Nostalgia built a big trap out on her front lawn, and sank it into a hole that she lined with bushes and a fence and a big red sign that said KEEP OUT – TRAP! Then she climbed up into the left tree and settled herself against the trunk with a book. It was one of her favorite books, one she’d read hundreds of times over the years. Nostalgia only read books from her childhood. Somehow she couldn’t find the energy to read anything new. And then money was always tight, too — what if she bought one and didn’t like it?
But this one she loved. She lost herself in its pages, and let the afternoon trundle slowly past, bathed in golden light from the book and green sunlight that filtered through the leaves.
Someone yelled from down in the trap. Nostalgia sighed happily and put her book away, climbed down out of her tree to talk to whomever it was.
“Hello,” she said.
“Excuse me,” said the boy in the trap. “I fell in.”
“I see that. Why were you climbing in there anyway? Didn’t you see the signs?”
“Of course I did.” He was indignant, his raw young pride ruffled. “Do you think I’m blind? My eyes aren’t that bad.” He pushed his glasses back up his nose with a self-conscious knuckle.
“Well, then.” She sat on top of the fence and pulled out her book. “Why didn’t you pay attention to them?”
“I’ve… I’ve never seen a trap before. I wanted to see what it was like.”
“And what do you think?”
“It’s kind of uncomfortable.”
“Oh, good,” said Nostalgia. “That’s right.”
“Are you going to help me out or not?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said, and started reading her book again, from the first page, breathlessly.