Pieces of Me

Part One: Chiming Bells

       I woke up to my alarm, every morning the same. Be woken by the angelic voice of Freddie Mercury, get out of bed, greet my cat, Oscar, and my Newfoundland, Delilah, feed them, feed myself, brush my teeth, and shower. It was so beautiful to be awoken by the warm water running over my skin. Walking out of the shower feeling refreshed and clean was like walking out of a dream.
     I then got dressed choosing from my collection of vintage sweaters when it was cold, my band tees when it got warm, and layering a denim or leather jacket when that wasn't enough. There was never a shortage of jeans in my cluttered closet.  So many pairs of long jeans I could clothe an army. So many pairs of shorts to never have to wash the throughout the summer if I didn't want to.
     When you got to the very back of my closet, you could find the one denim skirt I owned. The old thing was splattered with paint from my random painting urges and stained with ink  from my sweaty hands turning the pages of my books. There were coffee stains and blood stains from the many paper cuts. And, if you looked hard enough (which I can't imagine anyone would) you might even notice the holes in the fabric from how many times I tried to embroider them.
     Once I got dressed in my favorite sweater, green and tan stripes, my faded black Levi's, and put on my 1460 Docs that I'd had since I was 13, I made some tea, grabbed a book, and headed out the door. I went down the two flights of stairs it took to get from my apartment to ground level and I turned left towards the second hand book shop I would spend my next five hours at.
     As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by Lily, the shop owner, and her kitten, Romeo.
     "My goodness, dear. That sweater again?" she said.
     "Lily, you know it's my favorite,"
     "That doesn't mean you get to wear it every other day. That's not exactly the most..."
     "Okay, Lily," I said. "I won't wear it the rest of the week,"
     "But it's Friday," Lily told me.
     "Exactly," I grinned.
     Lily walked away shaking her head. From behind the cash register, I could hear her open the door to the storage room from which she brought back two boxes of books. "I need to run to the post office to mail a letter to Richie. Could you start putting these on the shelves while I'm gone?"
     I didn't reply.
     "Please," she moaned.
     "Of course, Lily,"
     "You don't have to be so charming, dear," she smirked. "We both know I'm already taken,"
     "Go on. Mail your letter. I'll work on these books,"
     When Lily opened the door, I heard the bell chime like it always did. I picked up the box of books and began placing them on the shelves. The contents of the boxes ranged from Harry Potter books to a worn copy of A Study in Scarlet. I first piled the books up by genre and wear and tear. Then carried the stacks over to their shelve and put them in by author. Half way through the second box, I heard the bell chime.