The key to the door

Apr 3 2022 | Sunday

Hello, earthling.

Recently, I read Coraline by Neil Gaiman for the first time. In the foreword, he informs the reader how he wrote it for his daughters. That was lovely. Stories are magical but to have someone write them especially for you is beyond magical. That's one of the purest forms of love because it's like, 'See, here's a piece of my heart for you.' The entire foreword was very sweet and heartwarming, and I was so happy to read it that I slept with a smile on my face. As someone who writes, I was rather fascinated about the curious way in which the title of the story came about. An accidental title, how interesting!

Whenever I read such stories I am so happy to be reading them but there's always a slight pang in my heart for not having read them sooner; as if I was missing this significant piece of my soul, and I didn't even know about it, which I am happy to have after all that time but also sad for getting it so late. I just wish I'd read it sooner, or somebody had read it to me, preferably when I was a little girl. When I thought of the women who had the good fortune of reading Coraline when they were little girls, I was really delighted for them.

I learned some very precious lessons from Coraline, and I reminded myself of my belief that the right books have a way of finding you when you need to read them. They come into your life precisely when you're ready for them, and some books change you and impact you more than others, and Coraline has impacted me a great deal. Although she's a little girl she goes up against something truly dark, evil, and powerful in order to save her parents, herself and others.
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Thank you for reading.​
Sahar Afreen

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