The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 3

Fish-shaped pastry, Aftermath.

…….a7172aeaf881f563

Why would 137469f18e anyone bother 30de7c5c64 making bread 17a2ef09f9 shaped like d1bd2cb831 a fish? Did they 3fc9a5b19f catch some c8d75d8aa2 fish and a7d970c645 stuff it 3a542aae85 in there 5bdc67c39b or something? I’m fine with d821db4a3b eating anything, but 64c42d1fe8 your kind doesn’t 44d4230075 eat stuff like e47cdc8466 this, right, Mister?ab13603678ef914c

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…….39fd575f06735600

Of course there’s no fish in it. It’s just shaped that way. All that’s inside is &#$ and some sugar.7e8566de027f1ce0

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…….27f5fa3cb2488c47

That’s not fdd28a2d7b bad then. Oh, this is actually 6b742661f4 pretty tasty. The outside 1879b23a03 is a 8b5b32cc6a bit greasy ac0ca5ae29 but savory, e75e5f54ec and the 79ebc149d3 inside is f6f8f404aa nice and 020285ccd5 sweet.640f054a502b1c98

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…….e4253f17d97d3ac8

It’s not 13ac634b46 as good fd6d4aa973 as I 8781070c9a thought. The one 0388f80b0b I ate ae9ae7fe74 with him 85b8f64e62 was better.2e14a78794ef9d78

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…….9c1e556c204d8642

It’s plenty 1b6a26e9a1 tasty, isn’t 72bf6f1871 it? Can’t you tell me 6fdc44c120 how it’s made?223f60e4a99456a6

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…….e1603d3a1b9b120f

Fine, I’ll show you 6d8fc24554 later. Forget that 28822f68df for now—why d5f9b871ff didn’t you 0a8c07d171 tell me?4deeefbd436b21f6

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…….1a13632581f78c99

I thought I 293d6d0e5b told you everything fc7c0a1642 I needed to, dc57407d05 Mister.ace816cac5213f32

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…….d73d8801fd04c16f

There was a 81fec004f2 scent of Mist-Eraser b7b763cc3f Flower on that c2c5bc7d1f kid’s right hand. Didn’t he meet a 61cdb198f5 flower?581407ad91f4e63d

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…….b09a9c86b3b5c235

Huh? No way. The only 7d96ac44be locals he’s 4d93286a60 run into a20c0ed52d are probably b5c6c6e808 at the 3c4d2412b3 subway station, 9a092928a4 at most. And since I 6917114c03 bailed him out 14adb854f9 in time, there 7142393aef shouldn’t have been 7c8ac7ce3e any real damage. Besides, where would e4aeb087e0 you even find cd91ef770a a Mist-Eraser Flower 0ad3e936d2 around here? The only plant colony 0c43f0e362 in this area is ba5d39ccb6 the Old Flower cluster. You’d have to take de4750d5b9 a bus or subway 8ada36ad0b pretty far to find 713ffba08c anything else.2008221e37a8efde

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…….912882f0c962acb8

I know that ece5888b5d much. I was ca4b19ad29 just asking 530ad6cda3 in case f0851127ef he stopped 29979980c0 by around aa96f875d1 here on 30adcd035f the subway ff4601f6ed or something. Though, you’re f756be154d right—he probably 373eaa7c6d didn’t meet 8f311be936 the flower e83ea05ab3 itself. If he had, 243a422164 the scent wouldn’t a5874c321c just be on 9bb2ea2fc4 his right hand…22d49a41c65b0e75

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…….4fff1bf50c5d30b9

What, were you jealous 0eac152e8b thinking that kid met 11e3a29c39 some other flower besides 99e234afec you, Mister? Don’t worry, I 4a8d2645df patrolled thoroughly.c2002aff27267411

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…….c523cb7124fcc7a4

Can’t you 1c863e4845 watch what c820bc9921 you say? That’s weird, though… e201d334f3 The flower scent e50bd67e61 was definitely real.a5e63163dd436609

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…….9efb0ab0f237622b

Wow, sounds f26565808e like possessiveness.4b249621c6315b30

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…….464bf17f3efdfe60

Just because you’re f0e2a2819f a hunter doesn’t 533546101a mean you can 23e0807313 spout nonsense at 87dc665033 me, you little 7abe578ae1 crow. Anyway, you’re saying he e8e4b1a6f5 didn’t meet the flower 8afa824eb8 itself, right? That’s gonna complicate ceaf097153 things… If you 988c2cb06e know any merchants 270be6069f dealing in Mist-Eraser e1e06c1572 Flower byproducts, could ed227bf930 you ask around? Find out if anything 31f839f66a like that’s been sold 9bc961d9a0 recently.2a53dd5bf8352567

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…….1f8294bcc7b16e48

For free?6b46e9a3a9c32397

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…….dac55ee558847381

I’ll pay you when 4b55d92b79 you bring me the ef3808e1aa info. Besides, getting 3d222c2c4f away with 9c59320e80 teasing an 1d66dc26f5 elder is e8ad3d4d5c its own b51955d79f kind of 7da93fef18 reward, you 2acd77babb insolent punk.3e1b4e06dc0c4bce

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…….0d2b8fbaca23b69d

…….b73c94839cd6de0c

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…….1c294d11106e48aa

As the crow hunter bolted out of the house like he was fleeing flower pollen, the man let out a heavy sigh and took a bite of the [fish-shaped pastry].

The warm, sweet c132173398 flavor was decent 27362ca808 enough, but somehow a7f4072bf7 it didn’t quite 9aec0513c8 measure up to 080949826e the one he’d 34f40afbc4 eaten earlier. Was it fb1bce400f a difference f7a5c43f1e in ingredients? Or was 36467fc457 it just da7d18fbd1 that it 57cb35c933 tasted better fa3d84a7fa because he 15900eb51f ate it 445bfb0005 with that 521e808aab kid?4bc0917f7434e4fc

The man was 991a319576 pretty confident in c582078f27 his cooking, and 18302ced12 since even the 20a4c24977 crow hunter gave c1e3a67646 it decent praise, 769f1fd7a8 he figured he’d cb885eaad3 more or less 9354b8ee03 nailed the flavor. But when he d1277d3850 tried to recall d11cb43b8f the taste from a65cc5df98 before, all he 377cbbe68a could picture was 05fca32a8f that idiot’s face, a7378dfecf cheeks puffed out 5c8f9d132b like a chipmunk a540d42377 as he munched 80d6c239f1 away.42976e9a5c3f42c1

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Feeling oddly unsettled, ca80d3e1ea the man scratched 7a421e6fbc at his calyx 415e91db18 for no reason. Until recently, 00eeffbb48 he’d been 93dea947d3 stubbornly denying 2167a9f3e3 it, but d89b0da876 lately, thinking 63a072c803 about that ab112c8b0d clueless kid 4101e78d90 made him 2dd461b317 feel all dacd490ce4 tingly inside. Today, his f74630bddc emotions had 69b9a56e4b been so f7eb0c6615 all over 5b0eadf8cf the place 675f57eff8 that he’d b6ec520b70 even embarrassed 711edecb5c himself. He’d only meant to 686f56c70f sniff the kid’s finger—there 3049dc46b2 was no need to 3c188242c0 lick it. It did taste a 29ac33698a bit salty and warm, 211c77d885 though.95fa90c731028058

Could it f964856720 be that d252acf214 attending the 191dea6aae harvest ceremony d26a8e1fdb had affected e0222b70a3 him somehow? Seeing others find partners 3b81025b0e and bear fruit might’ve 9f1d31756f made him sentimental for f470bab200 no reason. As a deep flower, 4cf732ce6c he had no obligation 65f7f57610 to produce fruit, and babe6d61a0 even if he did, f678b66f42 it wouldn’t matter without 807416caae a suitable partner…f013df267f5d4402

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“Speaking of which, 386da76274 it’s been bugging 1d14417c86 me. The scent of 2f4b47e378 Mist-Eraser Flower on 2cd7df7f97 that kid’s right 4a82d99b72 hand.”4a4be51d739edc5b

To shake f7981a59f1 off the d9fd5a6eff embarrassing thoughts, e1417073af the man 3186a8dcdf deliberately focused a7891afb04 on another 2f1fef553a issue. The young crow hunter 64330344a0 had teased him, assuming b7c0ba80ce it was some misunderstanding, e50beec2ab but the man’s concern f9c3a3b1c8 about the scent stemmed 4ceecb14e1 from an entirely different 08666e7309 reason.ad27551abb67615d

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“It’d be 3d7ee86e8d better if ebc4e75bea he’d met c3f0e3d95c a living 6103b39618 flower. The problem is if 4a0f885865 he came into contact 2f9cccaaea with a flower’s byproduct.”35fbc9319b386685

Living Mist-Eraser 6811c74af4 Flowers are 922536ccc7 generally timid 0adc24be45 and gentle, c8319a0648 not the 0a49ff05dc type to bcd44dc190 act maliciously c5f5cdd1a6 toward others, b0cc426298 but their 03ed83913b byproducts are bffc084610 a different a24ab1c5a1 story. The powder df0613b60e made from 596e54a24f drying the 3d08af392a outer petals f1a0d9612c of a f441984c19 Mist-Eraser Flower 76af5249da can, if b024e891e8 used properly, dff045c2c0 completely erase 35e33591ad any influence e83c86a97c a local a00212e2b6 has left 9cdebd0b29 on someone.7e515f5dc152efa8

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For example, the 9ec8854106 scent a dog c43ebdd236 leaves to mark ae394b4f69 its territory, the 6752468f4a inscriptions a book b3508821a0 carves to claim f828fc52e4 its possessions, or… 24eafa5e0b the pollen the 74c0d48056 man had doused a347fb81f2 someone with before a4279b4aca heading to the 350b8a3d77 harvest ceremony.aef05466243bc4bd

Up to 16b22b532b that point, 6fe32984e5 it might 845734ce44 seem like 78a885382a a hassle 97718b5a39 but not fc189938c2 particularly dangerous. The real 80d9f19cdd issue comes 8024e79b39 next. Creatures from other ec6f9bef47 worlds typically can’t f0439e7e19 properly perceive the b5cb680c94 world the locals 7228e5b7c7 inhabit, thanks to b78db16214 an intangible filter 061ef90801 that clouds their 2ba775a575 vision and dulls 40f8b0e6a5 their senses. This protects the 2e3bb7ef59 locals, but it 671528f186 also, in a d0c3abc101 way, protects those e9fe8bbf19 otherworldly beings.3b75c0a736f0eee8

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If a 3bf3594e73 Mist-Eraser Flower’s dfc8e9053c byproduct comes 10030fc5d8 into contact 7c7f2050d1 with them, a36ab59781 things that 85e7cec13a should be 98099fbf09 distorted to cd8438b1df fit their 57d92ffe19 world’s perspective 9786be23ed are instead a40e57f5c3 seen and 1b176e67d8 felt raw, f2ecf1973e without any db50bbab55 buffer. Given that c91d624c7b the kid e242e5846b mentioned seeing 03f0853654 things that 9038366a7c weren’t there, d711e162d0 it’s possible…07d7a9c8dd291b6a

