Safa and Her Loud Mind

Written by Safa Alhassan

After being lovingly reminded by people who mean the world to me, who know I’m not truly myself without my books, to actually go back to reading and get out of my long reading slump, I decided to go to the bookstore to buy my books.

It was a very normal March afternoon in Abuja, a typically hot and quiet Friday. After much procrastination that may or may not have involved me trying to get them to send me the books with a dispatch rider. I mean, any excuse to stay in my house at this point is very valid. I just said to myself, you know what, I’ll go outside today. If not for anything, but to actually feel the books in my hands before purchase.

I picked out my outfit for the day, which may have been the wrong choice considering how hot it was, but the cool breeze from inside the house didn’t make it seem like a problem for me at first. I wore my elegant black abaya with bishop sleeves, very comfortable and lightweight. I picked out a matching black veil and strode like a queen across my room as I admired myself in the mirror. I smiled to myself, did a little twirl, wore my everyday glasses, picked up my usual beige bag and a comfortable shoe.

I walked out of the house and strode towards the car, sat comfortably, and was off to the bookstore. I watched the busy roads and took in every detail, which you'd think would bore me given how overly familiar it has become. No. I find something fascinating in my everyday encounters outside the confines of my home.

That was how I got myself to one of my favourite bookstores in Abuja. One I’ve always admired, Spine and Label. A little backstory about this bookstore, however: there have been days I wished to go there, but the flight of stairs scared me so much. It’s on the third floor, and the elevator in that building has been broken for, well, forever.

Anyway, slow and steady, I got on the quest to conquer my fear of staircases, and lo and behold, I was panting and sweating at the second floor. Like a child, I started counting from the ground floor and wished for the life of me that I didn’t have to climb more stairs. Anyway, I continued my journey up the stairs to the third floor. By this time, I was tired but also gleaming from ear to ear at my conquest.

The view up there, however, is a million dollars. I stood for a bit before walking into the bookstore. The first thing you would notice as you approach Spine and Label is the doors, wide open, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of the display of colourful books even from outside. Also, I find it ironic. With doors that wide, you would expect a thousand and one people to drift in conveniently, as it should be for a place as amazing as a bookstore. However, it was just good old me, an avid reader with a mind loud enough and stories and characters so many they could hardly fit through those wide doors of Spine and Label.

I walked in, smiling to myself as I thought about this. Inside the bookstore was so serene and very quiet. Right now, I was smiling wider than I was earlier. I said hello to the sales representative, a woman in her mid-thirties who welcomed me with a warm smile. I made a joke about the flight of stairs that had made me too exhausted, and she offered me a seat after asking if I wanted one. I sat down, and she kindly faced the standing fan towards me.

I chuckled, but not long after I had sat did I jump out of my seat again, still sweaty in my long black dress and black veil. I pushed my glasses back on my nose and moved towards the books with so much joy. I knew the books I wanted, so I went straight to picking them out. I walked to the checkout point and dropped them there, smiling like a child and telling the lady that I’d be back.

After that, I spent a good amount of time reading synopses from the backs and leaves of countless books. Long enough to be termed unhealthy. I walked calmly through those books, some familiar and some not. I smiled through the books I’ve read and walked past others, wishing I could open each one and touch every book on that shelf. Books of all genres, especially hardbacks, which are my kryptonite. My heart melted at how beautiful some of the books were.

Since I got into that bookstore, NEPA or AEDC did not blink the light aka power, and for some reason, the bookstore’s generator was acting up, as I overheard the maintenance guy talking to the sales representative about it.

Right now, I was sweating profusely. My veil was damp with sweat. I wrapped it around my head, pulled off my glasses as my sweat dripped nonstop, blinding me for a moment. I cleaned my eyes and put my glasses back on. I was now regretting my choice of outfit. Who send me? Still, the sight of those books was enough to console me.

I picked some more books and went back to where I had dropped the others. I sat down, exhausted. “Pele, pele, sorry, there’s no light,” she said as I stared at my books. “I’m tired,” I managed to reply. Still, I jumped up again and ran back to the shelves. I felt like there was so little time and too many books.

After another long hour of walking by books, I finally went back to pay for the books I had picked out. I asked the sales representative a couple of questions about a book, which was a sequel to one I wasn’t ready to and in fact not going to read, as it was more like a coming-of-age story to me. I find those kinds of books boring and exhausting, by the way. I was going to just leap into the new book, which is book two. Since I’ve read a lot of reviews about the first book, it already feels familiar.

So I asked her if I still needed to read the first one, wanting another opinion, and she said it was a standalone. From her mention of another book which wasn’t related to this one but by the same author, i knew she wasn’t much of a reader. I smiled at her anyway and went ahead to pay for my beautiful books. The book was a hardcover, and the colours had already captured my heart, so I wasn’t even going to put it back.

I was handed my new books, and I couldn’t contain my happiness. The newest additions to my growing library. My beautiful babies. I saw a couple of bookmarks that weren’t too appealing but would do the job, so I picked, paid for them as well, and strode off fulfilled and excited to devour my new stories.

I love bookstores. I could literally live in Spine and Label apart from the fact that NEPA wasn’t cooperative, sha. Do you know that you could read and study in the serene environment of the bookstore with just a small amount of money from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m.? How in the world is it that cheap? Why are you not reading? What’s your excuse? The view from the bookstore is so beautiful. Even though books are quiet, they carry very loud stories. I was so satisfied to have been surrounded by such.

I walked back towards the stairs and descended downstairs. This time, it was easier. I spoke to my mother on the phone as I described my encounter at the bookstore, and she laughed. It was a beautiful time, well spent alone with the things that matter to me and the people that I love wholeheartedly, following me and pushing me towards my most beloved thing.

My books.