A book was her best friend

providing her with knowledge and pure joy.

Entering another world

and escaping reality.

A reality she wished she wasn’t a part of.

‘Loner’ they called her.

‘Scoundrel’

‘Oaf’

‘Irrelevant’

All insults that created a dent in her heart.

She wondered why

it wasn’t ok to be different.

In her world

this world

being different was a crime.

School was chaotic

home was colorless

no one was home

to tend to the girl with the books.

She was taunted

not only for ‘standing out’

but for her appearance.

Her daily apparel consisted of

worn out Skechers and wrinkled t-shirts.

Attire was the least of her concern

but unfortunately,

it was a concern

for everyone else.

The torment only escalated.

‘Poor’

‘Ugly’

‘Hideous’

Words that she tried to ignore

but they shattered her thin, glass wall.

Which was as fragile as her.

On sorrowful days like those,

she wailed.

Alone.

With nothing but a book

sitting on her lap

a book she emotionally grasped

hoping it would stay by her side.

Because without it, she had no one.

The girl with the books

has no one.