The power of a book.

A book that changes a boy.

I walked alone down the street. I dipped one hand in my leather jacket pocket and, with the other hand; I hugged a hardcover edition of a beautiful small tale. It was called: the magician’s elephant.

 

I felt so alone. Wanting to hear the voice of someone to my side, I walked to Noah’s house and after giving him a call I waited for him to come down. After some minutes, the elevator settled at the lower floor. Noah walked out, a green cap over his drooping head and his knees close to each other, making him unable to walk steadily.

 

“Hi, Tarek.” he said as he examined the street, careless to look into my eyes.

 

“Hello, Noah.” I replied, smiling at him. He remained scowling at me as if he was hiding a deep secret that I could not read in his green eyes. I felt bad when I knew he was sad.

 

“What’s wrong?” I said, sitting at the sidewalk. “I’m listening if you want to talk.”

 

“I don’t know,” he said, resting against a car in front of me. “I just feel down.”

 

“Is it studying?”

 

“No,” he said, “just forget about it. I’m always depressed.”

 

I smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I brought this book with me. I wanted to read for you.”

 

He nodded. “The cover looks so nice, show it to me.”

 

I handed him the book. He ran his fingers over the soft cover. A grey elephant with a few hairs over his wrinkly head fell down through the ceiling of an elegant theater. A skinny magician with a red scarf stood right under him. He raised his wand towards the elephant, his mouth wide open and his hat on the ground to his left.  

 

“The cover is nice,” Noah said, smiling. “I usually like the covers of books but I never try to read them.” 

 

“I’ll read the last chapter for you.”

 

He handed me the book. I opened the last two pages and began reading. With wide eyes, and raised cheekbones, I performed the character of the lonely boy searching for his sister, and mimicked the shrill, quivery voice of the fortuneteller. For the first time, I felt connected to Noah. As I read about the fortuneteller telling the boy that his sister lives, he crossed his hands against his chest and arched forward, as if trying to catch every word I read from the air.

 

I finished the first chapter and closed the book with a smile. “This is beautiful.”

 

He smiled back at me. “Thank you I was feeling so alone. None of my friends calls me but you.”

 

“It’s ok.” I lowered my sight to the stones at my feet. “No one calls me to.”

 

“I really enjoyed your reading,” He lowered down and hugged me. “I’m glad to have a friend like you.”

 

As I walked back home, I felt like I understood it all. Any book has the power to connect people; it has the power to make a sad soul happy.

Author's Note

This happened to me yesterday. A book has connected us once again.

Reviews

[deeps]

This is wonderful, I found this inspirational really! Well Part of it I found cute too. Overall this is wonderful.
Such an experience for you.