I Have Never Felt More at Home Than At

We have a big library downtown near the community college. It's a bit shady when you visit because you'll have to squeeze down an alleyway if you want to park in the parking garage for easy access. You can almost tell on the way in what it's going to look like because the accents against the concrete floor are bright colors -- sharp lime and sky blue.

You ride the elevator one floor up, completely oblivious and honestly, not ready for the doors to open.

Everything is white. You see peeks of marble around the corner, and the eye candy of empty space lures you in, allowing the elevator to close after you with a ding.

An invisible cable from the center of the building winds around your waist, pulling you in. Around the corner, the building explodes, and it's no longer just white and marble, but beautiful stone, pillars, and wooden hand railings. Above there are decorative balls that look they're metal feathers silently welded to one another. Security asks how you are.

First time here.

Oh! Well, we have a teen section above your head--

On pulls the cable. You step into a wide expanse of a room, and look up to see levels lined with glass and metal. Near the staircase that dominates the room are workers and large slabs of wood. To the right, the children's area and--fake Christmas trees? The laughter of little ones can be heard through the forest.

Up the stairs, there are 360 pathways. Homework help lines the left wall and you can see small groups huddled around laptops and laughing with one another. Before you is a wide-open lounge with huge windows and chairs positioned before the view. To the left--books.

They ask you closer and beg you to pick them up. Some are color coordinated while others are just friendly. All wrapped in that crinkly protective plastic that hides the real cover.

Around the corner, there are more chairs, people, and stories. From Fiction A - D to Mystery to graphic novels. Each makes your heart soar. Each has something to give someone.

You stumble upon the teen area, thanks to your trusty cable and the familiar feeling you only get when you close the garage door behind you sets in. A humble five rows of shelves and a line of computers awaits. All the worlds from the past are there, from District 12 to dystopian Chicago. Simon and Eleanor wave, introducing you to new faces.

In that teen area, you could have settled down for hours. Between the stacks, sprawled on the floor if you had to. Books of old comfort, and so many books anew.

How my mind depicts a simple visit to a not so simple library. November 17th, 2017