“Good afternoon Mrs. West.” said a man in a green jumper when passing the entrance. That is Lukas, one of my regulars for the last five years. He moved to this area for work reasons and came here almost every week. He does not always get something but he always spends at least 30 minutes in here. A very polite young man in his 30s. “Hi, Lukas. Hope you had a lovely week. There are new stuff in the history corner in case you are interested.” I said returning his greetings which he responded with a bright smile as in I had read his mind.
I am Rose West, and I have been running this store for almost 30 years. I name it Rose from the West. Unlike other stores, my store does not open every day as I teach at the university in the corner for three days a week. So, this store only opens four days a week and closed whenever I am on holiday or not well. This is not the only bookstore in this area, so I am not guilty of closing my store sometimes. I started this store when I started teaching at the university. It was not because I didn’t earn enough but because I like living around books and seeing people come around buying books for themselves or gifts. It gives me a different satisfaction that I am want to keep. As this is an independent bookstore, I have the freedom to choose or curate what kind of books I want to sell. This place also provides me a space to know people who are regular to this store - small talks and lovely smiles.
9
A Rose for Bu Ria
“Have you heard that the Drones are closing his store, Mrs.
West?” asked Lukas while handing me two books on Asian and African history. “Yes, I’ve heard of that. Poor thing, but I do understand that traditional independent bookstores like ours are not in the market anymore. But don’t you worry. I will try to hold on to this store as long as I could.” I responded while processing his payment.
There were already five stores when I opened my store and all the owners came to my stores on the first day of the opening.
We knew what each store was selling so when our customers came and looked for something we don’t sell, we’d direct them to where they might be able to find what they need. Bernard Drones’s store is heaven for science fiction novels and school books while mine is a sanctuary of history and science plus a small collection of mystery novels. Having university around here gives a fresh atmosphere every year as there are always new faces coming to our stores although not so many lately.
It is so unfortunate that Bernard needs to close his store. I’ll pay him a visit this evening.
***
“Thanks for the apples and flowers, Rose.” said Bernard and Daisy Drones together almost like a choir. “You come at the right time. We are just about to have dinner. Come join us. I made roasted duck and Daisy made a peach pudding. And you are not allowed to reject this invitation.” Bernard said kindly and with that, I had my second dinner of the day.
After dinner, we sat in the simple living room where they place my flower at the corner nearby the window. “I heard about you are closing your store.” I said full on sympathy. “Yes, we can’t keep it any longer as we don’t see how it can survive anymore. Our sales have been dropping so bad the past two years.” responded Bernard.
“That’s so sad. I know it must be very hard for you. And those university students would be losing a beautiful place to do their
part-A Rose for Bu Ria
time jobs and get book discounts. Mine is also experiencing the same thing. I am not sure how long I can hold on to that store.” I said after sipping my chrysanthemum tea. “Bookstores everywhere is facing their gloomy future, Rose. I don’t know what to blame. We tried to keep up with technology by offering online orders and delivery. It didn’t really help.” said Daisy who is sitting next to Bernard on the comfortable brown couch.
“Oh no, I would not blame the keeping up with technology thing, Daisy. The problem is just people’s interest to read is no longer flourishing. People now have too many options of using their time.
Instead of reading, people are more interested in doing other stuff and don’t see reading as necessary and leisure activity anymore.”
I said while pouring another cup of tea for myself. “Reading is no longer on the top list of people’s hobby and source of inspiration.
And in this so-called fast-moving world, people do not have the patience to read and be present. Years ago, whenever I was traveling, I would find more than half of the plane passengers had something to read. Be it newspaper, magazine, books. Now, those scenes were about to extinct.”
“I guess you have a good point, Rose. Now that I think about it, even students do not seem to read stuff for pleasure anymore. They read it as a school obligation. Too bad as they had plenty of time to do it before thinking about how they would run their lives upon graduation. It is a shame if people are leaving reading habit. It does not matter if they don’t read an actual physical book. I don’t mind if they prefer kindle than holding a book which can function as an exercise tool as well, as long as they still read.” Bernard finally spoke after a while. He looked so upset. “Alright, it’s late already. I’d better take my leave. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need any helps or supports.” I said while excused myself and left.
***
A Rose for Bu Ria
It is sad. Now it’s just five of us. It seems that each of us is just waiting for our turn to decide when to surrender to the reality. We were holding on to hopes for the past years but human beings do not seem to enjoy solitude with their minds anymore. Although, I’ll still hold on to that hope for a little longer.
- Liliana