Page 183 - The Midnight Library

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‘When he and Ravi decided they wanted to be rock stars, Mum and Dad

bought Joe a guitar and then an electric piano.’
‘How did that go?’
‘ e guitar bit went well. He could play “Smoke On e Water” within a
week of getting it, but he wasn’t into the piano and decided he didn’t want it

cluttering up his room.’
‘And that’s when you got it.’ Mrs Elm said this as a statement rather than a
question. She knew. Of course she knew.
‘Yeah.’

‘It was moved into your room, and you welcomed it like a friend, and
started learning to play it with steadfast determination. You spent your
pocket money on piano-teaching guides and Mozart for Beginners and e
Beatles for Piano. Because you liked it. But also because you wanted to

impress your older brother.’
‘I never told you all this.’
A wr y smile. ‘Don’t worr y. I read the book.’
‘Right. Course. Yeah. Got you.’

‘You might need to stop worr ying about other people’s approval, Nora,’
Mrs Elm said in a whisper, for added power and intimacy. ‘You don’t need a
permission slip to be your—’
‘Yes. I get it.’

And she did get it.
Ever y life she had tried so far since entering the librar y had really been
someone else’s dream. e married life in the pub had been Dan’s dream.
e trip to Australia had been Izzy’s dream, and her regret about not going

had been a guilt for her best friend more than a sorrow for herself. e
dream of her becoming a swimming champion belonged to her father. And
okay, so it was true that she had been interested in the Arctic and being a
glaciologist when she was younger, but that had been steered quite

significantly by her chats with Mrs Elm herself, back in the school librar y.
And e Labyrinths, well, that had always been her brother’s dream.
Maybe there was no perfect life for her, but somewhere, surely, there was a
life worth living. And if she was to find a life truly worth living, she realised

she would have to cast a wider net .
Mrs Elm was right. e game wasn’t over. No player should give up if
there were pieces still le on the board.