara put the key into the lock of the library shed. July is standing right beside me, looking equally surprised.

"He used to be," Tiara replies. "An editor, I mean. Like, he started off with magazines. Editing magazines, I mean. Then he did some fiction books by small, neighborhood authors. Like the kinds that know they're not gonna sell well 'cause- 'cause well, 'cause they don't fit the wave or something. Mmm . . . grandpa used to love working for them 'cause they were always unique. The books, that is, always unique. But then one of those small authors blew up unexpectedly. Samuel Linds? You know him?"

"Ah, yeah, I do . . ."

"Woah, that's so cool!" July exclaims. "What kind of book does he write?"

"Erotica," I mouth.

That seems to make him happier. "So cool!"

Tiara continues as she puts the key to the lock. "He is somewhat famous for editing books by Japanese authors. Ah no- the translations, I meant. Editing the English translations. 'Cause he loves Japanese literature."

I let out a gasp. "Kindred spirit."

Tiara laughs and opens the white doors. What unfolds is a heavenly scenery—heavenly to me, at least—of shelves after shelves of books and books. There is a two-person round coffee table at the center of the room with two chairs on either sides. Other than that, just books. Books and nothing but books. I walk in, mesmerized, and inhale my favorite scent in the whole world—the scent of old books. That's right, grandpa is over 70 years old. He must have some really old copies from a long time ago here.

Oh my God.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he has the first ever edition of Sidney Sheldon's The Naked Face or all four volumes of Yukio Mishima's The Sea of Fertility. First editions! Since he likes Japanese literature, does that mean there will be Osamu Dazai and Akutagawa Ryunouske's books too? Maybe I'll even find some really old copies of my favourite classics. Oh! Maybe I'll also find the very first edition of James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room? July never got to finish that book because mom threw it away. Maybe more of James Baldwin's novels would be here. His books are so rare in this country that they're quite expensive even if I do find a copy of his lesser known works. And I don't want to read online, because that just takes away-

A finger snaps in front of my eyes, pulling me out of my daydreaming.

I blink repeatedly to adjust. Tiara stares at me, confused. "Did I rub off on you?"

"Ah no, I was just- this is amazing. This is beautiful." I stare at awe. But when I take in the whole place again, I am struck with the realization that the place is, in fact, very small. Which means all the books I've been dreaming about might not even be here. There might only be around 300 to 400 books here. This is just someone's personal library, not Waterstones Piccadilly. I don't think I'll ever have the privilege of visiting Waterstones Piccadilly and browse from over 2 million books. I'm simply not th-

"Uh, Cedar?" Tiara calls again, and I blink at her.

"Uh, yeah?" I blink at her.

"Um, I was saying that you can make yourself home here. I'm gonna go. Oh! And all the books grandpa's ever edited are in this shelf." She points to the leftmost shelf against the east wall of the room. Without waiting for me to reply, she leaves, closing the door behind her. She must've gotten annoyed by me.