Plotted Book Novels & Stories

I look over to where Primus had been sitting not so long ago. What's this? Primus left something behind. A book? Was this the gift he meant to give me? It is a small thing, dainty. I cannot imagine someone as large as Primus ever reading this because how could he ever hold onto it without breaking it? It looks so precious, and fragile. Even as a child, I can't imagine he would have been small or careful enough to read it. Gently, as if lifting a rose from a vase, I pick up the blush pink volume, marveling at the delightful texture of its silk binding, the title embroidered in gold. While I might not know many words yet, I know enough that I can read the title of this book.

Cela remains disappointed. "C'mon. It's not like they bought everything. They just thought of giving the books as Christmas presents apart from the corporate giveaways. You must know that your mother enjoyed your first book so much. Too bad that she passed before the second one is out," Nanny Rita continued. "You've always been loyal to her," Cela said.

I don’t try touching it again. Closing the box, I approach the shelves. I take out the book closest to me. Brushing off the dust, I realize it’s a strategy book, written in delicate penmanship. The paper is fragile, but the tome is bound with great care. The other side of the shelf seems to have hard-bound journals. It’s like an entire couple’s life secured in one small room. I hear a scraping sound, and I turn my head to see Robert picking up a stack of small portraits from one of the iron boxes in the corner.

Somewhere in the city—several stories above, in a steel and glass building—Julian Blackwood lay in his dark, sleek bedroom, staring at the book she had given him. He'd never intended to keep it. When Lena Carter had offered it to him—those gentle words, that thoughtful crease between her eyebrows—he'd intended to refuse. But something in her eyes had taken away his intention. It was neither flirting nor pretense. It was genuine. Silent. Generous. He hated kindness. It broke things open. Julian gazed down at the book. The cover was unadorned, the title in gold print: *A Man Called Ove*. He remembered Lena's words:

Natalia I was so bored. Daniel had told me not to do any housework but I was sorely tempted to start dinner just to have something to do. I found a book and tried to read like he told me. The book didn't hold my attention, though. My life has been much more interesting lately than some crime novel. My whole life had been boring before I met him. I hadn't realized it while I was living it. After meeting Daniel , it was like I was living in color now, but my previous life had all been black and white.

The great, iron-bound cover of the Chronicles of the New Era did not sit beneath a glass display in the deepest vaults of the capital, nor was it sealed with a final, unyielding lock of administrative magic. Instead, the massive book rested open on a wide pedestal of unpolished sun-marble in the very center of the Grand Plaza of Genesis. Its pages were not made of paper, but of thick, shimmering sheets of woven light-lines that rippled and turned on their own whenever a new day broke across the unified worlds.

Yam sliced it open slowly, hands trembling. Inside was their book. “The Art of Staying.” Cover: a sunflower. A crooked shelf. Two mugs—one chipped. And behind it all, the suggestion of a fan, mid-spin. Franc stared at it like it might whisper back. “Feels unreal,” Yam said. Franc flipped through pages. Some with artwork. Others with Yam’s poetry. Their story—wired beginnings and all—now bound in matte finish. “I think this book breathes,” Franc said.

His eyes widened, face and ears going crimson when he saw the illustrations on the page. Ahhhh he had completely forgotten about this particular book! There were different kinds of explicit sexual positions couples could engage in to enjoy the process of bringing a baby into the world within. And why did Prince Ron read such a book in the first place? Well, there were decent pictures of homosexual couples on the cover so he wanted to see what it was about. He never expected it to be drawings of different kinds of sex positions.

I press my hand to him, trying to get him to stay still. “I can help,” I murmur, fumbling with the heavy book in my lap. He pauses, eyes darting to the old book. His gaze hardens in suspicion but then softens. He recognizes what it is. I flip frantically through the brittle pages. 39… 91… 180… Focus. My fingers finally find the right page and relief washes over me when I spot the illustrations. I place the book next to me and take the bag, searching for the right leaves stuffy stuff. I do not know what. At least the book has pictures in color.

I only found a book with a combination lock. It was almost dawn, so I had to restore everything to its original state, but I took the book with me when I left. I used the excuse of visiting Jake to go to Evervale City, where I paid 100 dollars for professional help to open the lock. At last, buried in that old notebook, I uncovered the truth, and with it, the name of the person who had destroyed my life. It was Dr. Carter.