The Purpose of Libraries

Mrs. Elm’s eyes twinkled, brightening like a pool of water reflecting moonlight. “Between life and death, there is a library,” she said. “Endless shelves stretch out in that library, with books containing the lives you could have lived. It’s an opportunity to see how things would have changed if you’d made different choices… If you had a chance to undo your regrets, would you choose differently even once?”

Libraries hold the records of other people’s lives. Things we haven’t experienced, dreams we never dared to dream, and aspirations we never pursued are endlessly stored there. Life is short; we don’t have time to experience everything on Earth. But, we must make wise and informed choices. We must minimize trial and error. When choosing an unexplored path, we should first visit the library. Between life and death, success and failure, lies the library.

life, choices, library