Quiet! You're in the library!

I go and sit, read,
listen, pray and
watch and
think.


There are many chairs in the library.
There are many places to sit.
I choose the most secluded spot in the library.
Three chairs. I choose the middle one.


Strategy. I think to myself.
No one will sit next to me.
I put my purse on one chair
and my books on the other.


Ready, set, write and read.
I notice a little old man wandering down the aisle.
He's wandering towards me.
He's cute, he's old, he's very old.


He has wrinkles.
He has a limp.
He has a cane.
He has a book.


He asks if he can sit in the chair next to me.
I move my purse.
I feel invaded.
He sits down and smiles.


He says "it's a lovely day."
I say "it's hot."
He says, "it's better than cold."
I say "maybe."


He wants to chat.
I don't.
He says something else to me.
I don't bother to hear him.


He repeats himself.
I'm trying hard not to listen.
He's lonely.
I'm lonely.


We chat.
We chat about nothing.
We sit.
He reads, I read. We read next to each other.


Two chairs, side by side
in this very big library.
Did God bring him to me
or me to him?


We spend several hours next to each other.
He coughs, he clears, he moans.
I cough, I ache. I wonder.
Will I too be like him one day?


I ask "what are you reading?"
He says "I'm not."
He says "I'm listening."
I ask "to what?"


He says "I listen to the voice."
I say "there are not many in the library."
He says "just one voice."
I am quiet.


He says he listens to God.
I asked him "what does God say?"
He said "God says many things,
but no one listens."


We sit.
In silence.
We sit.
I pray.


I close my eyes.
I am uncomfortable.
He prepares to leave.
He struggles.


I help him get up.
He grabs his cane.
He starts to shuffle.
He turns around.


I tell him to have a nice day.
He smiles.
I wonder.
He moves along.


Slowly he turns around.
He waves, he whispers,
"many blessings today."
"Thank You", I say.


He shuffles down the long isle of books.
Who was this man that sat next to me
in the silence of the library?
Who was he?


Ssshhhhh! Listen! God has something to say.