Huh? No way… Can he actually see me?
I looked around the library frantically, as if someone might be watching me in return.
Then my eyes snapped back to the book. I kept staring, hoping for some kind of explanation-some sign that I hadn't imagined it. But the page remained still.
What is happening?
"What are you trying to do? Watching me like that… You're not from here. You don't have magic, but you're looking in like you own the place."
"Don't you have anything better to do? You've got way too much time on your hands."
I froze for a moment, looking at the sentence inside the book.
He's talking to me… he's really talking to me?
Curiosity flickered inside me. I glanced at a pen floating nearby. If I picked it up and wrote in the book… Would it allow me to communicate with him more? More than… just looking at each other?
Hm. No-that might be too sudden.
He seems guarded. And I… Am I feeling something else now? How strange. I don't want to upset him. What is this feeling?
I hesitantly reached for the drifting pen, holding it close to my chest.
What a warm feeling…
If I talk to him-will I finally understand what I'm feeling?
"I… I want to try."
I stared at the world he was in, then at the book resting in my hands.
Slowly, I let the pen's ink meet the paper, my hand trembling just slightly as I wrote the first words.
"Um… Hello."
"Can you see me?"
I stared at the words, waiting. I looked at my trembling hands and asked myself-why is that so?
I really want him to reply to me, but… did I seem like someone who'd harm him? Did I seem too forceful?
Then, a new line appeared.
"You're not supposed to be here."
"What, do you think you can just watch me all day? I don't need some random stranger peeking in."
"But… What is this? How are you doing this?"
He continued, his words dripping with a mix of confusion and irritation.
"I don't know what you want from me, but you're messing with things you don't understand."
I hesitated, the pen hovering just above the page. My hands were still trembling.
"Did I scare you…?"
"I'm not trying to hurt you… It's just been a long time since I've communicated with someone."
That warmth again. It rose quietly, like a ripple in still water. Was it guilt? Nervousness? Or maybe… hope? Or is it something more than that…
I clutched the book tighter, watching the letters slowly fade and waiting-justwaiting-for him to say something more.
Waiting for him to reply, I drift around in the air with only the sound of the clocks chiming and the sound of my own breath.
"I guess it's time to close all the books in that section and move on…"
The books that drifted out of the fantasy section all went back to their own place… all except the book that I chose to hold in my hand. I didn't want to let it go just yet…
The book opens itself to show a few more words that appear to be for me.
"You're… strange."
"No magic. No presence. And yet you're still here."
"Don't expect me to make this a habit."
I looked at the pages with a slight smile on my face.
"So… you're at least willing to talk to me."
Then I paused.
A smile…?
When was the last time I…?
I tried searching for a moment like that in my memories, but the answer didn't come.
Has it really been that long?