TLT: A hand as flimsy as tissue paper

three line tales 5: world book day edition

Image: Glen Noble Unsplash

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The first time I heard them I was standing in the Cookery section, somewhere between Mary Berry’s Family Recipes and an old tome by Madhur Jaffrey.

Dave laughed it off, swore it was the old pipes rattling (‘they’re lead you know’) or a fiesty gang of mice looking for A Thousand And One Ways With Cheese – funny guy, Dave.

Then one night on the run up to Christmas, the shelves festooned with fairy lights, the cinnamon and clove candle making me nauseous, I edged along the tunnels of paper, nudging one stack, then another, disturbing the scent of old facts … and I felt it

– a hand as flimsy as tissue, slipping into mine.

***

For Sonya at Only 100 Words Three Line Tales. Pop along here to read the rules and join the fun.

 

 

28 thoughts on “TLT: A hand as flimsy as tissue paper”

  3. Very evocative story, love it. I don’t know if the hand belongs to a ghost or the gossamer presence of fictional characters escaping from the books. 🙂

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    1. I’m not sure, though I think there may be a third option – that maybe the weight of words in the overcrowded bookshop has somehow pushed through the boundaries of reality, into another world, a world where words have real power … Maybe 🙂 Thanks so much for reading

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    1. Thank you, Sonya. I loved this one – a cracking photo with great atmosphere. It immediately made me assume something magical was about to happen.
      Yes, managed to sneak the story in before Mother’s Day swallowed me whole. Now she’s spat me out and I’m back in the world, tired and with gardeners’ dry skin/ingrained dirt hands – but in one piece 🙂

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  6. I LOVE this story – love it love it love it love it. A perfect mix of humour and spine-tingliness, like a gentle, unexpected smack. 3 lines? I’m sure there’s no harm in a bit of anarchy between friends 🙂
    Oh, and BTW I love this story 🙂

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    1. Ah, thank you Jane – you’re very kind. I did enjoy this one – the picture opened windows in my head. Yep, keeping to 3 lines is too much of a compression for my rambling. Sonya is kind enough to not be too strict, though 🙂 Now the madness of Mother’s Day is over, I must get back to reading Skellig …

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      2. Haha! Yes, I know. I’ve been utterly rubbish at reading recently. In my defence, I just had some very long days at work over Mother’s Day. Today, my brain is fried and I don’t seem to ba able to think enough to do anything other than read blogs. Will be back on track soon 🙂

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    1. Ah, very clever 🙂 And thank you, Chris – receiving a positive review from Calmgrove is a lovely thing. You should have a go at 3LT yourself if you have the chance. It’s quick but very good fun 🙂

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  9. The wonderful love of books can take you many places and you get to experience many things…even making contact with some characters in a most unexpected way . Wonderful story.

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    1. Ah, thank you so much! Yes, books are magical things for me, how people can take the same basic set of words and create completely different pictures and feelings in a stranger’s mind. That’s magic by any definition! Thank you so much for the kind comment 🙂

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