Her Book Man

Chapter 5

A few days after Naina had taken The Lost Doll, she returned to the café, her eyes brighter, her expression thoughtful. She walked straight to the counter, holding the book close to her chest like a treasure she wasn’t quite ready to part with.

"Book Man!" she called, her voice soft, almost reverent.

He looked up from the counter and smiled at the sight. “Teddy girl. Back already? I take it you enjoyed the book?”

Naina nodded, her eyes sparkling with the kind of emotion that only a powerful story could stir. “It was… beautiful, and heartbreaking. But in the best way. I didn’t expect to be so moved by it, especially with how simple it seemed at first.”

Kabir raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Yeah? Tell me what you thought.”

She sat on one of the stools, her legs swinging a little as she hugged the book to her chest. “The way Kafka helped that little girl was so... tender. I’ve never thought of loss in that way—like the way he turned it into something magical. The idea that the doll went on a journey, and she wasn’t really lost, but just... somewhere else? It felt so... comforting, almost like he was telling her that it’s okay to not always find what you’re looking for, because sometimes the things we lose transform into something else.”

Kabir leaned in, listening intently. “I’m glad you saw that. It’s about understanding that loss doesn’t always mean the end. Sometimes it’s just part of a larger journey, one we don’t always understand at first.”

She sighed, her fingers tracing the cover of the book. “It really made me think about everything—about how we deal with things we can't control. It was like Kafka was telling the girl—and, in a way, me—that maybe the things we love, the things we think we’ve lost, can still be with us in another form.”

Kabir smiled gently. “Yeah, exactly. The book is about more than just a lost doll. It’s about how we create our own stories to cope with pain, to make sense of things. Sometimes, the magic is in how we tell ourselves those stories.”

Naina tilted her head, her expression more serious now. “But, do you think we can really replace something we’ve lost? Even with something new, it never feels the same, right? Like when she got the new doll—no matter how much she wanted it to be the same, it wasn’t. It was different. I wonder if it’s possible to find something that fills that gap completely.”

Kabir thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t know if anything can completely fill the gap. But I think it’s more about learning how to live with that gap. And maybe, one day, that gap becomes part of who you are. You don’t need to fill it to move forward, you just need to accept it and see it as part of your journey. You’re right, though—things can never be the same. But they can still be meaningful in their own way.”

Naina looked at him, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “I like that idea. Maybe it’s okay to let some things go, even if we don’t fully understand why they’re gone.”

“Exactly,” Kabir said, his voice warm. “Sometimes, letting go is the hardest part, but it’s also where the magic begins. You don’t need to force closure. Just live with it, and eventually, you’ll see how it all fits together.”

She nodded slowly, looking down at the book again. “I think I need to start seeing my own losses that way. Maybe it’s not about holding onto what’s gone, but about finding peace with what’s left.”

Kabir smiled, proud of her for how deeply she’d connected with the book. “That’s exactly it. You’re learning, Teddy girl. You’re learning how to navigate the world in your own way, just like the girl in the story.”