Character: Ophelia

- Tomorrow! I'll give you something tomorrow. It's going to be a surprise.
- Surprise? Ophelia peered at her mother's pale face.
- Yes.
- Is it a book? Ophelia asked.
- Book? Mom laughed softly. - Not a book, no. Much better!
Ophelia did not remind her that for her nothing could be better than a book. Mom won't understand. She does not seek refuge in books, is not transferred to another, magical world. She sees only this world, and even then not always, Ophelia thought. Mom is tightly attached to the ground, which is what she's so sad about. Books could tell her a lot about the world, about distant countries, about animals and plants, about the stars! Book pages can become open windows and doors, on paper wings you can fly away. Maybe my mother just forgot how to fly. Or maybe she never did.