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Finn snaps a photo of the boys standing together, going just left of centre to catch Alfie’s ‘good side’. Once the boys sort out a date for pizza and say their goodbyes, Finn takes Levi aside to interview him on his experience borrowing a human ‘book’.
It’s fascinating to watch the way Finn interacts with the young kid, making him laugh so he relaxes into the interview and answers the questions candidly. Finn would make a great dad – not that I’m anywhere near that particular stage in our relationship, especially as things are still oddly tense between us.
When Finn’s done and has said goodbye to Levi I wave him over.
‘Can we chat?’
‘Sure,’ he says, stuffing his iPad into his backpack. ‘Here?’
I glance around. The library is packed and Maisie is still busy signing people up. She sees me looking and waves me over to help.
Finn clucks his tongue. ‘Get the new members sorted first. I’m going to do this article now so I can get it published as quickly as possible.What about we meet tomorrow after work when things are a bit quieter?’
I give him a loose hug, wanting to connect in some small way again. ‘Perfect, let’s do that.’
I hurry back to the queue and help Maisie with memberships and queries about borrowing the human books. I’m quietly thrilled when some new members ask about volunteering to be a human book for the People Library too.
‘Really?’ Maisie says when a woman called Charlotte asks about joining as a human book. ‘Have youseenwhat they have to do? They have to let all those skeletons fall right out of the closet – think about it, Charlotte, is that something you want to be part of?’ Maisie’s voice is taut with disgust. Where’s the happy Maisie gone to this time? What’s provoked this? While she hasn’t been super supportive of the experiment, she’s hasn’t been her usual vociferous self lately either.
‘There’s some things I need to get off my chest,’ Charlotte says. Aha. This is Charlotte from the crochet club – the Charlotte who wouldn’t let Sofia join. Perhaps she wants to right some wrongs? I search her face for answers, but it’s closed off after Maisie’s comments.
‘We’d love you to join, Charlotte.’ I rifle through the papers on my desk and find the expression of interest sheet. ‘Here’s some more information about it. Fill it in and return it to me at your earliest convenience and we can get going. It’s not for the faint-hearted but our human books have so far found the experience liberating.’
Maisie crosses her arms, and tries to catch Charlotte’s eye, but she doesn’t meet her gaze. Charlotte takes the proffered paperwork, mumbles a thanks and backs away.
‘Maisie, what was that?’ I hiss. ‘For this to work we need new human “books” so we can attract new “readers”. Are you trying to put everyone off who asks?’ I thought we’d mended some bridges but it seems Maisie isn’t about to change overnight.
Maisie grunts. ‘If you let this experiment continue, do you know what’s going to happen?’ She doesn’t give me a moment to respond. ‘You’re going to have everyone airing out their dirty laundry and before you know it, there’s going to be this great big divide in town. Things were just fine before you came along; everyone knew their place. Now you’ve got Homeless Harry waltzing around like a B-grade celebrity. Sofia hasn’t even shared her story yet, and she’s suddenly the woman of the minute … everyone’s talking about her cooking and her castle. The world has gone mad!’
Everyone knew their place?I close my eyes for a moment, not sure how to attack this. ‘Maisie, come on. You knowwhywe’re doing this. Even saying everyone knew their place is offensive. Did Harry know his place, sleeping out in the elements? Did Alfie know his place not feeling welcome at school? Did Sofia—’
‘Stop, stop, I get it! You’ll have anarchy on your hands when everyone in town turns on one another – that’s what I’m saying.’
‘That’s not going to happen!’
‘Isn’t it?’
I let out a frustrated huff and then paste on a mechanical smile. ‘Right who was next?’ I say. I feel waves of hostility emanate from Maisie but I don’t give her the satisfaction of acknowledging them.
Chapter 19
Learning not to judge a book by its cover at Willow Grove library
The Chronicle by Finn Ford Thursday September 8th at 8.47 a.m.
The People Library experiment heads into its second week with local home-schooled child Alfie volunteering to share his story. Alfie has a unique ability to calendar count and wowed his borrowers with his superpowers, of which there are many. Head Librarian Elodie Halifax says, ‘We started this initiative in the hopes that we’d save Willow Grove library, but more importantly we’ve discovered that these stories needed to be told. Our brave human books have bared their souls in an effort to share their unique histories and complex lives. It hasn’t been easy for them to open up but they’ve done so in the hopes that locals will understand their plight and see the folly of judging a book by its cover. Small towns are known colloquially to be a hive of gossip and these human books know that too well, being the subject of such talk for too long now.It’s time to flip the script, and talk to them, rather than about them. The People Library experiment has proven that given time and a safe place to share their stories everyone deserves a new beginning. Everyone deserves to be listened to. Only then can we begin to heal as a community, by coming together and supporting the vulnerable among us. Instead of judging them, let’s hear their stories, and help them.’
So, the question remains, do we judge a book by its cover and can we collectively change our thinking in order to become a more coherent and tolerant town? Surely, we understand that we need to put former prejudices aside and open our heart and minds for those who need us most.
Turn to page 2 for interviews and photographs with Alfie and his first borrower, Levi. And if you’d like to sign up to borrow a human book join here: www.willowgrovelibrary/memberships
He’s managed to sum it up perfectly again. On page two, Alfie’s shiny happy face virtually jumps from the paper. The shot of him and Levi, arms slung over each other’s shoulders is enough to make me weep, knowing Alfie’s desperate need for a buddy. Finn’s interview with Levi about his experience is adorable. He talks about wanting to learn more about Alfie’s superpowers and how he thinks his ability to calendar count is more magical than Harry Potter will ever be, because Alfie isreal.
I fold the paper in half while I wait for my takeaway coffee at Beans, the local coffee shop. In the small café, almost everyone holds a copy of theChroniclein their hands, and there’s a real buzz in the air about the article.I catch a few people pointing at me, figuring out I’m the Elodie from the article. I give them wide smiles and a little wave, hoping they’ll approach me if they’ve got questions.
An elderly woman in a red coat wanders over to me. ‘Hi, Elodie, I’m Pat from the gardening club. I love what you’re doing for the library.’
‘Nice to meet you, Pat. Maybe you’d consider joining and borrowing a human book yourself?’
