I was in The City Of Books. In a real estate, full of books. Stacked in high, high bundles, my eyes could seek books, far and wide. I was awed. Books of all shapes, all sizes, all colours. I started wandering as a child wanders in a Garden. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded me. A Man, dressed in spotless white Robes.
"What are you seeking for?"
Still blinded by the glow this Man carried, I answered : my desired book.
In a flash, the light faded and everything seemed dark. After a few seconds, a spotlight emerged, focussing on a golden book on the top of the shelf. It was the highest Rack. On screwing my eyes on it, I found SUCCESS engraved on it, in Golden Letters. I was fascinated.
I dragged a ladder and started climbing the Rack. It was very high.
The book gleamed and I was attracted more and more to it.
Out of no where, two steps from the ladder disappeared. I was stuck. Thinking what to do, standing on that ladder, suddenly a book skid ahead in place of the missing step. It was titled Beginner's Luck.
I smiled. Stepped onto it and moved ahead. Kept on climbing till I felt I almost reached it, but it tended to move a little further, the moment I was about to grab it.
I was quite frustrated by now. Rather disappointed.
But I continued my quest, bit by bit, climbing high.
Suddenly, a storm appeared. I slipped onto another book named Obstacle. The ladder shook and I started losing balance. I tried to clutch the ladder but I fell. Falling down and down and down, into emptiness. Darkness surrounded me, I was falling into the black space beneath.
Then it happened. The hood of my jacket got stuck into a book. It was jutting out of the shelf. I grabbed back the ladder and climbed it again. I saw that the book was none other than Hope.
Another book came my way, named Patience. It was a very large one, almost the size of a Mat. I stepped onto it. It rose and rose, like the Aladdin's Magic Carpet.
Finally, it reached the Top. It has reached the last shelf of the Rack. Success gleamed in its glory, a golden glow. But then I noticed, a small, dusty book. It was named Perfection.
I picked it up, leaving behind Success.
I was transported to the place before, at the entrance of the Library.
"Good choice", echoed a voice. It was the same as that of the White Man.
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