The Dark Is Rising

Can’t believe it took me six years to finish reading a book series.

I found The Dark Is Rising series in MCKK library. A gem of a book, if there is one. A fantasy, about the struggle of the Light against the Dark, with backdrops of the British Isle and Wales. A five book series. I read the first one, Over Sea, Under Stone. Then the second, The Dark Is Rising, which was spectacular. Third, and then fourth. But then I halted, since I couldn’t go any further. I remember rummaging through the library shelves for the fifth book, the last one, but it’s just not there. No! It’s NOT there! How can they do this to a reader? The search in frustration yields nothing. And the fact that the library doesn’t have an index offers no help either.

Ah, that was my early reading years. The time when my sources of books were the library and my friends only, since I couldn’t afford to buy them. So I just resigned myself to the fate that I will never be able to read the last part of it. Even though, somehow, the fact that I never completed it renders it special. Like Venus de Milo.

I remembered about the book series when I was looking for summer reading materials this year. Found them at Kinokuniya KLCC with the price tag of RM200. Oh well. Cheaper at Amazon, but waiting until I get back to the UK is torture. And good books are worth their prices anyway.

There’s something enchanting about finishing the books that you started reading when you were young. About following a long story to its end, or watching the last season of a TV show. There was a sense of excitement, but also a tinge of sadness, knowing that it will end soon. I reread the whole series again to refresh my memory. Then, time for the last book, Silver on the Tree. I flipped through the pages, savouring the details. Though a bit reluctant to meet the ending, there’s no stopping it once you started reading. If you’re a reader, you probably know what I mean. An engrossing journey, that you can’t tear away from. The trademark of a good book.

I finished them yesterday, on the comfort of my bed, late at night. And I put them on the shelf, sealing the magic within the pages until another day, when they’re opened again to be read.

Hmmmm, now that I ran out of new things to read, I guess I’m gonna spend some quality time with Walker, heh heh.

Yaz