The Library of Borrowed Hearts

by Lucy Gilmore

He’d forgotten how it felt. To hold a book in your hands and know that everything would turn out okay in the end, to lose yourself in someone else’s story… That was a joy he hadn’t allowed himself to indulge in for a very long time.

In many ways, books were more alive than most of the people he knew. They were living, breathing entities that changed each time you picked them up.

He likes knowing how close he is to the things that make life brighter, and he likes being a few steps away from happiness. He also likes not ever actually getting there. It’s okay, because I understand. I understand a lot more than anyone thinks.

“Everyone’s heart breaks at least once in a lifetime,” she said, determined, as ever, to go her own way. “It’s as inevitable as falling in love. The real challenge is deciding what you plan to do about it.”

“You don’t get to decide how other people feel. The things you do matter.

“I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear, but you were the whole story as far as I was concerned,” he said. “The beginning, the middle, and the end. I didn’t need to open another romance when I already had the perfect one written down.”

What’s the point of living if all you’re going to do is make everyone around you miserable? What are we put on this earth for if not to make life better for those we leave behind?’”

“You know, the thing I’ve always loved most about books is how they make it possible to live a thousand different lives,” she said, speaking as though my heart wasn’t leaking out all over my face and dripping onto her expensive purse. “Things in this world rarely go according to plan, and we often find ourselves on roads and in cities we never planned to visit, let alone stay in forever. I take comfort from knowing that I can always pick up a book—a new one, if I want to travel someplace unique; an old one, if I find myself in need of a friend—and make everything feel right again.”

“The world isn’t what it used to be, Chloe.” She gave a short laugh. “Well, that’s not true. It’s the same relentless, beautiful, soul-crushing place it’s always been. But it’s bigger now. More connected. If you don’t like where you are, you don’t have to pack up your whole family and abandon everything you know and love. All you have to do is grab a different story from the shelf.”