ALittleGirl'sDream
詹恩·米切爾/JannMitchell
Thepromisewasalongtimekeeping.Butthen,sowasthedream.
Intheearly1950sinasmallSouthernCaliforniatown,alittlegirlheftedyetanotherloadofbooksontothetinylibrary』scounter.
Thegirlwasareader.Herparentshadbooksallovertheirhome,butnotalwaystheonesshewanted.Soshe』dmakeherweeklytrektotheyellowlibrarywiththebrowntrim,thelittleone-roombuildingwherethechildren』slibraryactuallywasjustanook.Frequently,sheventuredoutofthatnookinsearchofheftierfare.
Asthewhite-hairedlibrarianhand-stampedtheduedatesintheten-year-old』schoice,thelittlegirllookedlonginglyat「TheNewBook」prominentlydisplayedonthecounter.Shemarveledagainatthewonderofwritingabookandhavingithonoredlikethat,righttherefortheworldtosee.
Thatparticularday,sheconfessedhergoal.
「WhenIgrowup,」shesaid,「I』mgoingtobeawriter.I』mgoingtowritebooks.」Thelibrarianlookedupfromherstampingandsmiled,notwiththecondescensionsomanychildrenreceive,butwithencouragement.「Whenyoudowritethatbook,」shereplied,「bringitintoourlibraryandwe』llputitondisplay,righthereonthecounter.」Thelittlegirlpromisedshewould.
Asshegrew,sodidherdream.Shegotherfirstjobinninthgrade,writingbriefpersonalityprofiles,whichearnedher$1.50eachfromthelocalnewspaper.Themoneypaledincomparisonwiththemagicofseeingherwordsonpaper.Abookwasalongwayoff.
Sheeditedherhigh-schoolpaper,marriedandstartedafamily,buttheitchtowriteburneddeep.Shegotapart-timejobcoveringschoolnewsataweeklynewspaper.Itkeptherbrainbusyasshebalancedbabies.Butnobook.Shewenttoworkfulltimeforamajordaily.Eventriedherhandatmagazines.Stillnobook.
Finally,shebelievedshehadsomethingtosayandstartedabook.Shesentitofftotwopublishersandwasrejected.Sheputitaway,sadly.Severalyearslater,theolddreamincreasedinpersistence.Shegotanagentandwroteanotherbook.Shepulledtheotheroutofhiding,andsoonbothweresold.
Buttheworldofbookpublishingmovesslowerthanthatofdailynewspapers,andshewaitedtwolongyears.Thedaytheboxarrivedonherdoorstepwithitsfreeauthor』scopies,sherippeditopen.Thenshecried.She』dwaitedsolongtoholdherdreaminherhands.Thensherememberedthatlibrarian』sinvitation,andherpromise.
Ofcourse,thatparticularlibrarianhaddiedlongago,andthelittlelibraryhadbeenrazedtomakewayforalargerincarnation.Thewomancalledandgotthenameoftheheadlibrarian.Shewrotealetter,tellingherhowmuchherpredecessor』swordshadmeanttothegirl.She』dbeintownforherthirtiethhighschoolreunion,shewrote,andcouldshebringhertwobooksbyandgivethemtothelibrary?Thelibrariancalledandsaid,「Come.」Soshedid,clutchingacopyofeachbook.