Since late afternoon I had been exploring the slightly drafty corridors, staring open-mouthed at the marble statues and other splendor in the hallways. Was this really happening? How come this castle was kept a secret in our family? This was not real, this was like living a fairytale. But even fairies get tired and cold and I had just decided to head back down towards the residential kitchen, when I stumbled upon a narrow stairway. A wooden banister lead me up to the next floor, where I found myself in a dimly lit passage with doors on either side. Hesitantly I reached for a doorknob and tried to turn it. When it wouldn’t budge, I walked towards the second door on the right. This one opened…
The first thing I noticed was the unique warmth of an open fireplace. Wood was crackling softly, inaudible whispers of heat and comfort. There was an occasional pop when hidden amber resin alighted in a miniature explosion. A charred block collapsed and caused a small avalanche of red glowing embers, sending tiny fire flies up the chimney. My whole being was drawn towards it and I stepped into the room.
The fire only just managed to chase away the darkest of shadows. In wonder I stopped and gazed at what my eyes confirmed, but my brain was yet unwilling to acknowledge. BOOKS. There were meters of books, rows upon rows of books, TONS of books. They breathed their slow paper life into the room, hinting at secrets, at romances and tragedies. Gave insights in psychology and geography. New books and old ones, that hid on the top shelves, almost out of reach. A wooden ladder was resting in the corner, its head snuggled against a railing that embraced the whole library.
The candle was a lone survivor in a pool of wax, flame dancing in harmony with the hearth’s living fire. My feet hesitantly found their way towards the couch which was begging for company. Cradled in leather, my shivering gradually slowed, then stopped. I felt the room breath again and shift its perception towards me. All of my senses opened up as I reached out my arms to the ghosts of my ancestors…
Figments of a DuTchess 
You made me feel like I was walking right behind you (the reason I wasn’t beside you was because I was a little scared being in a castle)…making our way down that dim corridor! Absolutely beautiful…I thought you were really visiting a castle…you write brilliantly and so vividly! Awesome, Mar! And the pictures are gorgeous! 🙂 Have a TGIF day and night! 🙂
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Thanks for exploring this castle with me JM 🙂 I had a real good feeling writing this post and I actually did what WordPress said: I closed my eyes and imagined I was there. I even typed half of this post with my eyes closed.
What is a TGIF day? It must be good 😀 So you have a TGIF day too 😉
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Beautifully written! I love books…you described my favorite room in the castle. enJOY your day!
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Hi Jeanne, pleased to meet you. And thank you for subscribing to Figments of a Dutchess! 🙂
Books are alive, they are friends who will never let you down. Thank you for visiting the second room on the right with us.
Have a lovely day and weekend!
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Comment via mail:
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😀
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What a beautiful post! You brought us right there. I want to get on a plane. 🙂
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Me too Lisa 🙂 Perhaps I’ll work on this concept and write it into a short story. Writing is SO exciting 😀
And thank you!
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I totally agree! Writing opens me up to want to know more. And I’m glad you’re contemplating a short story, because I want to know more…
hugs…hugamamma. 😉
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Can I ask if I might be able to put the “Dance in the Rain” image onto my blog. And if it is okay, could you tell me how I would do it. My daughter’s a ballerina, and I love dance, so this particular item would be so apropro. It’s amazing what’s available on the internet. I’ve learned so much when visiting other blogs.
hugs for sharing…hugmamma. 😉
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Inserting an image to the sidebar of your blog:
Widgets > Insert Image > Paste the link to the desired image to ‘Image URL’ > Set desired Width (for example 120) and Height (for example 160). This one is beautiful: http://www.film-forward.com/ballerina.jpg but you can find lots of others 🙂 Good luck!
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Tried the URL above, but only got a photo of a beautiful ballerina. Clicked on her and copied to transfer, but nothing happened. So not sure what went wrong. Perhaps I can’t get the image for some reason. Is there somethingelse I should know, or try?
thanks…hugmamma. 🙂
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And did you paste that url in the widget of your WordPress dashboard of your site, the way I described it? 🙂
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Time, I need TIME hehehe. And I will MAKE time! But first work is calling.
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I want to go there.
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And I’d love to take you there Christine!
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