He was an avid reader so they showed him their library. He should be safe in there, they said. But the shelf of books was anathema to Oliver; a haphazard mess of colour, size and genre.
His eyes ran along the titles on the spines. ‘Bird Photography,’ The Forge of God,’ ‘Cydonna…’
‘Not even in alphabetical order,’ he mumbled under his breath and his fingers twitched as he considered how to rearrange the books. As he did so, pinpricks of sweat began to appear on his forehead and his heart rate increased. He relaxed a little when he noticed that a novel by a man called Heinlein had been plonked next to a James Herbert but sighed loudly upon the realisation that a bunch of photography books were on the same shelf.
‘Different genre, different shelf,’ he muttered and began to chant it like a mantra as he emptied the shelves and placed the books in piles on the floor. He was soon so engrossed in the activity that he didn’t see his sister come in.
‘What on earth are you doing, Oliver?’
He glared at her. ‘Just arranging the books.’
She nodded and smiled then quietly closed the door.
‘The OCD,’ she whispered to her husband. ‘It’s worse than we thought.’
This post was for Sunday Photo Fiction
Flotsam and Jetsam 
OCD is an awful condition, forcing someone to have to do something or they become anxious. I think you captured it perfectly.
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Thanks 🙂
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Well told. Sums up a lot of the anguish.
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Thanks, Graham. Happy to be back after a break 🙂
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Great story. I do like an organised bookshelf, though maybe not to the extent of reordering other people’s.
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Haha thanks, Iain.
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Poor guy would have a fit if he ever came across my bookshelf! Very well written.
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Same here, Angie! Thanks..
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It’s sad that he has OCD and pretty badily. On the other hand, if anything needs organizing in the house, it’s a good way to keep him occupied.
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Poor man, hope he gets to enjoy the books eventually. Great story.
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Thanks!
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