The me from back then who believed that "dreams come true." My favorite book I've ever read in my life.

I don't think I've read a small amount of books, but if someone were to ask me, "What is the best book you've ever read in your life?" I would answer immediately without any hesitation.

It is the "Emily" series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

For those who don't recognize the name Montgomery, perhaps they would know if I said she is the author of "Anne of Green Gables." Of course, I love "Anne of Green Gables" too, and I read the entire series up to "Rilla of Ingleside" when I was in junior high school.

However, the one I love enough to call my "all-time favorite" is the "Emily" series, consisting of "Emily of New Moon," "Emily Climbs," and "Emily's Quest."

Why do I love it? There are many reasons, but I think it's ultimately because the protagonist, Emily, was "a girl who couldn't help but write."

I also loved writing. Since I was a child, I had no particular merits and often thought, "Living is tough." But the one thing I could do even just "a little bit" better than others was writing, so I completely projected myself onto Emily.

The "Emily" series is also interesting as a story, and it draws you in deeply. The characters move and speak as vividly as if they were people I knew. I immediately became obsessed with this story. It has a slightly more mysterious, or perhaps spiritual, element than Anne, which I also liked.

Among them, there is a scene that is irresistible. Even now, just flipping through those pages makes tears well up in my eyes.

Emily dreamed of becoming a writer and publishing a book, but it didn't come true in reality, and she didn't end up with the man she truly loved, so she reaches her 24th birthday in despair. That day, she opens a letter she wrote to her future self when she was fourteen, titled "To the Twenty-Four-Year-Old Me from the Fourteen-Year-Old Me."

"Have you written a great book? Have you reached the top of the Alpine Path? ... Oh, my beloved twenty-four-year-old self."

The letter was ridiculously romantic and filled with dreams and hope. Emily put the letter away and laid her head on her desk. Then she whispered in her heart:

"You little, foolish, dreamy, happy, ignorant fourteen-year-old. You always thought that something great, wonderful, and beautiful was waiting in the future. You thought you would definitely reach the purple mountains. You thought dreams would definitely come true. You foolish fourteen-year-old who knew how to be happy."

At that moment, "the footsteps of fate" echo on the stairs. It was the sound of her cousin Jimmy's footsteps as he brought some news. It turned out that Jimmy had secretly sent the story Emily had written to a major publisher. What he brought was a letter from the publisher saying, "We will publish that book."

Surprised by reading that letter, and while still in disbelief, Emily says, "I'm sorry, little fourteen-year-old. You weren't foolish. You were wise. You knew."

I always cry my eyes out at this part.

The moment someone makes their dream come true is irresistible. Especially since the protagonist I projected myself onto makes a complete turnaround when she was in total despair. Since I also had the dream of "becoming a writer" and "publishing a book," I am moved as if it were my own experience.

After reading this "Emily," I became immersed in Montgomery's works. As I got to know Montgomery as an author, I realized that I could empathize with everything about her perception of "nature" and "people," as well as her sense of imagination and humor. I thought that if we had been born in the same era and the same place, we could have become best friends. A "bosom friend," as Anne would call it.

That desire became so strong that I landed on Prince Edward Island in Canada, where Montgomery was born and raised, walked through the places that became the settings of her stories, and wanted to pay my respects at Montgomery's grave. I made this happen when I was 21.

Today, thinking "I want to write about Emily," I read the scene I quoted earlier for the first time in a while, and I ended up crying again. Even at this age, I wonder if I am still dreaming somewhere in my heart. Wondering if the day will come when I, too, hear "the footsteps of fate."

Since I started note and began writing things unrelated to my work, I have also realized that I am starting to want to write novels again.