Right now

I am sitting on a bench. One of many on a central street in Madrid. I love finding benches, and am a strong supporter of the fact that there should be more. It’s late evening on a Friday, and the sky is a brilliant blue on my right; a dark, heavy, menacing grey on my left. It might rain. It might not. I have no idea. 
I’m early for my next class. It starts at 19:00 and I arrived at 18:10. So I’m sitting and watching and listening. There are a lot of children around and, surprisingly, the noise level is bearble. The adults all look relaxed and no one is rushing. 
It’s most definitely a Friday afternoon. 
Walking here through an area I have never walked in before, I found an English bookstore. Don’t go in! I said to myself. Don’t spend the money you’re earning on something you don’t need! I have loads of books at home. Two are in my bag right now – one I am finishing, one is ready to start. 
But I pushed the door, and then pulled it (I was wrong the first time) and went down the three steps into oblivion. 
When I emerged, I hadn’t bought the 18€ book I had laid my hands on, nor that other book that I had forgotten about and really wanted. Snuggled comfortably in my (very heavy) bag was a novel by Harper Lee that I didn’t know about. 
Go set a watchman. 

  
There’s a thrush on the cover. Or is it a mockingbird? If it were a mockingbird, it would be a genius cover.