Juvenal

Chapter 01

--2015--

Mabel sighed loudly and she laid down on the bed, her book resting on her chest. She tried to blink back her tears, but she was not successful enough in doing so. She huffed loudly and shook her head, trying to stop her tears from turning uncontrollable. It was not the first time that she was reading the book, but every time she reads The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, she finds herself unable to control her emotions. Reading his books is her favorite thing to do, and she had been doing that for the past three years. Even though she expects a tragedy at the end of every book and expects the worst case scenario, she cannot help but find herself in tears every time she finishes reading his book.

"Oh seriously! Grow up Mable, grow up."

She scolded herself, but she knew that it would be of no use. She was just twenty one years old and her most favorite thing to do in the world was to read a book. She gets connected to every character she reads and finds it unable to not to fall in love with the words her eyes admire. She does not know why, but reading The Last Song always brings up so many emotions up to her eyes. Maybe it was because she loved her father so much that she got so connected to the characters Steve and Ronnie that she was not able to digest the fateful ending.

Mabel sighed once more. She pushed her glasses up along her nose and wiped her cheeks dry. She groped around her bed and found her phone under her pillows.

"Oh God! Is it midnight, already?" she exclaimed loudly and stood up clumsily dragging her feet along her room. She did not try to think of the book she had read, and before placing the book over her shelf, she opened the book and smelled the pages once more.

Aaah!

She always loved the smell of books.

Mabel closed her eyes contentedly and took a deep breath as the sweet smell of the pages and the words went through her nostrils, absorbing her in whole. It was as though she could feel the words with her whole body when she smelled a book. With a sweet smile on her face, she placed it carefully among her collection of Nicholas Sparks, and went back to her bed, removing her glasses and throwing it on to the bed stand. Sleep took over her, as soon as her head touched the pillow, and she got lost in her own world of imagination, where her favorite fictional characters existed.

Just when the morning rays of sunshine kissed her bedroom walls through the thick curtains, Mabel woke up and took a long shower. It was a Monday morning, and she knew that the day would be too long for her in her university. She was a final year university student finishing up her BA degree in English Literature. Being an avid reader like herself, she had always known that taking up English Literature as her major would be the only possible scenario to make her finish up her university modules and complete her degree successfully.

Mabel hummed a song for herself as she touched up some perfume along her wrists and neck and she stood in front of the mirror. Mabel Williams had bright blue eyes and short hair which fell over the sides of her long eyes and did not even reach her shoulders. She smoothed down her hair with her fingers and pushed her big round glasses up along her nose. She was not too tall, but not too short either. At five feet five inches, she was a bit on the lean side. But she was careful enough to not to show out her skinny self, as she always wore over large denims and hoodies. She quickly searched for a band to tie her hair and put it inside her hoodie pocket. She put on her favorite sneakers and taking up her bag along with her, she stood up scanning her room for any misplaced items. Finding everything as how they should be, she put her phone into her pocket and hurried downstairs.

"Good morning dad!"

Mabel leaped the last few steps and skipped her way towards her father. She put her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek as he smiled for himself and patted her head lovingly. He placed his newspaper on the table and turned towards her as she plopped her bag on the floor beside his feet and sat on the chair next to him.