The weather is not particularly kind today. There is a predicted strong gust of wind coming our way, and depending on the forecast, it could be anything between 30 km/h to 100 km/h. At least we’re nowhere near the north/west coastal area, which would bear the brunt of things from the look of it.

There is a bookshop near work that specialises in selling rare and antiquarian books. I’ve always find it fascinating to peer into the windows and see what’s “new” and admire the books with period covers and hand-bound volumes. I mean, how many more books nowadays that you see and still bear gold embossed letters with motifs framing their edges? Super cool, I tell ya!

Since I moved here, I’ve seen this bookseller at the main gate of Cité U nearly daily in the evening, either setting up the “stall” by displaying the books on the staircase (there are numerous editions of Petit Prince and in different languages), or chatting with punters (serious or otherwise), or trying to sell packets of tissue paper (10 cents each).

With his latest advertisement hung on the tree, I finally know name his name (Fabien). It has been a tad disconcerting walking past someone who regularly says hi to you but you haven’t a clue of who they are. I admire his tenacity, of staying outside and let fate chose the way things go. I also once saw him leaving in the evening – his bicycle was stacked with more books and he looked almost comical as he pedalled hard to go home for the night.