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Today was like any other day. The library was almost empty, and it was quiet, the only sound being the kindergarten that was running around and finding new picture books, and looking at all the old books gathering dust on the shelves. After all, it was in the middle of the day, at noon. So many people were at work.
Mystery was going around, his footsteps soft and quiet against the wooden floor, and the cart full of books he was pushing around. He enjoyed helping the local library out with small things here and there. He particularly enjoyed the quietness of the library.
He was at the library three days a week, doing any odd job that the library needed help with. Today, he was given the task to put books back to their spots on the shelves. Moving through the tall shelves and placing books back onto them, he was almost done when he saw someone come in. He recognized them immediately. It wasn't anyone he knew, he didn’t know their name, but he knew they were regularly at the library. He saw the face around a lot.
He had seen them so often that he had taken notice of what they were reading—but if he was honest, he noticed more than the books. Sometimes he caught himself staring at them just a second too long. Anyway, they were always reading a new book, sometimes even multiple books. But they never finished them, always stopping halfway or even before that. Though Mystery noticed all the books had a theme, a red string if you will. They were always reading some kind of fantasy book, whether it was a romantic comedy or a book filled to the brim with smut. They were all fantasy.
Of course, Mystery had taken note of them: how they always came in and found a new book, how they always sat down in the corner couch. And he even took note of the lack of them finishing books.
So, one boring day, he made a list. It started as a small list of his favorite fantasy books. At first, it was just a few books he liked. But over time he had added onto the list every time he saw them. And before he knew it, the list was over thirty titles long.
He had wanted to give them the list weeks ago. But he just never knew how to give it. Every time he walked up to them, his heart began beating faster and his hands got sweaty. He felt like he was back in high school, trying to confess to his crush. At the last moment he turned away and gave up. And just giving the list and walking away was even weirder. He could absolutely not do that.
With the amount of times he tried and failed to give the list, he finally just thought that maybe he should just throw it away. It wasn't that important anyway. It was probably just a bad idea to make the list to begin with. Who was he to recommend books anyway?
He finished putting the last book back on the shelf. He moved the cart back to the spot it came from. Walking back to the desk, he sat down. He pulled out the neatly folded list of book recommendations from his pocket, looking at it one last time before he was going to throw it out. His hand was hovering over the trashcan when a voice startled him. He quickly pulled his hand back to his chest, snapping his gaze up at the person in front of him.
It was them. Holy shit, it was them, he thought to himself, feeling his heart beginning to beat faster as he stared at their face—that was way prettier up close than he had even imagined, and he imagined a lot.
"Hello, I need some help," the person said. He looked at them with surprise. He had never talked to them before, not once. He quickly responded with, "Y-yes." His voice cracked with surprise.
"What do you need?" he mumbled out quickly.
"I wanted to hear if you had any book recommendations," they said with a small smile on their lips.
His mind immediately went back to the long list of recommendations still in his hand. Maybe this was the moment to give them the list.
He held the list tight in his hand, his knuckles almost turning white. Looking at her once more, he decided to just give it. He had waited for weeks to get the opportunity to give it to them.
"I made a list for you," he said, holding the list in front of them. "It's mostly fantasy titles, but I mixed in some other books I just personally like." He was so nervous, he could feel the way his breath hitched when their hand brushed against his.
He looked at them as she opened it. He saw how their eyes widened slightly looking at the long list. And before he could apologize and take the paper back, he heard, "This is nice. I have heard good things about some of these. Thanks." He was caught off guard by her nice comment, and that she actually liked the list.
"You're welcome," he mumbled to them as they turned and left. Going to the bookshelves to find one of the books on the list, he was left with a happy feeling. Though his hands still trembled slightly, it wasn’t just relief—it was the realization that he finally had a reason to talk to them again. He wasn’t going to waste that chance. Not this time.