The Bookbinder was looking at his wrinkly old fingers. They were always a little bit sticky from the waxed binding thread he worked with each day. The tips of his fingers were bruised from the occasional needle that pierced his skin, as he was moving it with loving precision through the perfectly aligned sheets of paper, covered with someone else’s dreams. Countless pages dressed in enchanting stories, poetry, and the occasional biography, made passage through his warm hands. He did so gladly and lovingly. With each book completed he felt a great sense of calm fulfillment, a sense where service met purpose.
When those same bruised fingers caressed his wife’s skin at night, she felt, as if she was entering all the imaginary worlds captured on the many pages he has been joining together for the world to read, through the portal of his hands. It was their way to travel. It made her feel as if they had this unexplainable secret bond, no-one would ever understand. This sense of their perhaps unusual intimacy filled her heart with closeness and her mind with youthful glee.
When he finished reading, he walked slowly towards her, his heavy boots shuffling slowly over the creaky old wooden floor. He leaned towards her and gently kissed the top of her head, right there, where her grey hair parted in a perfect line. She closed her eyes and inhaled briefly as if to mark the moment with her breath.
Then, without saying another word, the bookbinder made his way back to the workshop. She watched his broad back, dressed in a black-suede leather waistcoat, as his figure was slowly disappearing down the stairs. She noticed shiny patches on the leather around his armpits, a testimony to the waistcoat’s many years of service. When his figure disappeared completely from her sight, she returned to her work, and her heart was peaceful, her mind quiet, and her soul grateful.
Find this story also as an audio version here. Listening to calming stories before falling sleep is a great way to improve the quality of your slumber by switching from your busy day into a restful state.