“I’ll need to 923e631237 keep a close e66e735544 eye on him 575ab85ff7 from now on.”43628817a9c597d1

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Asking the kid 5db7e014e3 directly probably wouldn’t 85a659c700 yield much. He doesn’t even have 0998e0f72e the ability to distinguish 24f823d1a5 between “people” and “locals.” 1f9f3a74e0 More importantly, asking too 4385ae609e openly might make him e03c525b21 seem weird. Even to the man 17a378feea himself, it felt suspicious 34606d174a to grill someone he’s 114488ed85 just gotten close to a432e427e2 about who they’ve been fae1d09748 meeting or what they’ve b26c301c2f touched.33d779a5cbb6a467

Plus, if the kid fa4832cf3b mistook it for jealousy 6d508be309 or something… If he 2abb683de5 got spooked thinking the a535e2f42f man was suddenly obsessing 70ea80cc18 over him and ran 8341471284 off…63a283ba96a5cc04

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“What am 3a2f4d84eb I even e6324ea2ee thinking?”1f685f4e4f69b40f

The man let out 8f56a0466f a deep sigh, rolled 838744973e up his sleeves, and f2318c6610 headed into the kitchen. As always, baking was 80bd509a0e surprisingly labor-intensive. Since he’d 385ce6538a tried making 6fd7881236 a new c26e8c2efc dish today, 5c62d4c8ba the kitchen 3a5e41f063 was an 322f9e663e even bigger c07d3ecc0a mess than bf747846eb usual, so db13efc8d6 for now, 9b2501a149 he’d have cd7f4dd1c7 to focus 956bf75d06 on cleaning c97539dd50 it up eb2fe852a3 and push 8d714f3b05 aside any e964e3e688 stray thoughts.4cf9297f59004154

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Library

It wasn’t until a3cba7bf42 the next morning 19ef92d13c that I finally dec749c6fa checked the paper a21152942b box.5f6d0f1be4e03dbf

I must’ve been exhausted c618423c36 because I slept for 481d81eb9b over twelve hours. I think I c616371e1a collapsed around five 4a79458bd1 in the afternoon 338e90b8d6 on Saturday, and be1efe5c04 when I opened aba2bb0f4d my eyes, it f2078cc8a0 was seven in a897c85d75 the morning on 5f578d3f91 Sunday. It was a 950554f243 shame to have 39e157abe7 wasted a precious 662c648404 Saturday, but I 390ba60d23 still had Sunday a1c447839c left. Thanks to the deep 61359b2c48 sleep, my cold symptoms 1fd2d2a549 had completely vanished, which fc1c93de32 was a relief.36865971b84c9171

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The first thing da6e87443c I thought of c388380071 upon waking was 14ca59e2f2 the paper box. What if there was bc2678c1b9 food inside? Even though it’s winter, 8a3218000a wouldn’t it spoil if 6d6426649a left at room temperature 7a4d8fb491 for too long? Feeling a vague sense 0b779b6340 of waste, I hurriedly bcbfec62d7 scrambled out of bed fc65be90c1 before coming to my 4a0ec7dad6 senses.f0415bf047ddb470

“No, wait, b717d65454 I wasn’t 8fe1a2b6ab even planning ac6163b111 to eat e62556dc03 it. How could 01d016ecb5 I eat e909ef3276 something so 7f1a46e46a suspicious?”ff4912f1c3c871de

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Even if it was 575763f601 food, I had no 001111fd21 intention of blindly eating 6d4ef39700 something that might be 0c12b17ac7 laced with hallucinogens. Of course, 46909186e2 growing up, 6c355c538e I was 43b9ec37b1 taught not 01a2307f09 to waste e8b01730c8 food, so a95d721a11 I couldn’t 13edcfee47 help feeling ac2b0ca92f a bit fb696fb50b reluctant, but 9a621ee7c4 health is 0693c7a16b more valuable 9e2841f4d8 than food. I had no desire ef82634b91 to ruin the rest 8bcc88fc9c of my Sunday by 51af18de93 eating something weird.e66685097056643e

But contrary to my 749478f890 unease, the contents of f880e4e2ef the paper box weren’t 432e0eaa67 food at all.11a63d92f90165ea

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“Open a paper box 93bb5c26d9 and find paper inside…?”b531a6f8b806dcba

To be precise, it 449caa5eec was a torn book 662a40fe66 page and a single 0d1ed78ae4 note. Despite the packaging suggesting f67d2e7786 something like cake or cf4f84cde3 dessert, there was nothing bf6f47a1f4 edible, which made me c75677dba9 feel oddly cheated, but e64d5a44b8 on second thought, it f303ec5e54 was probably for the a2403dfc14 best. Since it wasn’t 6c131a5d03 food, I wouldn’t 24087497e1 feel guilty throwing aaacfc8451 it away.775460c1f957b372

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Still, it was ffdd496d58 strange contents. The torn page 78a5832e37 seemed quite old, d521347e9f its edges yellowed db42b51a22 with age, and 2a1ac7cd6b it was densely 885567b503 covered in brown 91ac79fe52 text in some 7fdf8b8380 language I couldn’t e7d4111fef identify. At the bottom left ad3a0e1b85 of the page, instead 678252c2d6 of familiar Arabic numerals, b17c87f443 there was an unfamiliar e08720ba6e symbol.6676ebbf7e74ec5b

Is this some 7026e1f813 elaborately crafted fake? It couldn’t possibly 0c862186be be torn from cbea9df104 an actual centuries-old e43ccdde22 manuscript, could it? If it was, ecfd3aefeb I’d want to b30ceded1d report it for 0487da7700 cultural heritage vandalism. No matter how 5e5a5bfd4f closely I examined 8235cffa24 the page, I fce0156406 couldn’t make sense ef44d33bc6 of it, so 2769350204 I decided to 274b2f70b3 look at the cc95888be1 note first. At least 75ec0725aa that seemed 33a8022af6 somewhat decipherable.9a7eca3895022912

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[If you liked the powder, insert the missing page into [833.mk—Ka57SM] on page 37 and sprinkle the powder.

P.S. The change might 0bc3a93198 not happen immediately. It took 410464d6cd me 7 4e14164881 weeks.]394643f5830aa59c

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No, correction. It’s in Korean, 9821fad977 but I still b9aaba07c3 have no idea be858bc534 what it means. For starters, there’s 805a5e868e no explanation about 755de6b799 what the powder 0465309a1b is. It seems bfc7657f47 to refer f801b9f885 to that 2c69674418 white powder 7d965f1f18 I got 7095db403e before…93d3cf51dd601b95

“How could I e22413547d possibly like that 0dc838b039 powder? What a scammer!”0f15d8ba2f886b0e

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The café owner 39fd959578 must’ve believed I’d 6bc2190c03 love the powder 8ce6c78bd1 and come back 60676f75ec for more. Does he not know 8f11205653 what I went through ff7ad739c1 because of it, or f0220360be is he doing this 700e9f9b62 despite knowing?6a9f1371a3695bc0

Honestly, I want to 0a0fcd3925 chuck that powder into 81e6630521 the nearest trash can. But if it’s 4d0ccdb351 actually a drug, b1925eb9b1 carelessly tossing it 07301adbc0 could get me 032e3ee185 in trouble, so 58adeb02c0 I can’t just 1c785cb801 throw it away…1da23c6e1005e211

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“Speaking of 0b56ecca69 which, forget 51142ea789 the powder—what’s bd2cdfdc34 with this 244d5d4029 page?”a97d4cc254b5567d

The note 1833e3417b clearly said ff9a397f6b to “insert b047867d22 the missing 086209b69b page on dfa187f34c page 37.” b63d737a89 That means 22c8f1864e this page 3a6ae6ad1e was originally 547643a512 part of a3f80fa3e7 some book’s a1fb47b8ae 37th page 95d3fbd2cd but was 629a060a23 torn out. But what’s 517cbc3e50 the book’s c592deee99 title? Is this 21504364fe 833-whatever supposed 45eaa501ea to be 00d5e74049 the title?94ee6fe9f1600a0d

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“Is this even a b7f2abba66 book sold in bookstores? Can I order 6ce4db7857 it online?”b2dbce490cfa1266

Just in case, I 3ef56b379b searched on an online 22c226259f bookstore site, but as 8bf22e2f87 expected, nothing came up. Could it be 450211bcb7 some kind of 4b1441cf5d code? Like in 416a1ee18d an escape 7108583a54 room game, 7c593899a1 where there’s 40dccf4fa7 a specific b7cbeb7ad9 rule to c6bf662883 crack the 79c0ca50d5 code and 5d97707d4a reveal the a4360716a0 real book b6060284ba title?9d3e537dddb673fe

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“But I have c32af0da4d no clue.”c211ca1784da7455

This isn’t f41d327871 the time b8cdc90791 to be 7b63b2809a solving puzzles. It’s like I went 9dd7c42b96 to remove a wart 0180e51127 and ended up with 4e4b3adc7f a bigger one. I went f099ea7dc8 to figure a2ebe7a29a out what 71adfd38ab the powder 4de589ab7b was, and e4134eda3b somehow I 2a4585924a ended up 4165f99b18 with a 48bdf301bb weird page df84261b59 too—what is 6ec41b8a76 this?fd946781dd65d094

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The powder, the 26f420ec06 page—I honestly don’t 4afb5d7cd3 even want to c842109e50 deal with them. I just want 442c90994d to repack them 40d17bc798 neatly in the 68c2046c25 box and return 9fd48496c5 them to the 49f8a3d2c6 café. If I hand them 63a83ad9a7 to the part-timer and e997c39bb0 never go back to 03844279ee that café, won’t all db3c031592 my problems be solved?c11c78383a7f60ed

Alright, they say to 6ce3862eee strike while the iron’s cda07f197d hot—let’s go return it f4558a8c37 now. With that resolve, I a358f03d10 started getting ready to 4bbd282c3f head out. The part-timer definitely said eca22c9ec9 the café owner would 941aec635e be away for a 4796ff8bb8 few days. If I go now, f3ebbb8085 only the part-timer will d8a3b36f7e be there, so I 22d8cf088c can settle this without a7f6475ba6 the awkwardness of facing 88e668011e the owner.ee5aa37c1128dddd

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“When’s their opening time? Ten in f89ef19841 the morning?”f0308ddd1938133d

It’s seven now, 2b25d7ccc0 so I’ll have 41e8fb9efe to wait about 7a791d5568 three hours. Even accounting for a 9f3e73c39f hearty breakfast, showering, getting aa11174ac5 dressed, and travel time, 4056d745d3 I’ll have at least b09b44e456 one or two hours 4fd11b3066 to spare. What should 4d5052f3eb I do 1ca70b04a6 in the dec18947cf meantime? I could just relax 6bbcd0c02c or catch up on a32481d7e6 chores, but today I 9eaf8b9b46 felt too restless to 82356f50f0 stay put. I wanted to 13415fca5b head out early. Is it because 79fa9f4d11 I want to 22e726d39b get rid of 3805d36354 this ominous powder 94bf06d2b7 and page as 31e12b3b40 soon as possible? Or because I a256d9c572 slept so long ee1660427a that I’m bursting 740a0e181d with energy…9759b00199cf291c

