001

June had already been awake for what she estimated must be around 45 minutes when she heard her parents' car park outside her garage. They were loudly talking about the previous day's football match outcome, she could hear their voices become louder and louder as they opened the car doors, then closed them back as they continued their conversation. Moments later the sound of the back trunk door being opened and paper bags being handled followed before the trunk door was closed back. The voices' volume descended as they walked away from June's bedroom window and a minute later they could be faintly heard, coming from inside the house this time.

It took a strong resolution from June's part to finally open her eyes, the warmth of her bed was just too exquisite, though something that had been there just a few days before was missing. The other difference was that it must be near noon now, and June relished in the peace of mind provided by having finished and e-mailed the final review of her last novel to her editor. She loved the feeling of a story finally letting her go, freeing her from its grasp, as if it took hold of her from the very moment of its conception, ruling everything in her life, altering her sleeping times along with the rest of her habits until she was, in the end, by putting it into words, able to liberate herself from it, as if it were some kind of exorcism.

As she lay on her stomach with her face half buried in her pillow, she heard the subtle and distinct ringtone. She smiled and rolled over to lay on her back, then let her hand explore the space under her covers in search for the device, and after easily finding it due to its rather important size, pull it from under the covers and place it in front of her face. With the base of her idle hand palm she scratched her eyes and then pulled out the curtain of hair that had covered her face after the previous movement. She read the message written on the green backlight display and smiled sleepily.

“Rise n’ shine beautiful! It’s a lovely day. Miss u”

She thought about her answer for a few moments, she felt like teasing a little bit, so she chuckled and bit her lower lip as she hastily typed.

“Screw the day, I’m thinking about a way of sneaking you into my bed”

Then a few moments later her phone rang again.

“You can organize a farewell party on the other side of town and then we could both be late. Really late, how ‘bout that?”

“Smart idea, I’ll work on it and let you know, but it may take some time…and I want you in my bed right now”

“There ain’t no other place I’d rather be right now, babe”

She sighed and typed again. “Miss u too, handsome. Have a nice day”

“You too, beautiful”

More than twenty minutes had passed since the first message had arrived, and the wonderful smell of June’s mom’s cooking was creeping all the way into June’s room, causing her stomach to rumble loudly, inciting her to get up and face the day. She pulled the covers to a side and lazily jumped off the bed, then put on her robe and walked towards the window. Using her index and middle finger she separated two slats of the Venetian curtain and brought her face closer to peek at the world outside. The sudden exposure to the bright sunlight made her pupils contract so quickly it stung, but then they adjusted as quickly. It was true, it was a gorgeous day indeed.

Once in the bathroom she undressed herself and almost inadvertently her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror. June wasn’t a fitness maniac and didn’t care about her diet besides just watching the portion size, and that had worked pretty well so far. She acknowledged that she’d been genetically blessed with a well proportioned and harmonious body that proved to be fairly low-maintenance and she’d always looked and felt healthy. However, now the mirror was indicating that she might be a couple pounds heavier. June couldn’t care less. She opened the hot water tap and observed how the steam swiftly invaded every corner of the room as she thought. It was that time of the month when she usually felt a little bloated and she’d indulged perhaps a little too much these past time, in many pleasures. Oh yes, flashes of the past weeks cleaned away any unwelcome thought.

…

“So how’s packing been?”

June’s mother’s strong voice snapped her out of her hang-up with the newspaper. She took a sip of coffee from the cup she was holding in the air in front of her, right above the sheets splayed on the kitchen island counter.

“Haven’t started yet”, June answered with a tone that acknowledged that even though she still had time to spare, she’d been postponing packing more than she should. She placed the cup of coffee on the counter, straightened her back and stretched her arms in front of her without moving from her stool. Seeing her mother look back over her shoulder with a surprised expression on her face, she lifted both her hands in the air in a surrender gesture as she spoke “I know, I know, but I’ve been so busy with the book. Today’s the day. Besides, I want you and dad to take the boxes back to K with you, I don’t want to leave them here with strangers”.

Her mother silently nodded and turned around to continue her chopping and cutting work, giving her back to June. She continued speaking casually. “You shouldn’t worry too much about your things, sweetie. Chris is not a complete stranger after all, she’s a good girl, she’ll take care of them”.

It was more than perfect that she had been able to rent the house with furniture and all to the daughter of one of her mother’s friends. “Yeah, of course, that’s not what I worry about, there’s just some things that I do mind other people laying their hands on”.

Her mother, knowing her daughter’s reserved character, had no choice but to agree. “That’s true,” she admitted.

Sunset found June standing in front of the bookshelves that completely covered one of the walls in her room and that contained those volumes she appreciated the most, the ones that inspired her. Naturally there were plenty more in the library itself. At her feet already lay 4 medium-size boxes that contained other objects she considered precious and private to her, mostly things related to her travels. What was laying ahead of her would be a fresh start, and correspondingly, her baggage needed to be as light as possible.

She took pride in being an unattached person and had absolutely no trouble in leaving things behind, but parting from her book collection had proved to be a psychological challenge. Starting from the top left hand corner, her eyes scanned each one of the books’ backs, and each of them brought a different set of memories to her mind. About three thirds of the way through to the bottom, her eyes lingered on the back of one specific volume: Umberto Eco’s “The name of the rose”. It had meant so much to her way back when, marking the start of her interest in alchemy and hermetic arts.

The memories of those times made her feel like a teenager all over again. Maybe that one she could take with her, as an ambassador of all the others she’d be leaving behind. After all, it contained more or less a little bit of everything.

June bent over and pulled it out from its tight location amongst other books of the same author. She took a deep breath before opening in order to take in the delicious smell of old books, which also carried a subtle cloud of dust that made her sneeze. After recovering from the spasm she opened the book and clipped all the pages in her right hand so she could quickly brush through it. She usually left something stuck in between the pages of the books she read that would later remind her of that specific time, as some sort of time capsule. It could be anything from a small flower, a bill, a receipt or a concert ticket. The memory of herself buying it on the afternoon of the day she’d started the new school popped up in her mind. She’d started reading it in the library and thought it was too good not to have it for herself. On page 141 she found a Backstage pass from the following day’s concert, she’d put the card there after coming back home and opening the book late at night to continue reading it.

05.26.1987. She brushed her index finger over the date and slid the card down just enough to uncover the paragraph hidden underneath it.

A rush of adrenaline ran through her body as she read the lines. “You’re so silly”, she whispered sarcastically to herself, then shut the book down and held it in the air in front of her between the palm of her hands, in an attempt of preventing the book from speaking to her any further, her fingers unconsciously tapping on both covers.

As she stared at the book she was holding, her heart suddenly squeezed inside her chest, followed by a lonely tear that escaped from her eye as she blinked and ran down her cheek surprising her. Well, maybe if she cried a little bit-

“Sis!” John’s powerful voice could be clearly heard from the other end of the corridor from June’s room, then his equally powerful steps approaching the open door of the bedroom.

“Just a sec!” June replied as soberly as she could, forcing a loud voice to conceal the lump that had formed in her throat. She hastily wiped her cheek against her shoulder before numbingly placing the book back in the shelves and managing to regain composure just in time to lift her face up and see her brother grasping the door’s frame and sticking his head inside the room with an impossibly white grin.

“Pasta doesn’t wait for anyone!”.

“’Course not!” replied June as she made quick steps towards the door and closed it behind her, then silently followed her brother towards the kitchen.