The Library Incident

Flash Fiction

The Library Incident

My library book was overdue. I hadn’t taken out a book in years, you know internet and all… but I still had my card, they do a lot of other things in the library now. However, I needed that particular book, and didn’t want to buy it for a one time read (book club) so I went to the library and checked it out! Then I read it, and then forgot about it. It was three months overdue… I would have wasted less money buying it…

Off I went to the library. It was late spring so I decided to walk even though it was two miles. I was pretending to be healthy. The sun was out, birds chirping everywhere, I even saw a butterfly or two! It was quite nice until I remembered going to the library was all uphill. I hadn’t even gone half a mile before I started thinking maybe I could just go home and get my car… I had actually started sweating! But then stubborn kicked in.

I’m not that old! I mentally yelled at myself. I can do this! Oh, that stubbornness, who was I trying to fool, myself? But at that moment I wouldn’t even listen to myself! On I walked!

I did make it to the library, I was sweating bullets, even my hair was sweating! I sat down on the front steps, hot, out of breath, but there! Then I went in, delivered, and paid for my overdue book and went back out, then sat on the steps again… At least home was more downhill!

However, not enough… I called a taxi. I’ve never told anyone about this before, and you better not either! I may be a terrible walker these days, but I can still throw a pretty good punch!