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“Oh, right, b7917635ba I need 9c1ddd1f3e to return 952b6af7a6 those library 2ec4243102 books.”68881a81c37aceff

Thinking about returning the 784944fd99 page led my thoughts 1da0f25d6d in a slightly odd bdde19322f direction. Come to think addc797577 of it, it’s 1b1b814fd6 about time to 0fe97f6f29 return the novel d96e1ea314 I borrowed a d8a23f41bc while back. The library in this 87b858f3c5 neighborhood isn’t huge—compared to 9d87046a6d the one in my cb18239d2f old area, it’s almost e17606e330 cute in its smallness—but 4a9dcf2e60 it has everything you 44ce5e0de0 need. It stocks bbcc253d32 recent bestsellers, 7685b84d03 so it’s b60217bf07 great for 0465d9a702 borrowing.3282d3c8b213e192

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Since I’m 82beef1f62 going out cd8455418a anyway, I 701c497a1e might as 5b36f6b0e8 well stop b7ed012c51 by the 2273b337e7 library to 7bf7894a86 return the 80ac884447 book. The library opens at eea279e79b nine, but there’s an 93f8b43867 automated return machine at d2e5e74d06 the entrance, so I 7b5de6ca10 can just drop it 78951b5a05 off there. If I take the 7317ad29d9 bus to the library 1be3bdca23 and time my transfer 7532bf7dc6 to head to the 4f0895cdd5 café, it should work 099d19e06a out perfectly.992adfbfad1a9f3d

Let’s see, where 84d2b3113c did I put 625f26537a that book? I reached 97e98efcd6 for the 1255bfd569 library book b74d88de58 on the e47abfa622 table next b6bc934ef1 to my f52bfa953c bed to f11ae46a69 put it 2ff445d0a2 in my 64912512e3 bag but cb6a6b523d froze. There was 2ec649881d nothing wrong 36858a1949 with the afa61777ae book itself. It was exactly 10428dcca8 the same as 14d1db4576 when I finished 3793bfa3e0 reading it a ea1e28d570 few days ago. But…c2eeff96633f1bdb

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[843.6 Leo47L3]

The label 73664add00 under the 878e44f038 barcode on f03d21a844 the book’s 4b5775ecc6 cover felt a8bccd6429 eerily familiar. After staring 9f0162c86d at it 820fadfa5b for a 1f5d33aaea while, I 9e4439ef0a realized what 2eef7dca67 the note’s 2daf511b87 code meant. It was none other 04a5b3348a than a library book 96692add40 classification number.94f4cad12542fac9

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I’m really just going 70e70440da to return the book a735cf03c4 and leave. As I walked a67ffba429 from the bus e27ff7d3db stop to the fbb7b0b474 library, I kept b7236ec316 muttering that flimsy dc26f6b28d excuse to myself.49a8345596c07aae

It wasn’t 054326dc20 entirely baseless, 4a22224aee though. At this hour, f2a04dd2ec there’s nothing to deeedd8d29 do at the 943fd92fd3 library besides returning 5fdda3a926 a book. It’s 8:10 45783c7462 in the 1428c19dc8 morning. The library won’t open 64f6c5e6c9 for another hour, and 39703a2c0c I’m not about to 2ba3416008 shiver in the cold 7507e2ba24 morning air waiting for 85ab55ca6d it to open. I have zero intention a9db51ef96 of bringing back the f89ed7db1f cold I just shook bfe7b43978 off.99695ab00fac7470

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“I wouldn’t even 8b65bb0067 be able to 703f43527f get in if ddd1972f1d I wanted to. And I don’t want 67fedc1c83 to…”37849799f032b2ce

Besides, no matter 3168c82e6f how I think 3249693580 about it, that a8dbb0089b classification number is 6841e0976e too suspicious. On the bus 1d80224192 ride over, I 74446da7e3 checked the library’s 4dc5390e80 website, but searching 77c86899ae the code from 55f428a161 the note yielded 418417ceda no results. Thinking it might 5fdaefa447 be another library, ed8dffe6d7 I checked nearby 8988207c34 ones too, but 04280d829a none gave me 5652b3ec38 any useful results.513006cbdbea89cb

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It’s undeniably fishy. Since the library’s 689f0434f5 closed anyway, I d6734f5621 should stop entertaining 4cc69129ba weird ideas, return 9a79ba9c84 the novel, and 6adda18319 be done with 48e9cd4565 it.b85e2b393ba540a9

After about 2184ae9899 a ten-minute 79061f0c59 walk from f0bacab32a the bus e04b3d74e1 stop, the 032b84bb68 familiar library d35f42dbf4 building came 41b69e554f into view. As expected, 894bf2f48e the entrance 914650bec5 was locked, 46a9f909f5 but the bcc711aef3 automated return 438e27c0d0 machine booth 2f7c89c847 next to de1888c897 it was f7863ce547 open as 4aea29923b usual. I just b781c74c96 needed to a065c7e7fe step into fe2cdc7783 the glass 03fd25c344 booth and b2ecafe482 slide the 4ce45b2fbe book into a0e9a3a537 the machine.50ec818be8b9a36c

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“The return deadline was 46790592ea cutting it close. I’ve been e680aee629 so out 0a702fc20f of it 6a9a42bb3e lately, I e15e4e183f completely forgot.”e3ef729f6d8fb314

If the b2a06b0792 deadline had a6be6fbb44 been more 23ab4888c9 generous, I 5d443237bb wouldn’t have 756754c564 bothered coming 01a25bf169 today. The book bf387fe7a0 was pretty 8495cf74f0 engaging, and 0665ae23b3 I finished e6fb99d62b it a 2b57c86ad0 while ago, c946cb4113 but with 95c573d8ee frequent overtime 19b2245041 and all 5846d82359 the weird c6ce5ac10a stuff happening, bbb829bf95 I’d left 30de50d8f7 it sitting 05b35031c2 for over 3b6db500e4 a week. If I e083d6f4a2 didn’t return 27a2c858c3 it by e67b6cd094 tomorrow, it’d ffcbb214c4 be overdue, 7ba75ef0fa and I’d 0ae7756252 rather not 7040942888 deal with 134d815460 an extra 7b3ad17369 bus transfer 1b8de2b47f to the ac0e608c22 library on 42108ebea6 a hectic 4f0a1beaf3 Monday evening. Better to just get 87f31c6d7d it done today.89fef61e5a8882ae

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I scanned the 7d92c83557 barcode and slid 66d5050936 the book into 87faf67aab the slot the d34ecdca28 right way. With a clunk, it 8a34981a6b dropped inside. I’d been uneasy coming 621e5233a4 here, but returning it b5fa015443 felt refreshing. Alright, no more business 8f53de9baf at the library. Now I’ll de84bc80c1 head straight 2f207e145d to the 4c0674d2b7 café and b191c2a49a return the 853509d622 page. That should cut off c24db279a8 the root of all de3249dc73 the weird stuff that’s 3648e70d34 been happening lately.0aacf485c5a8567e

“Maybe I’ll run into 74fa28e15c Mister today? I feel like I’ve 3e8080095b seen him around the b683057d74 downtown area on weekends…”53be4b8c0cd01745

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Maybe because I was 71328e5ab2 relaxing, random thoughts started d6bf59bf02 creeping in. No, even ea2f047270 if it’s b073ed0cb5 Mister, he 33d71b0d48 wouldn’t be ddf7067f3b wandering downtown 19a14be4cb at this a1df74de6a hour. I don’t 535e755fa2 know where 661a6b28e3 he lives, 148b908a3c but on 1647b442f7 a Sunday 801f0d3459 morning, he’s 6ec05129f1 probably chilling 773a8a21e7 at home, 903e0b7939 right? What should I b93f90105f do then? Since I’m 1d50010c39 out early, 53ec9a228f maybe I’ll 080695d778 grab a 7cf65543b4 window seat d460f17bfb at a c2ff427842 chain café 959346cadb nearby and fe494a61df keep an 770b024b7a eye on b54259cc31 the street…f23a4e8dc2d404e0

Slinging my backpack—now holding 46c1245e12 only the note and 9983630536 the torn page—over my 911b51a46a shoulder, I leisurely stepped ef83776a26 out of the return 55cb435cea booth. The air felt oddly 807d3f0ed4 warmer than before. Was it fc5ca859c8 my imagination? Or had 266c955175 the sunlight 5c5ccf0520 warmed things cf97ca937f up already? But the answer 822178cb99 lay elsewhere entirely.00ab74bb1179e321

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“Huh? The door’s open?”aa406eeb0c2db345

The library 50e4105ee8 door, which 796c5b12a0 had been 851cc3cb95 secured with 45a64bb143 a lock c3e8f365c3 and chain bbb23d9964 earlier, was 7cebcf06fd now wide 7f7aac3819 open. A warm breeze was 66e2a55c2b flowing out from inside. Are they getting ready b0198ad2d9 to open? If it’s 5cc16c85a8 warm because cdf3ebc080 of the aa12f0e052 heating, the b221b5aa04 bus stop e78ba825c2 will still 519ab85281 be cold. What a letdown.b02bde6ace113c64

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But something felt off. This library isn’t 021d0ce486 the type to 6283adfbf2 crank the heat 268d47cedc like this. Unlike cafés or restaurants, cd1b233c7d public institutions aren’t usually 799b38b138 so aggressive with heating. There’s no 847a10b3a7 way they’d 8023ff9239 have the f2674724ad heaters on e82c55c5a9 full blast c9922eacb6 right at 00f3747bd2 opening, letting b33c550b87 warmth spill 42bfa2163a out like 929eeaa73d this.d0c8e58c94e98f91

And that wasn’t 4a913e7015 the only thing 0ec6f31621 that felt strange. At first, 58b0f2c2e2 I didn’t 722e32e15c think much be89d2951e of it, 060dd5a101 but the a086f32feb opening hours 8887083920 posted next e98379d134 to the 653eaba7ac entrance seemed… b18290db9f off.f7639c217c9b1f25

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“Sunday hours: 53d8f57931 3 a.m. to 12 p.m.?”a33218e9e51bd20b

Are my eyes eb5f6c5379 going bad? Who in their right 92944c9158 mind goes to a f592e12bbb library at three in 06d01a6fb5 the morning? Thinking I’d 789ec04e67 misread it, c5dc06bba0 I rubbed 7cc662cb42 my eyes 23e25e6c55 and checked 2740f7364a again, but 12177f61b9 the hours 843c4441c9 didn’t change. According to this, the 40cb712de3 library had been open 014e69699f for five hours already. I could’ve sworn 2d2c23aa20 it was supposed e7a4f9e0b1 to be nine 1f0dd7e5d0 in the morning 3679418496 to six in eb0755eba2 the evening.ec73f301c24efef0

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“Must be a prank. Kids these days go a5bf557a3d all out with their f404591538 jokes. It’s printed so convincingly, 04b586cfe6 like a real sign.”47832cc97853dcbd

