Why a reader...

As the bell rang, all the students rushed out of their classes, jostling against one another. Stomachs grumbling, they raced to the school canteen. They couldn't wait to share everything that had happened since morning with their friends sitting in the next class, to roam around in the school and pull off a prank or two.

The girls' gossips could be heard all the way to the end of the corridor, but no one listened or cared. Everyone was busy talking, laughing, enjoying their thirty minutes of freedom from the boring lectures they had to attend all day.

The corridor bustled with activity, the classes as quiet as they could be. All the students were outside. But, in one of the classes, sat a girl. She looked outside, a wee bit annoyed with the noise. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled to herself, like this was something that happened everyday. She saw a couple of girls hug their friends, waving and shouting just outside the class. "Yeah, right, the last time you met each other, dinosaurs were alive.", she muttered. Then, for no apparent reason, hit herself on the head. "Don't say that", she told herself.

She took her tiffins from her lunch bag and a giant book from her desk. In just a matter of seconds, the noise would fade out. In no time, she'd not even be here, a place where she was always they odd one out. She would go to a place where she had friends. A place with adventure, love, friendship and magic.

She flipped the pages to the chapter she had been reading a while ago and began to read. She was walking through a beautiful forest. The subtle scent of pines and oak filled the air. The sky was clear, a shade of azure stretched to the horizon. Everything was quiet except for the steady thump of her horse's hooves. He trotted along her and she knew that as long as he was with her, she'd never be alone. She talked to him, told him everything she felt. She told him that she wanted to fly, told him what she would do when the war had ceased. She was grateful to have Aren. His amber crest glinted in the sunlight. He was someone who had accepted her for who she was. He understood her and she understood him. He never kept secrets from her and she didn't either. She smiled as she walked, thinking about what was to come ahead. This could be her last smile. This would be the last time she walked with Aren if she failed.

The sky turned black and suddenly, it became dark, like all the light had been sucked out. She couldn't see anything. "Aren!", she called out. He trotted over to her, though she had no idea how he had the faintest sense of direction. The sound of his hooves calmed her down. She ran her fingers through his mane and tried to feel something, listen to something, anything that would help her find out what had happened. But just then, a voice echoed through the darkness. "I trust you. You won't let me down. I know.", it said. She recognised his voice instantly. Aren nodded his approval. He too knew this voice. It was Mark's. It was full of pain, with no trace of the joy she had heard in it before. She knew he must have gone through a lot of trouble to say this to her. He had sensed her fear and confidence falter. In three simple words, he had given her hope. Mark still did trust her and there was no way she was going to let him down. She would do the right thing, no matter what.
As the darkness slowly merged into light, Aren nudged her shoulders. She sat on his back as he told her to and took a deep breath. "I'm ready." she said, though she didn't know if she was telling this to Aren or herself. She tightened her grip around his neck and he took off, faster than eyes could follow.
As they rode further, the roar of the wind started to fade away, replaced by the chatter of teens.
She looked up from her book. The benches were filling and the corridors became quieter. She closed her book gently and put it back in her desk.

She looked around her class, that was now very noisy. She looked at the girls who were still gossiping in a corner, giving her nasty glances every few seconds. She laughed, much to their astonishment. They just couldn't digest the fact that someone who wasn't a part of their group wasn't working hard to become one. And she found this very amusing. So what if she didn't have friends here? She had her books. She had the very special gift of being a reader. She could go anywhere, any time she wanted. She could be anyone and she didn't have to choose. She had so many friends who'd always be with her. What more would anyone want?
"And that’s why, that's exactly why I love books", she whispered. "That’s why, I'm a reader.", she thought to herself and smiled. :)