One lazy, summer morning when I was 14, I was looking through a balikbayan box that we used for storage. It held fairytale books, school books, and exam papers when I was still in grade school as well as some old toys, shirts, and other random things that we were not ready to let go yet.
With my hands digging through some old stuff, I was hopeful that amongst all these dusty treasures is something that would take me out of my boredom.
And then, lying at the bottom of the box I found Around The World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne. The book was a little dusty but undamaged and as I wiped the dust off, the memories of how I first saw this book came to mind.
I remember it was sitting on one of the shelves at a well-known bookstore in the Philippines and immediately I was drawn to the cover art of two gentlemen, one in a blue coat and the other in black with the world map behind them.
At that time in my life, I only ever read fairytale books and comics because they had pictures in it. So, I've never appreciated the realistic depictions of man on book covers until that day. Today, however, that book cover would not impress me as much. But to my 14-year old self, it was beautiful!
I loved how the cover looked real and not at the same time. Like it was a scene from a movie. As I moved closer, the title became distinct and I knew that if I gave it a chance, this book would take me to a grand adventure!
However, it was wrapped in clear plastic so I couldn't skim through it to check if the pictures in it would be as beautiful as the cover. I had to put my faith in the blurb and the cover art that this would be a fantastic read. I asked my papa to buy it for me and when we finally got home, I excitedly opened the book and was instantly disappointed.
There were no pictures. I did try to get through the first few pages but just got really bored and so the book went to the balikbayan box and it would never see the light of day again until a few months later.
After wiping the book clean, I brought it to my room and started reading. This was when I finally unlocked my imagination. I finally started to see in my mind what the characters, Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout look like, how they act, and how they speak. Finally, I recognized who the gentlemen in the cover were.
Sometimes, it's as if I can hear everything that was going on in the book, from the characters' conversations to the sound of the trains, the boat, and the circus! I was excited! Every scene in the book is like a movie playing in my mind. And to further immerse myself into the story, I had beside me a world map so that I could follow Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout on their adventure.
It truly felt like I traveled the world without leaving my room. I felt really lucky because I got to ride a train, a boat and watch the circus without spending a single cent. When it finally came to an end, I was left sitting in my room, enchanted with everything that I had just experienced and starving for another book to read. I carefully folded the map that had been my companion on my journey and placed it in my study table drawer. As for the book, it never went back to the balikbayan box again. Around The World In Eighty Days now has a place in a little bookshelf back home along with other books I have collected through the years. :)