My mom loved books, especially the old-fashioned ones. You know, the ones made out of actual paper. The ones that survived the flooding of the old world. Battered, worn, dirty as they were, but beautiful. So beautiful!
Now a days, in Virtus everything is in digital format. You just project out of your smart watch on to any surface and you read anything – on screen. Reading does not require touching. Or physically owning anything. But I prefer old books, printed on paper, that you can smell, hold, go to sleep with…
“The whole world, the entire universe and even more, all the worlds one can imagine, can be found in books”, my Mom used to tell us, and she was right.
Every night, when she tucked us in bed, she used to randomly pick a book and read us to sleep. It could be anything: poetry, fiction, history, philosophy, science, anything.
That was my favorite time of the day. Although the purpose of all this was to fall asleep, I was carried away into other times and worlds. I refused to close my eyes and sleep until she had put the book down and kissed us goodnight. She knew that, but she didn’t care. Bed time stories are not only useful for falling asleep. They sooth your soul, to the point that words do not matter any more. Only the coloring of mother’s voice…
One of my favorite stories from the time I was really young was about a little girl ―Alice… OK, everybody’s favorite― but the fact that she fell through a rabbit hole and was transported in a most unusual and magical place full of bizarre but extraordinary creatures was really cool! Talking rabbits and cats, a mad guy who always wore a hat, crazy kings and queens! Not bad for a young girl.
As I grew up I felt many times like her. I love the story because it reminds me of the times my mother used to read it to me, but I also connect to Alice because since Max unlocked the secret of time traveling, I many times feel like living an adventure similar to the adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Only… they are not imaginary… We do need to run, fight, because bad guys… well, let’s just say that you do not want to be caught by them!
Every time I travel back in time, it’s like I am falling through a rabbit hole and I end up in a strange unfamiliar place that may seem ordinary, although some times it is very different to what I’ve experienced before, but the whole experience is also full of wonders and miracles. OK, most of the times we get to see many different and interesting people. So much beauty everywhere. I can never get enough of it. But also, fear. Sometimes it can be dark, and cold, and scary. But it’s worth it. Every single moment of it. Despite the perils and the troubles we have ―time and again― gotten ourselves into.
I am fortunate to be a Time Squatter!
…don’t tell the boys I said that!