A good story

A good story
Pulls you in
Makes you feel a part of the story
So often I find myself a friend
Of a fictional character
I follow their story
I hear their thoughts
I empathize
My own emotions mirror theirs
Heaven forbid, I leave them for a few minutes
For I carry their emotions into my own existence!
How bittersweet to reach the end of their story
Enjoying the culmination of events in one spectacular ending
But hating to leave them behind
For I've made a friend
Who I understand so intimately
Luckily, as the book closes at the last chapter
So it opens again at the beginning
And I can visit them once more