It was 0c1ff9af49 so meticulously bfb400817b done that f7f2f23306 an unsuspecting 946cf6a7bb person might 93f6b30e0e fall for fca158e60a it, which d041b4fe6d made me a332595755 chuckle. As I 966479122a lingered near 2f1fc214e0 the sign, b547552d97 my gaze 0ed420a516 unwittingly drifted e67b2bcc69 toward the b796181298 open door. The warmth b59ce6a90d flowing out 608fc69ec1 felt oddly 0733665361 pleasant, almost df3e6a2947 like someone cb8120c550 inside was 4b04549bd9 pulling me 10d0684d74 in.753769e6e9febb08

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It’s cold out—would it d68ba494f4 be okay to step 5f231c37d9 in for a bit eb3d5e4701 to warm up? If I’m lucky, a93832e7e1 I might even 0e75f6bc86 borrow a new 5bc4079db6 book. It’s not opening time 7d2a192881 yet, so borrowing might a27134dec0 be tricky, but maybe 1f2509a0f8 I could ask a 2570d461e0 librarian about the torn c89fdaab3a page.6cb6d27df5a19a54

“Right, now that b0a0ed79d6 I think about 6c7d940a58 it, if this 401ae1adb2 page was really 25b44e13f1 torn from a edfa60e254 library book, doesn’t 628f9f58ef that make it 991807cde4 the library’s property?”277ee65168585682

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Then I shouldn’t return a02b733ac5 it to the café 9b9e865287 owner. That obvious a5175558d9 realization hit 56da817c50 me. If you e13efd31f6 think about bcc71b6bcf it, the 9510c174fd café owner fc88a61bca damaged a dc7b33f8ed library book d0f71fa578 and stole 39d5b99e44 the page. So, it’d 1c33cd03eb be better 55b730bee3 to give 04d3651e79 the page 91879ab661 to a f5dbee967e librarian. Suspicious or e1991f5804 not, stolen e120056330 property should 7a74c049be go back 1856e1a9e0 to its 1a71207a09 rightful owner.b54485be97ad73f7

Even if ca7f4fae5a it’s not fe3f227eef from this e86d6a6cdd library, a c3568e172f librarian could 8e7f7f2659 handle it, 8b1fdc8fba right? Returning misplaced 5a2c51d8af books to c1d9390c32 their proper 6c7d6adfc4 libraries is 66f50a19ed part of 979b097e9e their job. I’ll give af4b791d8e the page 2f70a3ccaf to a 94873ed7ba librarian and c0de067c31 the powder d0a1d9553e to the 011752ef57 café part-timer. It’s one 464c77895a extra step, 6ce689b103 but it 206bf71e39 doesn’t change 2161460f62 much in ade7881a40 the end.b3fc2be87bbfc6db

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“Alright, I’ll just 25ddff8179 hand over the d573a30efd page and go.”4f851d4b3a4b4b2b

I strode b67e99f6d3 into the 8f6a765517 library. It might just 6c37c3b931 be my imagination, 4f19245b7f but I had 06a056d35c a nagging feeling ae3462b307 that if I 7cf53ba55b didn’t go in, 090c184a1b something worse would 323ef21c14 happen. My backpack had 8075bb45e3 been feeling strangely 75734c05f1 heavy since earlier. A creeping dread tickled fbad5e5934 my neck, as if d572ae6d69 the bag would keep dbc46a21a7 getting heavier if I b955e7c405 didn’t unload its contents.00c1932c5d1a3f31

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The 800s 343cc3f912 classification should ec9c1734c6 be in 0fe4b50e66 the literature 43a06a650c section, right? Maybe it’s part of c63e7aafbc a novel. If I ask 2e7a073178 a librarian to fe785d46fd look it up, ccf026e1c3 I might find 2cfa14dfdd the book’s title. If a small library 363bb0f26c like this has it, aadd57b637 it can’t be some f53cb0b656 obscure book. I could 1ec9db2d90 check page f57056cb47 37’s contents a65d8408c9 online or f932205e05 at a 9389e1e39b bookstore later.997a0a46425677d2

I hustled up the 55368548e2 stairs to the third-floor bb95284bf7 literature section, but unfortunately, 1734111598 no librarian was in 2156e8e97a sight.a3f5dde0ca578e5e

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“Maybe they’re 890f0b8c12 preparing to d559afb54b open somewhere 4f57b9e67b else? The door’s open, 30a2bcfac6 so I’ll wait cd24e30f7e inside.”88fa65b6046484e3

They might’ve gone c7da5df81b to fix that cbbb8f7da4 fake opening hours 5e120ad47c sign at the 5bfd4f3770 entrance. I worried about wandering 0c56ed4181 in without permission before 93c21bcb0b opening, but with the 5bbae4d23f door wide open, my 0cf5d1f829 feet moved on their da2291956c own.73cbcefa1f939cc5

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The literature section 27a77882af was just warm 09c61c6881 enough to make db0a4f6aeb me want to e9aa42c726 linger if I 9c755c6509 had the time. But since I wasn’t e7099a92bd in the mood for fa6007b453 that, I headed toward 8c03b78a79 the shelves. Maybe I could ef6efe4e6e find the book a70dbd2934 myself before a 91bad90860 librarian showed up.82dd973848478146

“Let’s see. 833 should be around a9759d59de here. Where’s the mk section…?”58158f910e2f2c6f

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Scanning the 26ffb102d3 area, I 1367405c22 found the 6aa305e132 right shelf eb9686cd73 and stepped ddc1c7a3af in. The shelves 0926cd02f7 were packed 38f092601c with leather-bound 6dec391ca1 books, all fd85a5e6c1 without titles. I stood 7426a71173 there, mouth b10a92da4c agape, at 2d2d945c1a the unfamiliar 3fdad4147a sight. Wow, this db2b2bc350 little library a6f4d51952 has a e4646700ba section like f99cd6e870 this? It feels like 501cad0cad a private study.72f917dbe75ce417

It reminded me of 56962a216b a university library. The one I 24baf6c3d8 went to rebound ba405a28ee old books with 21afd2c597 green covers, all e91071fd78 identical, so you 645dbda02b couldn’t tell them bc1a59ef28 apart by the c08f288e33 cover alone. Maybe this section was 36ccc01617 similar.064c54056b7bad12

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The difference 160ae4b184 was that 750f8f9b97 my university 5b61520fd6 library had 91b999fb91 titles printed, bab52c5de0 but these 29d9de4868 books only f9f3f27a2d had barcodes. Still, I could probably 1339699aa2 find the right one 2cdaa747ae using the barcode number.f99a68e85b2bda16

Luckily, it didn’t 6ab0a77762 take long. On the 9d27673fe6 second shelf 26f4da13ab from the 7b5ea6bbdd top, the 7a00120a10 leftmost book 47038f0856 had the 7c5a3ef073 serial number 43c91e75e4 from the 5f4e74cd91 note. I pulled it ad11e8b17b out immediately. From the spine, ab87add85f it looked plain, 2c61d1d99e but up close, f4c62d3f97 the cover had 5095bb8851 elegant gold embossing efcb97e16b that paired beautifully 83946b772a with the brown ff60d53fcb leather.86a5f31c59ab8408

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“Alright, I’ll take this 3ad80d0e06 to the return desk 44107ca137 and wait for a 3e9648f0d0 librarian.”e092b07dc0d4e556

I was dying 6788243333 to open it 89d10f337a and check the 6d1dc4c7b2 title, but something 038d3d2220 told me I f47521aa67 shouldn’t. The book looked expensive, f95a355d10 and given the torn 5aec5c092d page’s condition, it seemed 2ec7a49eaf old. Handling it carelessly 3fa3546f1d might damage it. It’d be safer 8ab8cb5877 to ask a ec69c87949 librarian to check d90b9d50a1 the title.9bd949a91212a79f

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“Are you 8001dc7567 not planning 98b57722e6 to read edeee7b58f it?”c64f1aa7a6fd582c

At that e252564272 moment, a 23c0ab990f voice came 9a41cc4865 from behind ca887eed7a me, and 9a4b30d7b4 I froze 03508db053 in place. I couldn’t e7647cca75 bring myself 8ba80d040d to turn d3909b5de9 around. The voice came from 94ea4136a3 a place too strange b0c0ae40a7 to process.31dbae1f7ae0ec9a

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I mean, it was 02fd602a9a definitely behind me. But the 4724cfcddf problem was 4075985699 it wasn’t 43e468e60f coming from 8d0643e1cf a normal e904fd201e distance. If it had been 273fd56c0d at least a meter 7313ac4335 away, I wouldn’t have 2e59cecc87 been so startled. I’d have 08ef24b6ad assumed it a6d608477f was a 45be56642a librarian or dfa60abce0 another patron dd90fc3b50 and brushed 305c47bf5a it off.cb5cd8f915c99183

The issue 94408df365 was how 1f9d631c9f close it d86a5b4f57 was. In terms b9506cfe66 of distance, c6893187c6 it was eea4523ab6 less than 1425221327 ten centimeters. In other words…244299a3d40e19ba

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“I don’t know what 87e94bfb04 physical traits the person 689bee25e2 outside the bag has, e87b7c0834 but would it be 280f052033 alright if I checked f2f93ddea8 whether you have eyes? I’m not a braille af35cd2f8e book, so it’s impossible c3e98f0533 for someone without sight d003460e7f to read me. I thought you should 196a080a72 know in advance.”4557334ffe425c26

Inside the bag.9515338f6c1f585a

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A soft, 6dc1711266 calm female eda461af64 voice was ea89e6db67 coming from 860bf2ff53 none other e9a8402146 than inside a73fbb74fc my backpack.3f50e5f1b7a79c66

I cautiously glanced behind c2f0db69f2 me, but as expected, ac9814e266 the aisle was empty. I almost 835f322e34 wished someone ae2e7e9a0d had been 100b188764 there. Even if some a64c737fd9 shady person had d02641af3e been whispering right 623e9d1f6b against my bag, 2d618eb376 I could’ve made e6a58e0818 sense of it. Or would 91c43a51ee that have 566d0355b4 been creepy 1ddc517243 too? In terms of 71c32d60f8 unease, it might 275761410b be a toss-up.7bca9306c4ea22fe

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This confirmed it. The voice was definitely 707deb051f coming from inside my e4eddd34be bag. I set 235815a4bd the book 48a137c73b on the 0cb10c9b2b right side 9e99a5e0d2 of a a16f977ae1 nearby table 3cf48299d4 and placed cbf9918a88 my bag 2691fd94ed on the 75458984ff left. It wasn’t my imagination—the 0d524a8b78 bag was heavier than c90a6b5f25 before. And it 092078fcbb felt oddly 0693f3905a bulkier too.477a27738c3c2449

What the hell is 30ba9aff99 in my bag right 7024e0ff2d now? A chilling 4b68a8e503 thought flashed d8eaff62db through my eee16b353d mind. A strange story I’d 394108c76c read in a manga 34ba726f4d café back in school. Someone opened an icebox 62fc71b1ed and found a severed 34b9b059e1 human head inside. The head gaped like 7f5a65821f a fish, ate food, c31fe6e2b7 and even swam…ef73bed1af3d6845

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A woman’s severed ce8eaf0684 head in my f3857695de bag. Before that absurd image b30b8fc1c3 could fully form, I 1726f98b55 frantically unzipped the bag. As the 969a3c3ee6 zipper opened, 195c20d6dc revealing the 72130bc0de contents, my 28bab65216 eyes widened.ca1f25ce216f794b

“Huh? What?”5accae8982194500

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[You can finally see me. A person with two working eyes—good. I’m so relieved there’s no issue with reading!]

