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Back The Library Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

Maggie gave up on the meditation and went to sit in her chair. She picked up her current read. Reading was her other escape. Another world she could step into and be surrounded by characters brought to life on the page. She could meet untold people and live a thousand exciting lives through the pages. It was her solace and always had been ever since she was a child. It had helped her in difficult times – of which she had experienced many. And now reading helped ease the lack of human contact.

Most of all Maggie missed the hugs. It was a peculiar quirk of polite modern society that without a partner or offspring in your life you were denied that one key comfort that humans require – the need for physical contact. An embrace can be on many different levels but the basic sensation of emotional and physical warmth given freely by another is most noticeable when it is no longer there. If she’d realised the last time she was hugged was significant she would have paid more attention, committed it to memory so she could recall the sensations at will for the many times since, when all she had needed had been for someone to hold her.

5

TOM

I had rehearsed my speech a thousand times in my head. Each time it went slightly differently, which wasn’t a good thing. It was Saturday and I needed to return the eight romance novels. I had read them all, but only because I’d been that bored. My goal was to be as quick as possible in the library without drawing attention to myself. My invisibility shield was in place.

I hurried towards Christine the librarian who was standing at the podium, giving the briefest of acknowledgements to Maggie as I passed. I tugged my bag off my shoulder but I did it too quickly and the weight of it swung into the computer monitor. Christine gasped. I tried to grab the monitor but it skidded off the podium. It hung for a second by the cable before the connector let go and the monitor crashed to the floor. She gasped again. I could feel everyone watching me. It was all the ladies from around the big table. Their eyes were boring holes in my skull and it prickled.

Christine was wildly waving her arms about but apart from more gasps she said nothing.

‘I’m really sorry,’ I said, my voice sounding strange even to my own ears. I went to help pick up the monitor but my precariously balanced bag fell over, spilling out most of its contents onto the floor: some of the books, half a pack of gaming cards and some chewing gum wrappers. We almost bumped heads as we bent down at the same time. ‘Sorry,’ I said, lurching out of the way, the familiar rush of heat spreading up my neck like spilled tomato soup.