He closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and turned his back on the doorway. He began to walk in the direction of the dark corridor at the back of the room.
As he entered, everything turned pitch-black. He couldn’t see anything, even his own feet. It was impossible to hurry—he could only depend on the sensation of the hard floor beneath his shoes, and the regular tap-tap sound that they made.
Sweat broke out on his back. He didn’t look around, not because he was calm and confident, but because he knew he might freak out if he couldn’t see an exit. Deep in his mind negative emotions simmered—fear, regret, self-loathing. If he let them bubble up now, they might boil over and then there would be nothing he could do. Rintaro tried to keep himself calm by thinking of other things. He thought about his school life, his preparations to move, his friendly aunt, the memory of his kind and gentle grandfather and all the books on his shelves, the enigmatic smile on the face of the tabby cat, and the laughter of his classmates.
He stared straight ahead and kept on walking.
He couldn’t make out the figure of the woman, but he could still hear the sound of her footsteps. At least they weren’t getting any farther away. The anxiety in his heart began to subside.
His stride began to gain some strength. As he walked, he started to talk to nobody in particular.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about books.”
His voice rang out in the darkness.
No reply came. Just the monotonous click-clack of shoes in the distance, regular as the ticking of a clock.
“I’ve been wondering, exactly what is this power that books possess? Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?”
As he spoke a strange heat began to burn deep inside him—like a dormant fire that smoldered on despite all attempts to douse it.
“Books can give us knowledge, wisdom, values, a view of the world, and so much more. The joy of learning something you didn’t know before, and seeing things in a whole new way is exciting. But somehow I believed they gave us something more important than that.”
Rintaro tried to scoop up all the diverse thoughts that came fluttering into his mind like snowflakes, and turn them into words. Each time he thought he’d captured one, it melted away, but he kept on walking deep in thought, determined to express even a part of what he wanted to say.
“I don’t believe I have any special powers, and that includes the power to change anything. But if there is one thing I am good at, it’s talking about books. And I still have plenty to say. I’ve been thinking over the topic of the power of books for a long time now, and I believe I’ve found an answer.”
Rintaro came to an abrupt halt staring into the darkness.
“Books teach us how to care about others.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it still resonated.
The footsteps stopped.
There was a silence so deep that it seemed to swallow everything. Rintaro peered into the darkness but he couldn’t see the woman. Undaunted, he continued to speak to the presence he knew was out there.
“Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings. People suffering, people who are sad or happy, laughing with joy. By reading their words and their stories, by experiencing them together, we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves. Thanks to books, it’s possible to learn not only about the people around us every day, but people living in totally different worlds.”
It was still quiet. The footsteps hadn’t resumed. Rintaro took this as an encouraging sign and continued talking.
“Don’t hurt anyone. Never bully people weaker than yourself. Help out those in need. Some would say that these rules are obvious. But the truth is, the obvious is no longer obvious in today’s world. What’s worse is that some people even ask why. They don’t understand why they shouldn’t hurt other people. It’s not a simple thing to explain. It’s not logical. But if they read books they will understand. It’s far more important than using logic to explain something. Human beings don’t live alone, and a book is a way to show them that.”