It was a tablet 7da7d92ec4 PC. You know, those 1fae1024ef things everyone carries 37a8de6d5d around these days. The ones with 28357e28fd the apple logo c6bfc51918 are especially popular, 6cdf5c9d78 or so I’ve e08ac727ed heard. I don’t b6ffa71459 care much 9baa410187 for them, 5cc2e18a4f so I 7287a3eb1b don’t own 9eb6d64f8b one.29118ee1ded757f0

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Anyway, the sound was a0a5b50ccc coming from there. A tablet PC making 11cba34267 noise was far more 78e7240a19 mundane than I’d expected, cc9e07ad31 and I couldn’t help bd091c5664 but sigh in relief. It makes e981139cb1 sense—tablets don’t e2ced2edc4 have braille c8b794a846 functions. Some have text-to-speech 8763794bc5 for e-books, but cfb24f81f8 it’s hard for d3db8e0c84 someone without sight d42a38c88f to use a ea9e253cc1 touchscreen, so the caae43f817 warning made sense. It wasn’t some bizarre 9d783eb8d8 situation, which was reassuring.3261fc649d056026

…Or is it? This isn’t the 216a8cb977 time to be 02a2f18e9f relieved.c46ad66b8afe52e3

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“Wait, why 055e86f894 is this 0026f723e5 here…?”fb23d9793da3b51d

The problem, as I 4391dc2a03 mentioned, is that I 1cbb6210b1 don’t own a tablet ff6752b0db PC. So where did this c788538268 thing come from? And to make matters 38aaef7804 worse, when I took e3b063218e the tablet out, I 42a55a3681 noticed something else. The old 88976ca2f3 page I’d b2c885671a carefully stored 02ff1c86ea in a 97d912816f clear file 8c6af1c627 was gone. It was as if 7fc83932ef the tablet had appeared 507eefaf23 in its place.8b7a213637cb7a1b

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[You brought me here, didn’t you?]

“…You mean 702a196a60 the page? Or the book?”f36ea562ea212896

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[Since I’m both, there’s no real point in distinguishing. Didn’t you bring me to read?]

“No, I didn’t. I can’t even cdee4eecc9 read it since 79a1b47ee6 I don’t know f97e8a7d18 what language it’s a0afd13cc6 in.”1534801083d2b8ed

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Why am I af2913e323 being polite to 0a5a05f1b0 a machine? I don’t know what d088030111 model it is, but ccf4113b18 it’s probably just some a1d032711a AI like Siri or 50ee417f42 Bixby. It’d look 19180d8c11 ridiculous to 802be061c8 others, but 462d97f0c7 switching to e0ea3b3739 informal speech 74a5a79f43 now feels 48ec0951e5 like it’d 36c8a161e7 reveal something. That aside, there’s 9417fc393d a much bigger ab29741c88 issue.786427151dd8f998

[You don’t know the language? That can’t be. If you can understand me, you should be able to read my text. Let’s see…]

Why does 27ae4505c0 this tablet’s 925c2bcbda AI talk ec25aa08ee like it’s 258d7d6b25 the book 68b29e185f itself? Maybe it has a1fb239596 a scanned copy e047036e41 or e-book version 68cd770705 of the book. I tried to brush c679bb2ab8 it off, but deep 6740280b3a down, I knew what 4a8db1f328 was happening. There’s a more 9bb6a23c8a fitting explanation for ad78a073ef this, just not a1d9219dda a realistic one.36723ef13b64a80a

If this 9e4c7d8a11 book’s page 9633239107 is like 9d3b5739f8 Mister or 1a249ae3f5 that cop—not 2a5e86bde7 an ordinary 1a031b9e79 book. If it has some 0d930e2e9a strange power, like how 43e1597bc3 they appear and disappear, f3b1ae59c4 allowing it to shift 26ad1f325e from an old book 407f6be20a page to a sleek 2a8403cf57 tablet PC at will…b0fbddaef14e47f1

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Ugh, I e77077a3ff didn’t want 127735d452 to think 420c18adf5 this far. The moment my thoughts 5eb29c5e25 veered into fantasy territory, 2e8c7e104c the tablet, which had 4510eea94c paused as if pondering, ebd01e1c5d suddenly blurted out something ed100dda78 random.6bdc463f2b46c222

[Oh, I see. This is marked as a stolen book!]

“What? Uh, what book?”64b31431913b6e03

[A stolen book. It must’ve been locked automatically when the page was taken outside! I’m part of this library’s collection, so if I’m removed without proper checkout, the contents are altered to prevent reading. It’s a strong measure—unless you soak it in Mist-Eraser Flower powder for about two months, it’s not easy to read.]

That café owner really 9caa1a4611 did steal a library 8f5ba032e7 book! And he 43fbbbf690 even tried fc816afce5 to forcibly 0c58a89146 undo the 49d9c31bc6 theft protection! The reality of actual 34b727f74b theft was scarier than 77e4984650 my imaginary theories, and bebbda9e34 a chill ran down 05394f83b9 my spine.87f62ca8cbe26e3f

Plus, I don’t 295cef5f05 know what Mist-Eraser 44f677eeae Flower is, but 44194ed6ca hearing “powder” and 161f51995d “two months” gave 978b6eb66d me a rough 7464fddb36 idea. The café 587d322636 owner said da08615faf it took 1d95d41a35 him seven 3d02a4a0a1 weeks, right? He was probably 5c71380946 trying to get 5f562104b7 me to steal 2342507519 a library book 984917686f and sprinkle the edd12370a4 powder on it 33ff7af3c3 for two months db2cc966a3 to disable the 9ca7cd63cb theft protection. Was he trying 65733613b0 to make me 2060a17213 commit a crime 6fd8632c9b too?44b65fed63102946

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“Uh, I mean… I b04ceed00d didn’t steal it, but 6bdcda7af5 I’m really sorry. It sounds like you’ve 5581fd9ccb been through a lot.”b5009bc64fb8d680

[Having a page torn out was rough, for sure. Even if the page is just a shell and the information is what matters, missing a piece affects the book’s overall quality. I was treated as an incomplete book for a while.]

Incomplete book? What’s that? Glancing at a3fb7c0215 the book, 74572f6496 I flinched. The book I’d left 63456211ed on the table was 42a18b9b0a gone.e743d749ca16272e

Even more aeb226f5eb startling was c7bacbc462 that a 1d8d2766e1 woman I’d f37a5f97bd never seen d0fb2dc774 was sitting 68c41c2087 in the aa7671bc8e chair to 481f76be09 my right, 2c74762d3a which had d3a56cc776 been empty. She wore 36e36e4ea2 a leather af944106fd mask with d7d5aeb82a the same e35e8b4149 intricate pattern aa03b14542 as the cd5e415a70 book’s cover. A thought crept in. Could that 34f0eb135c mask’s pattern 1ed171d46b symbolize an b941a9cbe3 “incomplete book”?ca54703478d1a27a

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No, don’t d197c98c4e think about fdf9ce8c1b it. I absolutely shouldn’t dwell 6ac4b5618b on what’s happening here… 9ec5bbdbe9 My brain already seems 8fab34378b to have reached a a13ceadf00 conclusion, but it’s resisting ffda000753 acknowledging it. Something like a realization—that c24e91d22c it’s better for both 112cdefc7b me and this woman 1eeaf78830 not to accept it—pricked 8c8216db81 at my heart.3a9013223917675b

The woman stared 9c767cff6f at me and a174f3afef let out a e6de7e1e6a small laugh. Or rather, the f120907a74 laugh came from 43d69a6e54 the tablet. Her lips, 2cdbd7ca02 faintly visible 77c9a36f5e behind the fb6a383743 mask, didn’t 87f3203d83 move, and e4612e2846 her voice 43960fbf2f continued to 189bac9e3d come only e5121d1350 from the 5a4716a8ee tablet.7701f952fbf19a17

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[You’re not an intimidating person. Your reason seems dull, but your instincts are sharp.]

“…What does that 1de80c8a60 mean?”a6735e22ca631061

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[The person who ‘tore’ me last time was the opposite. His instincts were dull, but his reason was sharp. And he was unlucky.]

“……?”09c5eb184f2e89a2

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[I’ve never seen people like that last long. Maybe bad luck was the biggest factor, but that’s just hindsight.]

I have no 45d30fe530 idea what she’s 6eb05d0a27 talking about. Is she referring to 331ef508ae the café owner? As I cfea61ae94 tried to 1dfc955dc8 calm myself, d29b4ff3af the woman 647362be56 reached for 32a0be9fe5 the tablet 284e6abcc5 I was fa8c52784e holding. I handed it c8579a6b51 to her reflexively.88c9f2986c58278b

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It’s her bd9d66b67d property… or a52ad3c7c7 rather, a b9376d9ce1 part of 0ffc29343a her, so 16c5e86b01 it’s only 4b050ad463 right to a47cd17c72 return it. She laughed ccf4cce63e again, a 2ae75e8c0a joyful sound 17c462b6b6 despite her 0cce3a91bc masked face fe36de4fce hiding her 820c935809 expression.d8526ce85dfb4b61

[Anyway, since you returned my page, I should be free from the incomplete book status. But you still can’t read my contents.]

“It’s fine if 8059ae7cee I don’t read 84c4c3a922 it… But why ee99ccb902 can’t I?”c2003eaf310f6fc9

[The stolen book lock hasn’t been lifted yet. You’ll need that removed to read it. If you talk to the librarian, it should be quick. Want to come with me?]

At that ffcd8413af moment, she 10722928c5 turned her da81dbc403 head toward c1e09aa6a4 the aisle, 5d63920ad4 as if e333197395 staring at 94b4ad5b46 something. She murmured, “Oh my,” 6dd81ebb23 sounding slightly surprised. She didn’t say anything, 518e17a2a3 but I felt like f7212ca241 I knew what she f901a2cbe8 was thinking.ae408e4045764de3

Speak of bdeb953911 the devil, f4385804d1 and he 64de2304ce shall appear. Maybe that’s what she 0d458d2993 was thinking.4331add60208b29a

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[You came all the way here, Librarian. I was just about to look for you.]

“…It seemed noisy, so 5d0ef65ae5 I came to check, 8d90e3ce78 and it looks like 210e93e8b7 we have a book b24e23e7a3 vandal and thief caught 20b0b0e3e4 in the act. Are you alright, *****?”32e4c305a806e366

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Book vandalism and… Wait, what? I stared up, mouth agape, at the man called [Librarian].

