I read “The Day the Saucers Came”

and other Short fiction and Wonders

So then, I got out of bed and for the first time I found it strange to put on my jeans. In my haste, it was as if it was not the way I had always done it. But I wanted to get up right away. If you’ll read “The Day the Saucers came” you will not wonder and you will not wonder why.

You see, my collection of treasured books has grown in 2 months and I have realized that my favorite author is, indeed, Neil Gaiman, not Neil Gaiman and Jeannette Winterson (both happen to be British authors). I still can’t even spell her first name right. Does it come with two n’s or two t’s or both? It does seem logical that a favorite author of mine should have work I enjoy which isn’t limited to one book, the first few pages of another, and a few quotations. I thought I had begun seriously forming the collection by impulsively buying Winterson’s “Written on the Body,” the book I had claimed over the years as my most favorite, most sought-after novel and one that I would have brought with me if I were stranded on a desert island with three things. (That book, I thought, was a perfect addition to my autographed “Preludes and Nocturnes.” acquired only at the time when Neil Gaiman visited Manila 2 years ago.) But no! I gave it away as simply as I can say enough. Reading it again did not invoke the same emotions as it did or anything that might have come close. Of which, I am truly glad for.

The first set of books I had bought for myself is Nancy Drew Mysteries. Two are still in good condition and one perished in a termite attack. (I had the pleasure of reading them again last summer when I went home.) This was due to the waning number of books left to read at a book club I had a membership in. Yes, I was a member of a book club that requires a school ID, a small registration fee, and a few bucks for rental. I borrowed a lot of “Choose your own adventure,” Archie comic digests, and “Nancy Drew and the case of the missing…” (Fill in the blank). Of course they did not have all the volumes. I was forced to buy one, or two, or three. I promised myself that I’ll get all the Nancy Drew books when I am able to create my own library. I was only 9 then and not really sure how I wanted to have and to hold precious things.

Apparently, it took a long time for me to know better.

Now, I am 27 and I started putting it together in September. The salary I received was bigger than usual and I was itching for a splurge. I don’t remember why that was exactly but perhaps it was due to the fact that I had not granted myself anything as valuable as the Fossil watch I bought the previous year that came with three straps or perhaps I just wanted to have an excuse to stay longer at the mall (Please see the 2 prior entries) or perhaps I just didn’t have anything better to do. I didn’t. For that reason, I was sprawling at a corner in PowerBooks just when it opened after a few hours of hanging around the office which I had the pleasure of doing because I didn’t have to go to work the following day. I lounged on the carpeted floor in between shelves facing the second to the bottom row lined with Sandman Graphic Novels for about an hour. There were eight volumes available, out of ten, and I was bent on purchasing just one. (I do try, lately, to exercise self-control as much as I can, to restrain myself from giving in to all types of impulse which I still have plenty of.)

They were The Sandman Vol. 02: The Doll's House, The Sandman Vol. 03: Dream Country, The Sandman Vol. 04: Season of Mists, The Sandman Vol. 06: Fables and Reflections, The Sandman Vol. 07: Brief Lives, The Sandman Vol. 08: Worlds' End, The Sandman Vol. 09: The Kindly Ones, The Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake.

It was a bit difficult to choose when you’ve been a fan of these books for 14 years but it was also quite obvious what I should buy.


(cont'd. above)