My dearest imaginary friend,

There’s a story that has stayed with me. It’s about a person who died. It turned out they had been poisoned slowly, and it took a long time before anyone figured out how it was done. What’s fascinating about poisonings is that you can literally kill someone with anything. It’s nothing more than an overdose of something, even water could do it. In this case, however, it was something else: the paper of a book.

Perhaps you don’t know those people who, when reading, wet their fingers to turn the page? Not everyone does this, but this particular reader did, so the culprit was certainly aware of this habit.

Every time the reader licked his finger, he ingested a little poison. If you think about it, it’s a filthy habit, especially if you’ve borrowed a book from the library where countless others have touched the pages. And you can be sure most don’t wash their hands before picking up it, let alone consider where else those fingers have been while reading.
Personally, I can’t stand finger-marked books—the ones with dark smudges or, worse, folded-down corners (we call those "ezelsoren") as if the reader couldn’t remember where he left off, did they never hear of a bookmark?
A brand-new book is undeniably hygienic, just like a fresh newspaper until it’s opened. Are there even people who still buy newspapers these days? Or read ones that countless others have handled, coughed over, sneezed on, eaten above, or even spat on while muttering the words?

Old books, by the way, smell different from new ones. The older ones often come in linen covers, not that cheap rubbish. If you love reading, bookshops are wonderful places, especially if you can sit somewhere and quietly browse through stacks of books. The best part is being surrounded by like-minded people: those who love books and treat them with care. Though how many of them hide letters inside as bookmarks is another question. How about those writing letters on the pages? I doubt I’d ever use a love letter as a bookmark (not that I could, they’re far too thick for that and would rip the book apart).

Well, goodbye, dear friend. I hope you’re well. I’ve said everything I wanted to say in the last 24 hours of my life. This old book of my grandfather’s is for you. If you ever find yourself in need of money, just sell it.

Beppie

Before I forget: the Community CCC is active again. This will be the home of @wakucat witness. Friend @gertu, and the community has already posted a competition.

See: @hive-166850