Carrot Ranch Communications March 2 Flash Fiction Challenge: In 99 words, no more and no less, write about a library:
Jane finishes browsing and checks out, new books tucked in her backpack. She avoids the area where the obvious homeless gather, near the restrooms, out of the weather. Their familiar faces accuse her: You belong here with us.
No. I refuse.
She stops at the third floor, splurges a few dollars for hot chocolate, then back on the escalator, clear to the top. Even ten floors up she can see the trees bending in the gusts.
The world can’t touch her here. She’s insulated. She curls into a chair, warm cup in one hand, book open on her lap.
99 Monkeys 
Lovely flash, Deborah and great library picture. All our local ones are pretty ugly unfortunately, but at least they’re open for the moment!
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I love this.
“No. I refuse.”
Such a statement of intent rather than avoidance 😀
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Ditto on Lisa’s comment. We had a local service run for years by a social worker and the public library where a small van and sometimes a bike would travel around the soup kitchens and shelters in town every week. They had plastic tubs filled with donated books. No money or identification was required to borrow a book. No fines were issued to those who did not return their book. They were just asked to return them once read. Due to funding cuts, the program was cut in 2014. It has now been replaced by the similar service at one of the inner-city community centres that were formerly visited by the van and bike.
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I love the library on a bike idea!
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A-ha! I like seeing that the series is now tagged (Jane Doe Flash Fiction). I hope you find incubation for your longer work in these flash scenes. Jane Doe is a powerful story. I like her strength in this one. What a view from the library!
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