#13

“We all agree it’s a joy to read.”

The bookstore owner spoke loudly into the phone, but the store was small so we would have heard him even if he spoke quietly.

“It leaves one with a sense of…I don’t want to say joy, but yes, joy.”

“With a room full of words,” a man standing in the same section as me said, “you would think he could find a synonym for joy.”

I couldn’t tell if he was speaking to me or to himself because he wore a mask. But then we made eye contact with each other and we both pulled a book from the shelf and opened to a random page.

“Mirth.” The masked man said.

“Diversion.” I answered.