I found the bookmark on a sidewalk outside of a used bookstore. It looked ragged, but I needed one and figured it could work for the time being. I was too tired to walk back in the store to buy one for nine dollars with that metal clip and a cat's head on top. Old school cardstock bookmarks were my favorite. So, I took it off the ground, brushed off the little dirt there was, and placed it in the new thriller book I bought.

Damn, this bookmark must have seen some bad days.

Now I'm halfway through this book, hoping this bookmark doesn't fall apart.

My mocha latte burned my tongue. I guess I should have asked for a piece of ice in it.

"S'cuse me, miss" A little girl approaches me.

I brush back a loose strand of hair and say, "Hello, there."

The little girl stares at my bookmark as it lay flat on the table. She points and says, "That's my bookmark. I lost it on a trip with my Mom to the bookstore."

She did lookfamiliar. One of those whiny kids left for dead in a maze of bookshelves. She must have been about eight, but her Punky Brewster pigtails suggested she was younger.

"So this is your bookmark?" I ask. "I was wondering where it came from. If you can tell me what it says here, I will gladly give it back."

The little girl looked a bit confused. She smiled, showing her missing front tooth. "I don't remember."

That was it. The girl shrugged her shoulders and walked away, defeated.

Apparently it didn't mean much to her.