I didn’t know I was destined to have such a beautiful turn of events. That day, yes, that was indeed an unexpected day. I had never visited a library in my entire twenty-seven years of life. For me, libraries were terrifying. Alas! That notion changed completely on that very day. Now, I would say libraries are heaven made on earth. They truly are… as I met her there. Oops! Sorry, as I bumped into her. Let me not beat around the bush anymore. I’ll begin with the unexpected and unimaginable story of mine.
The day was pleasant. I was still lying in bed when my friend called me. He was an archetypal nerd, a bookworm who never missed his daily trips to the library. He was not in the city that day. It was a Saturday morning, and I was feeling lazy and indolent, too unwilling even to answer my phone. At 11 o’clock, when I finally woke up, I was dumbfounded to see forty missed calls from him. What! I knew that this cheapskate would not call me for any silly reason. I also realized that he was probably mad at me for not answering his calls. I called him back, and do you want to know what he said? His words were indeed intolerable. But yeah! I had to do his work for ignoring his calls. This felt like corporal punishment for my unwillingness to step out on weekends. He made me do the most daunting task… You might wonder what was so difficult. I swear you can guess where he had asked me to go… Yes! To the library!
He punished me, and I had to get the books he wanted. Soon, I got ready and went to the library. My heartbeat quickened, and I was jittery. Without getting too distracted, I began searching for the books he sent me. As I turned around, my foot got caught in the rug. I stumbled and lo! I bumped into a young woman, probably my age. I knocked all her books to the floor. Despite my clumsiness, her eyes expressed something I couldn’t interpret. She was covering her face, and I couldn’t see the beauty behind the veil.
Her eyes told a story. I wondered, was I looking so handsome? Or was I horrendous? She didn’t even bother to pick up her books from the floor. Instead, she kept staring at me, which made me feel quite insecure. Without any hesitation, I asked her why she was glaring at me ceaselessly. Her glittering eyes answered with a joy I couldn’t decipher. Was she happy to see me? Or did she know me already? I questioned her. Without saying a word, she unveiled her face. I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Had I really found her? Was this God’s plan to reunite us?
This beauteous veiled maiden was my long-lost twin sister, who had been separated from me a decade ago when a tragic accident shattered our family. We had lost our parents. I thought I had
lost her too. But now I know that we can never be truly apart. She was the angel of my life—a blessing sent from above. She hugged me with teary eyes, which made me feel very emotional. It was indeed a priceless feeling to have her back in my life. She was in my arms… I promised her that I would always be her protector and never leave her in any situation. No matter what, I will always stick by her. Sometimes, you just can’t put into words how deeply you feel about someone. In that moment, I felt like the luckiest and most blessed man in the world. She was the missing piece of my life, and now she has completed the puzzle that had been incomplete all this while.
Did I mention that libraries are terrifying? If I have, pardon me… From that day, libraries became my favorite place—not because I love to read or refer to books, but because my sister, now revealed to be a book lover, works there.
ALIYA SHIREEN
About the author: Aliyah is a passionate author and currently working as an assistant professor, teaching in a very reputed college in Chennai.
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