I’m overly grateful to have a park close to home. It provides me with a safe walking place and it’s just the right amount of quiet. Spread over a sufficiently large area, with a lake in the centre that is used for swimming, it has a badminton court, basketball court, cycling and walking tracks, a coffee shop (three weeks old), a coconut vendor just outside the park, exercise machines, children play area with a jungle gym, swings and even a small zip line.
The nice thing about this park is that it has an open area which can be booked for gatherings. Two weekends ago, there was a banner outside the park which said, there was going to be a book launch. I wanted to go for it but I didn’t. It was held at 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and after a late Thursday night, I couldn’t resist the temptation of a nap; I found the idea of dressing up for the launch, tedious. So, I missed it. I hate that I did- it would have been a wonderful experience to see how they do book launches here, in Bangladesh. Also, if you go sometime during the day, you’ll invariably catch a young couple dressed to the hilt in finery, doing a wedding photoshoot. Thanks to the park, I’ve witnessed 5 Bangladeshi couples in their wedding outfits, faces fully made up and hair elegantly done, without going for a wedding.
With so many other things I was doing, I hadn’t managed to go to the park for three days and I desperately wanted to know if the store had opened. So, on Friday morning (first day of the weekend), I got the family out of bed for a walk around the park. All those who read my previous post, would know that I have been looking forward to finding out what store it was going to be. Looking at the shelves in the glass enclosure, I had hoped it would be a book cafe. I had even dreamed of sitting around in the mornings with a book there, and reading to kids in the evenings, if they let me.
Imagine my delight on seeing the board say, “Book Worm’. I thought my dream had come true. However, while it does have books in it, it turns out it isn’t a book cafe or a library. It’s a book store. I suppose this is not too bad either- I can still get the books I want to read without the need to wander too far from home. And maybe, if I get to know the storekeeper, then I can also order the books I want, through him or her if the store does not already have it. There I go dreaming again.
To be fair, the dream I had, of a coffee shop and a book shop did materialise, even if not to the ‘T’. Lesson learnt: next time, be clearer when making a wish; God needs specifics too.
For all those who reached this far of my post, I have an exciting piece of news to share. I finally got a publisher for my first novel. I am as excited as I am nervous. I have the usual apprehensions that all new authors have- how will the book look when it comes out, will people like the book cover (I haven’t finalized it yet), will it prompt them to pick it up and once they do, will they like the story, my writing. The doubts and fears are neverending and yet, here I am- waiting for it to happen. Wish me luck, dear friends. I will give you more information over the coming days. Stay with me.
Cheers,
I’m writing this post for Jo’s Monday Walk challenge.
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