My Active Imagination

There is something about an old building that I love, there is a history that so many of us will never know about. If you sit still you might be able to hear the ghosts tell their stories. The walls ache with knowledge of secrets and adventures.  

As a child, I have always been fascinated with history. I like to find out the facts about animals,  wars, how families moved to a different country to start a new life. I would ask to go to museums and slowly walk through reading all the displays. At a library my mom would let me wander to the kid area, so that I could read about my favorite animals. I didn’t want to just see what dinosaurs looked like. I wanted to know what environment they lived in, how they hunted for food, or what really did make them die off. I would gather up books on my favorite animals and just page through them. My mom would eventually find me curled up in a chair surrounded by books. I never could pick just three to bring home, I always begged to bring a few more. 

For many years my mom ran the local book fair at a library for our school. She spent days working to set up displays, put together contests to encourage kids to buy some books, and gather up volunteers to help out. I usually would help after school sorting books, straightening shelves. Most times Mom would find me on the floor looking through my favorite books in the section. 

One year while I was at the library helping my Mom out, she had to go to a meeting to discuss some book donations. It was later than usual as we were packing up the book fair. She left me to hang out in the library while she went to her meeting. I was going to do homework and found a bean bag chair to settle into in the bag of the library. I ended up falling asleep for a little bit. I woke up to a dimly lit library and realized that the janitor locked everything up. I was sure someone would come back eventually and tried not to panic.

I went down the aisle one by one, looking at the different books. I finally came upon one of my favorite authors: Rick Riordan. There on display were my favorite fiction books of all time. The Lighting Thief series and The Heroes of Olympus, the two book series that fueled my thirst for knowledge on Greek gods & goddesses. I spent years researching and reading up on Greek history after reading the series. I felt alive when discovering the different stories of the gods that lived before our time. 

I closed my eyes and thought of the first time that I picked up The Lightning Theif. Within three chapters, I was sucked into the story. Suddenly, I was transported to the Parthenon in Nashville where one of my favorite parts took place. The library came alive, and the high bookcases became the statue of Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. She was towering above me. I heard a noise and thought for sure that it could be the Hydra. I knew I needed to find the pearl to help Percy Jackson. So, I quickly hid behind a column and tried to think where the pearl would be in the Parthenon. Of course, Athena would be holding it. I would need to get it, so that Percy could finish his quest. I heard another loud noise and ducked around the column to get closer to Athena’s statue. I crawled closer and realized I would have to climb up the wall next to the statue to grab the pearl. I looked to see if Hydra was nearby and took a deep breath as I gazed up and began my climb. I was halfway up when I slipped and lost my footing. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to steady myself. My hand grabbed onto a shelf, and I climbed some more. Finally, I was high enough and was able to get the pearl. I was almost out of danger. I slowly started to climb down when there was a big boom. Hydra must have found me! I was almost to the bottom when I lost my footing and went crashing down to the ground. I was lying on the floor assessing my pain. Am I hurt? It felt like the wind was knocked out of me. But I had the pearl, and I knew that I had helped Percy out.

All of a sudden, bright light filled my eyes, I felt blinded for a moment and had to cover my eyes. I did not know what was going on. I heard running towards me and looked up. My mom and the janitor were looking down at me. I looked around and saw books everywhere. I was clinging onto the book The Lightning Thief. My mom asked exactly what had happened, I did not know how to explain that sometimes a book transports you into their world and you feel like you are in the middle of the action. Your imagination comes alive when you fall in love with a story.

 As I looked around at the books that fell from their shelves, I realized I might be in trouble. My mom looked relieved to find me but then turned to see the mess that was around me. She shook her head and said, “Looks like you have some cleaning up to do.” I started stacking up the books to put back on their shelves. I ran my finger along the spine and inhaled the scent. How can something written on paper become so real in your head that you feel like you are in the story? That is the great thing about a book and going to the library. You can go into another world and get lost in it.