Flipping Through the Pages

My son told me that finishing a book gives him a sad feeling sometimes. He said that whenever he gets hold of one with a very interesting story, he feels like he wants it to go on and on. Reaching the end of the final chapter gives him a rather heavy heart, knowing that he is soon done reading it.

I told him that he may feel that way because his involvement with the characters in the story ends with the book. The excitement that builds up page after page suddenly dies down once you put the finished book.

Still, I reminded him that what is truly important is that he had a good time. He had a good laugh, maybe got annoyed with some characters, and perhaps agreed with how the story ended. A good trip with the author, if you may.

My friend C is flipping through the final chapter of a part of her life. She said that she is sad with the turn of events, but feels at peace as the truth of her story finally sets everyone free.

I am hopeful that even if she may feel hesitant to finish this chapter, she had a good laugh. Got annoyed with some characters and really agreed with how the story has finally ended.

My son can choose a new book. And my friend, once she's ready, she can also pick a new one and start anew.

What do we know, sometimes we simply make mistakes and choose the not-so-good books. But who said that we cannot stop after we find the first chapter uninteresting? At times, we get lucky and get hold of the very good ones. That's when we should just enjoy the good trip with the author-- aware that, as always, we would eventually reach the last page of the final chapter.