Withdrawn
Maria sat alone in the library reading her novel. No one had visited all day. Although she appreciated the peace, the silence was overwhelming. Scanning the page, she sighed. Reading was a passion of hers, but she was growing bored.
She felt like a prisoner, isolated from the rest of the town. Occasionally someone would drop by to sign out or return a book, but those days were seldom. She longed for someone to drop by so she could indulge herself in conversation. Unfortunately, Maria didn't have a lot of friends and barely anyone in Mineral read at all.
The door opened and Maria looked up from her book. Gray, the local blacksmith had walked in. Maria blushed furiously. She didn't know Gray very well, but she had developed a small crush on the boy. He would visit the library once a week to get away from his grandfather. She figured it was his escape. Somewhere he could just be free.
"Good afternoon, Gray" The librarian said with a small smile.
Gray tipped his hat and smiled. "Hello Maria. How are you on this lovely day?"
Maria sighed. "I'm fine, just bored. You?"
Gray
shrugged. "I'm all right. I just thought I'd drop by and catch
up on my reading." With that said, Gray wandered around the small
building scanning the shelves of books with his eyes.
After a
brief period of searching, he picked out a book and placed it on the
front desk. "May I sign this out?"
Maria nodded. "Of course." She filled out the book's card and handed him back the book. "Enjoy it. I've read this book before, it's very good."
"Thanks." Gray glanced at the book for a moment before addressing Maria again. "You know, I'm not doing anything today… if you'd like, maybe later we could head down to the beach and hang out?"
Maria smiled uneasy. "I…" She wanted to say yes. She wanted to get away and have someone to talk to. She wanted Gray to take notice of her. "I don't think I can."
And just like that, everything she wanted had slipped away.
Gray swallowed hard. "All right. Well, I'll see you in a week." Gray was out the door instantly, and Maria sighed bitterly.
She was too shy to allow herself to make friends. It was then that Maria realized the lonely life she led was her own doing. Maria felt like an outsider, excluded from any social outings when in reality it was Maria who had rejected offers to spend time alone.
Maria wasn't neglected nor was she ignored. Maria wasn't invisible and she certainly wasn't viewed as an outcast. It was Maria who had kept herself hidden.
Looking back at the book she was reading earlier, Maria groaned. She was doomed to another long and tedious day. But she only had herself to blame.
For she was and would forever be withdrawn.
All right. As some of you may have noticed, I brought "Five of a kind" back. I've been fickle with this story, so I apologise. I assure all of you it's here to stay now.
