TigerLily
i remember him distinctly as he moved gracefully through my mind as he did so many years ago through my life. i still feel his eyes running up and down the length of me, shivers sitill running up and down my spine. as i sit here, i'm sucked hastily sucked back into memories. the air becomes mustier and the smell of old books plays hopscotch through my nose.
i was but sixteen when i fist saw him enter the double doors of the library. i was finishing up one of my first nights as a clerical aide at the local library; my feet ached, my back hurt and the clock was but inching it's way to nine o' clock. fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes i chanted to myself mantra-like.
i shifted the weight of the stack of books to my left arms and grabbed a few more to add to the load from my cart. looking up, i saw a male form slip between two shelves on the other side of the library. my heart paused for a quick moment as my eyes blinked in fascination. inching my way to the next row over, where i had a decent view, i studied this guy. what drew my attention the quickest was his long black coat. to this day, strains of dylan's "man in the long black coat" float through my head.
he had long silken brown hair, pulled back from his face into a pony tail. i remember him as though it were but yesterday i saw him last. if i close my eyes, i can see him, wearing his black jeans and that coat which fit him like air.
i never knew, really, what to think of him. he would walk in, usually about fifteen mintues before we were to close, get his books and he'd be gone for two weeks, the only memory of him the one in my brain as he ghosted through my thoughts.
i remember one visit quite distinctly. when he walked in, i caught his eye, i guess and he looked over at me and i just looked right back. when i went out onto the floor later that night, he was still there. this was one of the "special" visits, where it was before we closed, and longer than five minutes.
i was ecstatic.
i followed him with my eyes, and i know he noticed. i even passed by him once and smiled. he smiled back.
i close my eyes now, and i can imagine it clearly.
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