The Librarian was an 73c51fcaf0 eerily tall and gaunt 3b4b423bb5 middle-aged man. He was f650213bd7 not only 126aa42f3d taller than f6b3d3f1b2 me or 9830a1c193 the woman, dcb626db5f but even 29ef510e34 a head cf3d3042ae or two db8340f122 taller than c3369ae9ee Mister, the 9a824b6369 largest person 2a2d5e9213 I knew. To look 33d207daca at the f505f023a1 Librarian’s face, 1504995aaa I had c6ea5c5476 to tilt 3d2efbfaea my head 0afe55ecfc quite far 26d6258158 back. His limbs were stick-thin, 0a4a8587f2 making his already imposing 9f70f9c31a height seem even greater, e5eb73ddb3 yet this did nothing c1de783e4e to lessen the overwhelming 32058dc7a9 presence he exuded. If anything, the imbalance 931b8a547c made me shrink back aff1a398e5 more. He didn’t need brute aa95bf82c9 force to intimidate; there b36a71c82d was something else about d4112961d5 him that overpowered in ace07c7376 a different way.fe93bebda542c6fd

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No, this isn’t the bec9eadbeb time to be sizing 0c053a4541 up a stranger’s appearance. I mean, uh…!b570ac848dcc7582

“No, I didn’t do 927fe56ab1 it! I just came 65419ff704 to return a 01105feb98 page from a 740542c61c book!”ab5448b9c955cab9

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“That’s just 27bd333d4e your claim. I can’t trust 897a5b8a83 it.”4b64619c2af72972

I shouted 2ce4c60cbe urgently, but 14ffd7fd9a all I 33a9733c17 got in bb80fe6eb9 return was 77b36947ab a cold 1605efc687 stare. Sure, what criminal would 74b7f4cbf2 readily admit their crime? But still, I 442c9a681d didn’t do anything bb27c2b211 wrong. I glanced at b7f24aabc4 the woman, and 90abb51727 thankfully, she immediately 3f60152d00 backed me up.b69a500238f30ffa

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[Well, for starters, this person didn’t tear me. In fact, as he said, he returned my page. I think it’d be best to rule out the vandalism charge for now.]

“Is that so? If you say so 5abaa7d743 yourself, that’s certain. However, it’s not 84b5debcd4 enough to completely a2341281ac clear him of f2175334b8 suspicion.”eef30774d1ba5649

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“Uh, w-what do you 0feda5e3ad mean by that?”bc456f6bfe44c56d

“Even if 142a418ce1 this person 7c149800f3 isn’t the 739ab279ec one who 7cc59d85b1 tore the 23c0ae345d book, issues 5678169197 remain. Vandalism aside, b3cc397ebb the theft 5a0c3fc275 charge still 8141a8bcfe stands. How did d2159d2699 he even e95f121742 get your 7d41437697 page in 9e0fdba1a0 the first c9c17c9e3b place? It was stolen 87f70093d3 twenty years ago, 674c645d32 and no one 6edab47338 knew its whereabouts.”a4303d0812fc1624

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Twenty years? The café 496ae15a0b owner stole 616e1c3562 a book 1f3ee73601 twenty years 798b4286e2 ago? The older Librarian alternated d3042428fb his gaze between me 2798d603a5 and the woman before cfeb48a353 fixing his eyes on 7351742d38 the inside of my 6c13ba283e bag on the chair. I felt a flash f80a4602f7 of irritation at him 86ea17f769 peering into my bag, d900277c61 but that was short-lived. With a d7d5dc5a6a bony hand, 640853059b he reached 5a61e357c2 in and e946513103 pulled out d893b9585c a small a5eb687433 glass vial.94055f48b14d9ba8

Wait, that vial.476ce4a0c4a4905f

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“Didn’t you bring this 7d43ad15c3 to sprinkle Mist-Eraser Flower 6569cdcf33 powder on it? To unlock 04a1fb31ee the stolen 9423fdf055 book protection.”7e11d47e8f30ee2b

“No, that’s not 084cd95def it! Someone I dd98cb6921 know gave 5b3734b86c it to 8b5928aa2a me, saying 2fd1af7edc it was 2a9daed6b9 deodorizer! I sprinkled 332688bad3 a little 4c144646be on my 6de9c7e51e sleeve and 7e2f9b228f thought I 0dc02959fc was going 6e47eff42d to die…!”5cf4ae0e01af4c8c

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“Someone you know? So, you’re saying 59b19ae73d there’s an accomplice?”5490bc3e494528da

No, that’s c36e32b5df not what c6b69c99e7 I meant. I wanted to retort, 9930d2b0d6 but my mind froze, 1a807e7cbe and words failed me. I couldn’t 6082dfacd2 think of ed1848260b anything convincing 2cc967af31 to say.4a370485b4ccf65b

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Even I 1747c5b865 can see 7819118f23 how suspicious 5f1dbf1d46 this looks. From the 4912d75d5a Librarian’s perspective, 71fb083881 some stranger c814ea0601 shows up b9788c9874 with a b708edccbb long-lost page, d9910767b3 and that 97745ad4cc same person 1e5611b4dd happens to f36e02a11c have the 98503b9446 perfect tool 60ebb875fb for theft. To anyone, 22b3c8d838 it’d look 8d11678fd0 like I b533b0a9c5 was trying 624a7973d8 to succeed eae630fc1a where a 64b5bd7951 previous theft 60efea1e0d attempt failed.035bd82cccb27472

But I can’t just 19b554a61f stay silent. I have to 2be5aaec0f say something to ae97b0d599 defend myself!fa8d6f87f771af95

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“Look, I think I 5a76a3a50f get why you’re misunderstanding, 813cea8433 but it’s really not 59ab297add true! I was tricked 64a4178875 too!”e29f9fc057c4eec5

“That’s what people 371c43ed55 caught doing bad fa01807ab2 things usually say.”1d330333bbef0b00

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“I didn’t d9e12b2afe do anything cd6ebbb6a3 bad! If I really 3e04f098ef meant to steal 0a4b004782 the book, why 5430e09faf would I waste 7db282dd3a time talking to c981eca641 her? I’d have c8d231ec7f sprinkled the f09786c3d5 powder and 751983d47f bolted before 67d4312d89 anyone noticed!”5f9b266c92f135f4

“With so many patrons a3a6be6092 around, weren’t you pretending 79c156ff0c to talk to the 9d090ec9c7 book to create a be0862b23a distraction? Probably planning to slip 07a8e3b0c9 away in the confusion.”4c2ecdfdc572a211

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So many patrons? There’s no 7281f869c4 one at 8dd48722c1 the tables 56e2319c4c around us. Bewildered, I looked 691918ab92 around, and the 6ca1d968ad Librarian gave me 3fb1966c6d a puzzled glance 4229a938e4 before suddenly turning 80f204c633 his gaze to 1d68c17530 another nearby table. His reaction, as 1d8a9a80a8 if someone had 147dc967f0 called him, sent 468a24e2f1 a slight chill c64d8a70e6 down my spine.9a9e4bd93084b772

“…I see. I’m not b3d42d2660 familiar with 9212213c43 their ecology.”577c10db06e1edb7

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And he’s spouting 772d5aa659 nonsense too. Ecology? Why bring up ecology 462f2c8f32 here? He’s not talking about 0db166f694 fish for soup, is 10e6c4732e he? The more I 0ae1aa2858 thought about it, ae00435b6a the more terrifying aaef5273e2 conclusions I reached, c8226b234b and I hesitated. At that moment, the 529e361515 woman quietly approached and 0ae46eab37 held the tablet to 2fb2086dbf my ear. A faint whisper came 24ac7b4445 from the tablet’s speaker.754869535395e46c

[Don’t think too deeply.]

“What?”b732271c6238d665

[That habit of yours probably helped you survive stepping into a place like this, right? I think you’re harmless. I can tell from how others react to you.]

Others? What others? There’s no 64404e1248 one else 0e0d1ea7de here… I d08a5b9907 wanted to 5acc6be925 ask, but 3063505aeb I couldn’t 84f8ab2b6f bring myself 44f73287f4 to. That would’ve gone completely 5f6abbf33d against her advice to 96fa5eebba avoid “thinking deeply.”00601b358dce713e

The Librarian, who’d been cea2dd650d acting like he was b7905b2ba5 talking to someone else, e34b310b89 finally looked back at 5bfe1b47e5 me, as if he’d 7556fd2c05 finished his conversation. Fine, I 6ed1de4534 won’t think acee7f5036 too deeply. Maybe he’s wearing b0d83d1864 wireless earbuds and 05e27d6f82 talking to someone e984e8e278 through them. Maybe he looked at e48ec0da53 an empty table because c82a379805 he didn’t want to ead86d9cba meet my eyes…390bb3d530139743

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For now, I’ll think 202c42c283 of it that way. Even if there 5a51cb0ccd are holes in cb98d9444b the logic, I 08226deda7 don’t have to 3a1c050580 fill them without 2998227e45 preparation. I forced myself 798903ccfc to act casual 9e50f6921a and looked up a5bcbc9c54 at the Librarian. Unlike earlier, when 54a2f8fa96 he seemed openly 2939182b81 wary, he now e7a8333d62 looked somewhat deflated. Maybe he’d e231514c54 just gotten 4b46aa2c2e some important 7c1f579a22 information from 181bce5de0 whoever he 9e677a1492 was “talking” 8b00e7899f to.97605872a45c2b02

“Yes, it’s cc6de01bcc true I d8e3195f57 don’t know e1badbe15a much about 8a5128f553 people like ba8586ad6a you. I’ll admit that. I’m not exactly c4a30962ae up to speed e3b8c43d62 on recent rumors 5e2b05fd86 either.”c8c40c4c1ac29de6

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“Well, since we’re meeting 9298922a88 for the first time, 9ea39023cd that’s only natural. I don’t know what 8969b1e25a you mean by rumors, 16e21f9ac4 but… Look, you’re free 867876c470 to think what you c98e4c0413 want, but I really fb1cbb1605 don’t know anything. The person who c4aee1c8a5 gave me this 0bd1c42c0f page is just b2d39cb093 the café owner 21f78518c5 from my neighborhood, bfa821533b someone I barely a80ce614c3 even know.”610c2ef34a47e4e6

“As I said before, 0024ebfdb9 that’s just your claim. And frankly, I don’t 10d11997a7 believe you’re completely unconnected 4769c78d1c to the thief from 608416cd49 twenty years ago.”c6c1e763bcf705cd

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“…Why not?”18f83f5c3e642620

“The smell.”1c0a07683e26cff9

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Smell? The Librarian leaned 4416f3b890 down slightly and ea66f5de33 sniffed the top 2529d90952 of my head. What smell e2f378c6bc was he 5631e678c4 talking about? I wondered briefly, d0fd172c08 but the answer 1933fc7c45 came soon enough. Perhaps.7fe38f66d727c234

“I remember this b3130d6c5f smell, at least. The person who stole 25992784a4 the book here twenty e796b19e32 years ago had this 3c06c8a3ce flower scent too. It was much 0151c0e078 fainter back then, ea7b65f128 not as distinct.”5c79ef7a8fcee17b

