Book Heaven

Last night I dreamt not that I went to Manderlay again, but, rather, I dreamt I went to heaven.

No, not that heaven.

Last night I dreamt that I went to Book-Lover’s Heaven.

The entrance to Book-Lover’s Heaven is not a pearly gate, it’s a rather nondescript door, much like the entry door on any retail store. I opened the door and went through.

I had no idea of what was inside the door until I opened it and stepped inside. Once I crossed the threshold, the knowledge of what lay inside washed through me.  It was a bookstore.

Not just any book store.

Book Store Heaven.

It was a massive complex of buildings and walkways, stairways and elevators, moving sidewalks the led from one building to another. I couldn’t see all the buildings, some were a dozen stories high, others only a few stories. Each building, every floor, was filled with books old and new.

The first building I entered happened to be my favorite section in any bookstore: The History Section, several floors worth of any history book I could imagine.

The design was what I’d always envisioned a book store should look like: light colors and bright sunshine.  There were large overstuffed chairs and sofas to curl up on, to examine a book before taking it home.  There were lots of friendly, book-loving employees everywhere, so one never had to wait in line if one needed help locating a book.  All the books were neatly arranged, and perfectly alphabetized.  Every book resided in the place it was supposed to be.

After wandering around several floors of history books, I made my way to The Fiction Section, a twelve story building where each floor was so large I could not see to the other side. Again, more bright sunshine, and comfortable reading nooks, and one could always find their favorite spot empty and waiting.

I was carrying several books as I wandered down a long walkway, with little street cafes on one side, where the tables overlooked a lazily meandering river.  There was plenty of hot coffee and tea being served, or a nice glass of wine, or whatever else one preferred to sip on as one read the pages of a favorite new book.

As I walked around, gazing at all the sights, trying to figure out where I wanted to go next, I spied a sign that read, “Book Sale” that had an arrow pointing towards a door propped open with a stack of books.  My heart leapt!  What Book Lover doesn’t love books on sale?

I entered a building of warehouse proportions, with rows and rows of shelving units, packed with books, stacked with books, piled with books. As I tried to scope the place out, and come up with the best way to be sure I covered every aisle, my eye spied a big, thick book on the shelf nearest me, the title leaping out at me: “George and Dewe.”  (As far as I can tell, there is no such book in reality).  My heart raced, and I casually walked over to it, trying not to call attention to myself or the book.  “George and Dewe” was The Book I had wanted for a long time, but, the $55 cover price always gave me pause. Yet, here it was. And, on sale!  I didn’t want to get too excited because I didn’t know what kind of “sale” prices were being offered in this place.  I held my breath, and slipped the book off the shelf, and, there on the front cover was the sale sticker.  One dollar! One Dollar!

As the thrill of the orgasm-inducing sale price of the much-coveted book coursed through my veins, another truth of Book-Lover’s Heaven was revealed: I had a credit card with an unlimited credit limit, and there would always be enough money to pay the credit card balance off each month.

I was quickly walking towards the large shopping carts lined up in the corner when I heard barking.

It was my dogs.  Barking at someone walking by.

Book-Lover’s Heaven vanished in the mists of dreams.