Willemijn

On my birthday, of all days, my colleagues at the library offered me a farewell lunch, because I'll be working at a different location soon. When I walked into the restaurant, there were already a number of colleagues at the table. They got up and wished me a happy birthday. A little awkwardly, I sat down at the plate where they'd put a gift. "It's for your birthday," someone whispered. Once everyone had sat down, my colleague Anita spoke up. "I know you hate speeches, but you're going to have to hear what we have to say. Every library holds plenty of good stories, and we know you do like those. This Ghanaian basket is filled with short stories as well. Stories that relate to your work and your life. But before we give you this basket, we want to give you one last assignment: we want you to write your story and send it to Return to Sender, entitled 'My story'." After lunch, I walked home alone, with an enormous bouquet of flowers and a beautiful basket. Once at home, I took my time to read it all.