Smell of old books....

Wednesday prompt from: WRITE TRIBE.

the smell of old books

Work it into a story, a poem, an essay……

                                           

The sound of tock tock tock gave me  company on the otherwise lonely and sultry afternoon. The soles of my footwear had an impact on the freshly laid pavers and I was careful not to let myself fall due to the occasional loose paver block which naughtily thrust its way out of the geometric pattern. It seemed that the sun had pushed the hoi polloi into the safe realms of their shady indoors. I considered myself fortunate to have the whole street for myself. A sudden hot current blew on my face stirring the smell of old books  that snugly  cradled in my arms. A cool lemonade and a piece of ginger cake completed my day. 

As I turned around the bend, caught off-guard was I , by the presence of a stranger. His clothes once upon a time mush have seen better days but now hadn't been scrubbed by water or detergent and his hair dishevelled  and his body arched forward , he must be weak and famished , I concluded. But to my surprise , he tried to grab my precious possession which may be of no use to an unread man but could fetch him a decent sum in the second-sale market . But I was not prepared to lose what he wanted to snatch away from me.

Sherlocks Holmes came to my rescue. And in an instant with a thud , he lay on the pavement with stars in his eyes. Another wild swing  of the book and he lay motionless.
I gingerly caressed the book, inhaled the musty smell of the old heavy book and crossed over his limp body. Scanning my eyes all over the deserted place , I carried myself in quick long strides.

As I sat on my teak wood table , I fanned myself , Dr. Watson peeped out of the book and looked questioningly at me . I smiled and said , 'elementary ,  my dear Watson'
                                 Thank you Arthur Conan Doyle for saving me.

                                                             


                                                               FOR  : WRITE TRIBE

P.S. : When confronted with a danger , defend yourself with whatever you have at your disposal, say an umbrella or a ladies bag. Our protagonist had the presence of mind to hit the stranger with a heavy book that she was carrying and thus defended herself.