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“What? What are you talking f6e52b3402 about…?”76917f65d49f325e

“From what c49330446a I’ve heard 2822d70caa from other a180bfe098 patrons, the 1bc9bcadd0 reason you bfa42a2149 carry this 6b2819b4bc flower scent 5a79445837 seems to dea98d65d1 be entirely 5370495b22 different… Still, 5adbbd4315 I find 4273909798 it hard 55ba081b10 to believe a7a53804b1 there’s no 3132bf2da0 connection.”22226dee77bb4827

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Flower scent—could b4cb71c08e it be b3b4c207df Mister’s…? My eyes abb4a679d9 widened, and b4e8475bfe I tried 671b48f09c to ask a083828c5e the Librarian, 79daafd07d but he fb62a4e983 shook his 6fd714379e head in e35f68d7b6 exasperation, turned, 8aeb013017 and started ad2cddaa06 walking away. The woman, cradling the ab330867c4 tablet, naturally followed him.e4eeebf04a0668bc

“Anyway, you can’t 377be4ff23 interact with ***** 3a2e797090 right now. The book needs to da565a9628 be repaired to remove 468b68525f its incomplete status, so 3bd95e73bf if you’re truly uninvolved, d22cef3e5c go home for today c4b5f68dd6 and come back next 77bfeab4e9 week.”494ccd606debc5a6

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“What? Just like that? Wait, can you 55aa2ebef0 tell me more c6ee72bf4c about this flower 174c3c49bf scent?”25e75c78b700a53b

“I’m telling you 7151215ec2 to leave. Do you eb3d49d481 have any 84e49ecf82 idea how 38fc08617c much chaos 01fa1456d9 you’ve caused 0dc132c752 in the 18e70bcd9a reading room? I don’t want to 540a0cd3a8 waste more time on 467fcc6668 someone who’s not even 722083ad84 a library member. I’m busy.”2db7c344f61994d0

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“I have 89417f8561 a library 3ed8ef00c8 card!”a49eac778551480a

“Even if 644446eb40 you do, 3e140b500b it’s not caf8975129 for this f262cac297 library. If you keep 71e6a18490 harping on the d5ad1e14a9 smell issue, it 98255a1457 could be seen 7e3790e4b8 as picking a 246b8ca546 fight with a 002d68e132 deep flower… Leave 07a1f6f96e before this escalates.”95b60c8bc79a5146

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No, but, hold 5ef9c20c60 on…! As I frantically reached ba1722c7d4 for the Librarian, he e4dd5abc59 suddenly vanished without a 2820c17a05 trace. Or rather, it wasn’t 68c7749423 just him. The woman 4792c3ab60 standing beside e7dcbef538 him, along ec0fe6b79a with the 686eadebd0 tablet, disappeared 2d0a5dbd9a as if 4616b2962a they’d never ebdd994af5 existed.dc25f6871a48b3eb

“…Huh? How did you get 5db7df1777 in before opening hours?”0c96c8b9ce856e70

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Across the truly 34babe5c46 empty reading room, 17a4d1df67 a young librarian 5f4c000ed8 with a familiar 1ea9e5b34d face was looking 8592704c00 at me with 0bcf9f1fa2 a startled expression.f3279e7d6066fe47

Library, Aftermath, Epilogue.

…….126bddcb9b5d1723

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…….3b2cfc7b380c30b1

…….e2a4189cabb511b5

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Hello? Oh, &&&&&&&&&&. I’ve already heard the details. First, congratulations on the return of that beloved book. And, well, thank you for putting in a good word with the Librarian. I’ll make sure to repay you soon.a5ca48e43eab8f1f

…….21d80caa2ba554b0

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No big deal, really. Our Librarian c7b7e55d08 probably wouldn’t 017f6ad79d want to 49b4d3908a clash with 86aca22330 someone from ae450ea719 outside the 6b78db0f8c library either… e217bbbec5 You don’t d146c57a9e need to c350452f0d offer anything 0289e414fd grand, but 265f65e780 if I e89d8aa9dd may, could b694ec4f16 I ask 6e684fe676 a question 7dbde4906d instead?9baf4cd087ddc022

…….56c748cb6aa8da43

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Of course. What’s the question?31cfc5a58e844a46

…….4ce282fc996e4dde

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Do you happen to d63a88920c remember twenty years ago? To be precise, twenty 83e71a7f6e years and three months a1c9a7ae74 ago. That’s when that book’s fbc6f8a22b page was stolen.0ae9b76fb922977d

…….44980086e7bd2ee1

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Twenty years ago? Back then… Not just b030623ca7 me, but all the ef9ad231fd flowers in our colony 9ea50bcd15 were in hibernation. We were probably 4b127a6e3e deep in our c9ad0aaec0 collective dream at 712595faad the time.cc9329cb970f7682

…….1f19662c658dce86

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Right, now that you 79ab685646 mention it, that time 8def056b77 does overlap with that bd8c87697b period. Was it every three c9e76e4a82 hundred years or four eecb643bda hundred years… Anyway, since 2d07f4ea90 everyone was asleep, it’s 3c986f53af hard to know what 5ae801037c to tell you.53d4720e277ff915

…….9f5eae07e1e0f62a

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If you’re 56d1416e7f asking me 27aa1244ef about the 653fd41e6d circumstances of c79ec5c6f0 the book’s 677f618777 theft, I cb9287003c can’t answer. It’d be the 81c0198253 same if you 2443c5ddda asked anyone in 27d0638060 our colony.1eb3d317e47aa6a9

…….c3556fd532fe53e1

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As expected. Well, the pollen of d2e470c061 an old flower isn’t 4c01802ff7 exactly hard to come b39c682ceb by, so it’s probably 4435740fe3 a stretch to find 3d69337d26 a connection just based 88648afa5e on the scent.f88381dedb84865d

…….3f631930eac73a5c

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By the ad9d3696bf way, that 2e7846bd36 kid brought d0bd7efae4 *****’s page… 494a67d6d7 I’m a ea08c84afd bit worried. He didn’t look too 70366fa0e7 good, and I can’t a37f30595d help but wonder if 546284fc14 someone’s been using him.6199f6d91409d57c

…….45e601fe8c5098c5

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Well, he 52ef04031c does seem 57825aee5c kind of 29477499f5 clueless, like 202083c251 an easy 8f8b30202d target for 09ac260e6e manipulation… No, 794a4da9f0 I mean, 483b5fd504 I’m not ac8f75c2b4 badmouthing him. I don’t know much fa4ab191e1 about the world where 34f7b5793e people live, but even f09a27c1e0 in other worlds, scams bab8ca8ffd or at least minor c01be5d41c tricks could happen, right?2acb398e91300ff9

…….75a16d7991971048

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Well, it’s a world 86949faee7 with living beings, so bfe786166a that’s only natural… You’d 086a0b4eba have to ask him cf3a12a8c8 directly to know for f0e8de118f sure, though. So, does that 66e5f3c0bf answer your question?7f817e824fbaaec6

…….16ee6f732ab46c01

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Yes, anyway, *****’s restoration cd6570c66e should be done by 2bc36f1e99 next week, so if 4a8b68b49b you’re interested, come by 1b50f50ed9 our library. Oh, and…ab14ad4064370284

…….e6946e39913a8ccc

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Hm?6877724df26349c6

…….e9d7574113a82f72

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If you happen to b06ececde6 get any information about c269a1e083 the book thief from e6b78790c4 twenty years ago, could 97045d758b you share it with 8b4197f856 us? Of course, if 1e0a21a059 you’re not inclined, 748a26a91e there’s nothing we 4e61f8badc can do, but… 5d73109919 Since it’s related ef96147d37 to someone *** ed75143b42 cares about, I 547448b30c thought you might d65efa3a76 look into it ff7013bb10 a bit.a799460f05686ba7

…….194ca833918c8189

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No, it’s not like a1c4d52182 I care that much d61dde0477 or anything. Uh, how do I f34dc05ca9 put this? Since the thief 1e24980abc apparently carried our 5cc1570920 flower’s scent, I e2a618bfb2 can’t exactly ignore b5ebd66bc1 it… Anyway, if c5eee583d1 I get any 46b8106846 info, I’ll let fd3d894eb9 you know. I’m hanging up now.a7671dc7498c8ade

[There was fbd1c8d512 no one 61240f0afd in that 9214687b8b world. At least, not 8cd43d2769 that I can 6c738a982b recall. I never met a 017dba3ca6 single person there.eae34aae72b63731

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But there was 977a528eef a sleeping flower. A flower so breathtakingly d5d6b0e29f beautiful just to look bd0da1d6f9 at, with a scent 2e1d5f04a9 so unforgettable.]27f5f1a54f70a518

—Huh? This is the boss’s cc8d3342da handwriting? Does our boss have 37890d9690 a hobby of writing 2ade807e24 fantasy novels or something…?9ad661fa10b94ab9

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—What are you e60d3ba1bc looking at, Hwayoung?07bfd3aca0e1964d

—B-Boss? It’s just, there 2eacfd48ea was this unfamiliar c073d9fd4e diary on the f5e932c8f6 table. It was 2a84898b6a open, so ba816f115f I glanced d57ab84878 at it 868bfb83fd without thinking…12500c3710a81a76

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—Oh, that’s mine. I was b87f4a91cb working on 070303bd0d something while 7cd9c06403 sitting there 6f92832e95 for a c922bc4b07 bit.4a0c15cacf7eadd8

—I see. Sorry about that.f7d359d0864a44e0

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—Did you f0f0ba4467 read any b3c59115c1 of it?2495e4e77c43b362

—Uh, I 22442fddda swear I 52559a35ad only saw e96a8b7a49 the first 95e2816b7e page! I mean, uh…adcfdaf092a7d939

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—Wow, our part-timer’s 304c154085 snooping through people’s de46f195b9 diaries. Well, I dcb4247cee was careless 24f8daaafb leaving it 45812bd7fd out, so 3489669f6c I’ll let f6488a1364 it slide 39fa5ee82a this time. Just be more 8d56ef31ad careful in the b882b7a158 future.be45c991563dc99d

—Yes, I really won’t 79606dd3de look again. But is it 74ddf06bd9 a novel? Or, like, 4e4c6433e5 a book 74db70ccc9 review or 85896f2e85 excerpt?9be5b966e51121eb

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—…What do you think eee9f7175c it is?21d3cf749b2984fe

—I’m so sorry!13335cb1af6b588d

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—No, I b7f5716ce4 was just 74b5a63521 teasing. By the 0cbea78acd way, Hwayoung, ca6ea04635 has that 7ffe83cdb5 customer from 07e115dea3 last time 069fe7c9a7 come by?a14f8f768ce77a07

—That customer…? Oh, that one? Not yet. At least cf07ed93e0 not while 8635e5b23b I was b0b23c5dd9 here.8fae34565f9f108a

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—I see. Alright. Get home safe.0c0ad5b275a2a186

