Every time a new book begins – and the word "begins" has many meanings – a strange emotion overwhelms her.
What prevails inside her is anxiety, a subtle tightening in the stomach, and a huge eagerness. Eagerness may be the most intense feeling. Like when you are about to take a trip you have longed for passionately and on one hand you anxiously check over and over again if you have everything right – ticket, passport, sunglasses, hat, swimsuit, books, maps, comfortable shoes, and anything else you think you will need – while on the other hand you are already making plans for how you will spend your time, which museums you will visit, on which shores you will swim, where you will take your walks, where you will have an unforgettable drink to the sounds of a guitar played by a passionate flamenco musician and – most importantly – under the gaze of the most charming man you will ever meet in your life.
Despite all the planning and detailed preparations, the beginning of a new book – just like the departure for a trip – never knows how it will unfold and is completely unaware of where it will lead her, on which shore of dreams it will cast her half-drowned by emotion, on how many mountain peaks it will take her to gaze at the plains of stories beneath her feet.