Clara pushed her blue-framed glasses up her nose and sighed, her eyes scanning the sea of books before her. Another day, another stack of returns to shelve. She loved her job at the local library, but sometimes the monotony got to her. Little did she know, today would be different.
As she slid “Pride and Prejudice” back into its rightful place, a small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Curious, Clara bent to retrieve it. It wasn't the usual forgotten receipt or old grocery list. This was a bookmark, hand-decorated with intricate doodles of books and flowers. On it, in neat handwriting, was a quote:
“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Clara's cheeks flushed. She recognized the quote, of course – Mr. Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth. But why was it here, clearly left for someone to find?
Over the next few weeks, Clara found more bookmarks. They appeared in various classics – “Jane Eyre.”
“Wuthering Heights.”
“Great Expectations.”
Each bore a romantic quote and those same lovely doodles. She began to look forward to shelving, her heart racing every time she opened a returned book.
Who was leaving these notes? And more importantly, who were they for?
Clara found herself studying the library's regular patrons more closely. Was it the silver-haired man who always read the newspaper in the corner? The college student who practically lived in the reference section? Or maybe…
Her thoughts drifted to Max, the quiet guy with the kind eyes who came in every Tuesday and Thursday. He always checked out an eclectic mix of books – everything from poetry to quantum physics. Clara had exchanged shy smiles with him over the checkout desk for months, but they'd never really talked beyond pleasantries.
One rainy Tuesday, Max approached her desk with his usual armful of books.
As Clara scanned them, a bookmark slipped out of “The Collected Poems of Pablo Neruda.” Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the familiar doodles.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Max said, reaching for the bookmark. Their fingers brushed, and Clara felt a jolt of electricity.
“Wait,” she blurted out, surprising herself. “Did you… did you leave this?”
Max's cheeks turned pink. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, looking everywhere but at her. “I… yeah. I did.”
Clara's mind raced. “All of them? The ones in ‘Pride and Prejudice' and ‘Jane Eyre' and…”
Max nodded, finally meeting her eyes. “I know it's silly, but I never knew how to talk to you. Books have always been easier for me than people. I thought maybe… if I shared some of my favorite quotes…”
Clara felt a smile spreading across her face.
“It's not silly at all. It's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me.”
Max's eyes lit up. “Really? I was worried you'd think it was creepy or…”
“No,” Clara interrupted. “It's perfect.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “You know, my shift ends in ten minutes. There's a coffee shop around the corner…”
“I'd love to,” Max said, his smile matching hers.
As they left the library together, Clara couldn't help but feel like she was stepping into her own story, one filled with the promise of romance and adventure. She had always believed in the power of books to change lives, but she never imagined they would change hers quite like this.
Later that evening, as Clara curled up with a new book, she found herself paying extra attention to the bookmark she used. It was no longer just a scrap of paper marking her place – it was a reminder that sometimes, the greatest stories are the ones we write ourselves, with a little help from the classics.
She fell asleep that night dreaming of future bookmarks, future quotes, and the shy, kind-eyed man who had turned her orderly library life into a romantic adventure she never saw coming.
—-
If you want to listen to this story you can, on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/@oliviasands-cozystories
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IA image – https://ideogram.ai/
IA Reading – https://platform.openai.com/playground/tts