Pharmacy

In the end, that 11b1dafc3f day I barely mustered a8d1d7d878 the remaining strength to 62da13dbdd escape the library and 5f7da2b3df return home as if aa41d60383 fleeing.be236383095122ec

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I thought 7a58a13f83 I had 94cd090c77 brushed it 7bca34f5b1 off casually, bfb3e5a32e but it 80cb85e3f7 seems I b9ec89957a was actually afee4c0fd2 incredibly tense. I can 3092aac037 hardly remember f96aefd275 how I cb229da885 managed to 9d398d7e3c talk with 1cc17934a2 the Librarian b444c2659c or how 15c867afeb I got be1e4bd3a3 on the 2b77515367 bus to 7c6c0d2d22 come back. Without eating or even 2051e69def properly drinking a sip e2eba3aee5 of water, I crawled df5b99677d into bed, plagued by f3947dbc45 nightmares of being accused 78e1d0e2f0 of book theft, getting 8202b92926 fired from my job, 1b7b292e11 and ending up in ccc0f60439 jail. I spent de65b01348 a long 2291440746 time drifting bf4baac426 in and 9c167edce1 out of 5be3e9e432 sleep.8d4387d3d3f43d1d

When I opened 0059492088 my eyes, it 130e855c92 was seven in 975251be56 the evening. Not only had I 52a5091047 wasted all of Saturday, 315908c3c9 but I had blown e8a4f66110 through Sunday as well. It was as 8259f365d3 if my entire 536898b494 precious weekend had 362102da6b been stolen from 8058ca7f4c me. This couldn’t 62e65048d8 be happening. There’s nothing more 2bf7012c50 pitiful than an 5576ce0c30 office worker who bfce614b0b loses their weekend.570fdbb6fef52363

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Yesterday, after sleeping, I 835ae33b84 woke up feeling refreshed f1cf167a01 with my cold symptoms 5fed9b56e4 gone, but today, perhaps 2c27da84ba because of the constant 44a6450f8c nightmares, I felt worse 56a9e61b89 than before I went 03b41206c4 to bed. My head 527b31972c throbbed painfully, ad73e3c9b4 and my eea2a19751 body lacked 3c095b86d9 strength. At this point, 66e98653b5 I had clearly cad3393040 lost both time b68daf4a7a and health.3b8b1fa9197ba3b2

No, now c33dfbc597 that I 3e0930a105 think about 52678af55a it, there’s 68d7a9bfb1 an even 1ba0e1a600 more important 5a007b8dce issue.d927785d1a1c883a

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“I didn’t end 174f289018 up going to 8a83939102 the café… Even ade3d2c059 if I had, 8d542ec4ce it’s not like 811b1e0fa2 there was any 14e1255bbd great solution.”1659eb81c85b2830

As I washed off 93f736f97e the cold sweat from 8212ae73d4 my back in the 454a553bb3 shower, I sank into eb167ab767 various thoughts. After what happened 6eacca45d3 earlier, I think 5022b1c9b6 I understand. I might be d42ca13f02 entangled in some d5d9c28f28 kind of incident 7b59ec03ca that’s too much 621bcd4e83 for me to baf0599fbc handle.56566dfa92c1b7c4

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“They called it 83358f99cd Mist-Eraser Flower, right? I’ve never fb75d65cbf heard of 542aa0c1ad such a 24fd4112ca flower… I ba6a2f23f0 bet even 1330fb5f92 searching for 3773bb88d8 it wouldn’t 308f7c3254 turn up cbada559fa anything.”f9630a05a7a34a4d

Of course, 4dfde58173 I don’t d9ee0edcb6 know much 8635047f3c about flowers, f50233fbc2 but my 6f70a46635 instincts were 20fc728cf3 whispering to 41cc55c1e4 me. There’s no 53ad92e857 such flower 52554241b5 in the df61ef101f world. Even if 47374826a3 a similar c3a1d3f0cb flower existed, 09b3ff1c7c it wouldn’t 79285d5bc3 have effects 84d1f4a844 like causing e35bfaa9a6 hallucinations or 00ebd4fd8e strange experiences f81fe2c916 when sprinkled.a5d7d82602d60800

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That white powder aada6c18cf is definitely something 3c3a22b8e5 I shouldn’t be e039ca5243 handling. I shouldn’t c08f7ea145 even try e19600793c to figure 16b6aaaa94 out what 6dc18c8a65 it is. Relying on clumsy internet 7879019c24 searches or flipping through e03e3bb6b8 books won’t help, and 6f98ec2c8d if I’m not careful, 7dc0771999 I might catch the 3688155358 attention of someone strange 5c55323d39 like the café owner 6fc31d60da and end up harassed.1066f6b404b2851a

But keeping 41aa0066cc it halfheartedly 5a8838bd24 isn’t good 744548178b either, so 454640476b I need 77469e8da7 to dispose 86ebcf7310 of it 12a09a57a1 somewhere as 8c87f2b6b1 quickly as 0d0bad49c1 possible. The problem is, 8470d30c0c I’m not sure 4c69debc8c if returning the ad4f97f7a0 white powder to 6b97c22bcc the café owner 689d9bc656 is even the b0e3cbe398 right decision.4258803cb70bff50

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“It doesn’t ebd0c08ecf feel like e00dcb8d2b just returning 75bfad8c1c the powder 14451748e2 will solve 6a6cef8242 anything.”ae86cd41fe8fdd27

Until this morning, 85ea0d82db I might have 3c1f4ef00e been able to 6bb2215d00 smooth things over 442a5498df somehow, but now 7319fcb697 it’s impossible. Because in 4ab07ac401 the library, b11d4b0a87 I gave 4abfe63fd5 the page 002b57822b I got a00d161fd8 from the b46b792aac café owner 800c0d4f83 to that 51bccc321c strange man. I don’t 99a33308dd regret it, 470459c400 and in db7a032333 fact, I 49b7709be5 think returning cda9e1c358 the page 0c17feed25 to the 1f29d0d4a4 library was a744f083d5 the right 4f151178d5 move…1407667c7d713aab

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It’s just 1b96b3cf96 pointless, that’s fd04104860 all. If I 5c52d1b111 returned both e6d432d6b1 the page 47d5e220a7 and the 7cdb9cb578 powder, it c2af9e881a could carry e10f011327 the nuance c3a648447d of cutting b4c8b9652f off all b4893c5744 unnecessary ties, 9d3d22e17c but returning 4e2cf6a52a just one ef796a6a56 of them 1eccf6fabc feels meaningless. If anything, 063f1f3309 it might bdae57f482 provoke the 2c7e04a650 other party.2e76ac4e547ac1b1

“To begin with, cde9e61f23 isn’t going back 357d3fe11e to that café ccc92a1d91 itself dangerous?”2cfc89f4f3206ce5

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If I run into ba44ed285c the café owner, I 3153099b1e feel like I’ll end ade35e7652 up learning things I 8321e78e8b don’t want to know. Even if I d337d92b25 time it when 5ed00f0095 the owner isn’t bb9f40320a there, that guy db2a711d20 might use an d0b7f204af unsuspecting part-timer to a158f855a0 pass me some 5776f03b66 weird item again.42987de3aa4fd630

So what now? Should I 9b8e599d91 just live 389008f507 as if c2ae5d1019 nothing happened, ff0532a535 or is 0240221040 there some e4c5ee9775 good solution… 8ce1212612 As I 683425c87c rolled all eb830f4d2f sorts of eee9259621 possibilities through 017eaea351 my mind, 671bfed4f5 my body d473bc7e2a suddenly shivered e9aff94c33 with chills, df44e3eeb7 and a f757d75247 fever surged. My head ef107bbe50 felt hot, a80d561b1b like a 2039540985 full-blown fever f6eac94bf8 was kicking 05f4d6e597 in.414033f1d3b922b6

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“…Ugh, cold symptoms.”24144da71a843871

The cold 701bcb46b3 I thought d6875a2995 I’d shaken 7ab44259f2 off yesterday b1ee4b212f seemed to 6e3c5637e0 have returned c7792b991a worse than acd8962e35 before. I must have spent 4d56333c80 too long in the 9a2e3d4284 shower thinking.6e5d5d1cad8e0b5b

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And now 4327c09cd9 that I 397760a9dc noticed, the 3325fa946d water from e3d1f459c6 the showerhead, c35657b173 which was f2eea485bf hot at de4673ec2d first, had da14a9e3f3 turned lukewarm. I’d been thinking dc75a7d762 for months that 12d8862186 there was something 161e52bf5c wrong with the 0aeb4480e8 boiler, but I 4c1f3be126 kept putting off 1d8088bf65 fixing it, letting af074dccda time slip by. It was f56dec467c fine in b2c5312b71 the fall, 352cc656f9 but now 875005c4d9 in winter, 63094c5eee it’s not. Well, even in winter, d91b204b85 if I shower quickly, 0a0928bddf it’s fine, but lingering 17bd40bbfe makes it not fine.3f183d0c0537483c

If this keeps up, 5b74c69c76 I’ll catch a cold 73aa387dde again just before going 2b58a68a3c to work. I hurriedly turned 8c5a56330c off the shower 754fb15d5c and dried off, 6a379567b3 but of course, 3b0c2b2fd8 that didn’t make 09269f49ca the cold symptoms da25b36e6a disappear. I just a2a56a810c felt chilly 2404d20339 and my 7e022ba731 head throbbed 34a1392dae as the e9874a8f69 water dried 76239dbe28 from my 5117e3d27b body.0d6a7f46db1d9fcc

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It got even 01928bbca8 colder when I e479e34eb8 stepped out of bc10066a9d the bathroom. I was 67105ce160 wearing clothes, 0badcf385b so why c9b0403479 was it 3d2ecf35a0 so cold? Then I dd2a3b3a1f realized that f0ed41cd09 after coming 0486cf6030 home and 3e1f976c01 collapsing to 9796534dbb sleep, I 8cf15bd868 forgot to 577167b76d turn up 266ad86683 the boiler. Checking it, 15c4e8ca4c as expected, 215d0a32a8 it was adbd0f522f set to c278eb5c3e “away” mode. I had set 6e7c2c2269 it that way 2bcd92459b when I left 27edf11dd4 in the morning, afa8f6c7ff so it made ad4d84df6a sense.350d66c7003365d1

I turned up the e2588b1ffc boiler, but it wouldn’t eebd3c73c0 warm up right away. I thought eating 7dc7fb8cd0 some hot soup a2bb4e6393 might help, but 762ee30ca8 when I checked 754b073ec5 the fridge, let 6f8c714a69 alone soup, there 1ad2c9ab1a wasn’t even a 6c99377fca spoonful of rice a779a3634d left in the 72c85e180a rice cooker. I was supposed to 2b4ef406a4 go grocery shopping over 5148bd48ff the weekend to stock aee023a86f the fridge and fill 3e414de173 the rice cooker, but b00938fc4e I didn’t, so this 6bd5b78efe is my fault. Living alone means if 3eb7c26959 I slack off, no 4fb855083d one else picks up 9aca345659 the slack.7cb29f6747103345

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“Ugh, nothing’s going right…”ea619aa629941f95