Without the haunted look and the unnatural paleness I knew to expect on this face, the surprise visitor was more attractive than anyone I knew. There was no doubt this young man was made of flesh and bone and as alive as I, though. My heart skipped a beat and heat flushed my cheeks as he stepped up to my desk with a dazzling smile.
"Hey." He bent forward and squinted his bright blue eyes to read my name tag. "Hey, Lynn. I'm new in town and would like to apply for a library card."
"Sure, and welcome." My hand trembled as I pulled an application form from the desk drawer and passed it over to him. "Please, fill in the part above the line and sign here." He took the form and patted his pockets for a pen. It took several seconds until my brain kicked in and I offered him mine.
Another brain-and-bone-melting smile hit me like lightning. "Thank you."
I couldn't take my eyes from his hand as he wrote out his name. Wenger, Lucas. No way this could be a coincidence. Or could it? He added a flourishing signature to the form, placed the pen on top, and pushed both over the desk. Still dizzy, I picked them up and sat down at my keyboard to feed his information into our system. Since I couldn't resist looking up at him from time to time, I knew he never took his eyes from me until I pressed enter and sent my request to the printer.
Relieved I could flee from his undivided attention for a moment, I stood up. "Just a moment, please—I will be right back with your card."
My gesture towards the office was jittery, and with wobbly legs from the lingering shock, I stumbled around Marjorie and Conny to the printer in the corner. My colleagues were busy putting the final touches on the spreadsheet for the financial report due next week, not looking up from Conny's screen. For a second, I steadied myself on the tabletop next to the printer, but since I didn't want to give the impression of being about to faint, I straightened my back, retrieved the new library card, and was proud I made it back to my desk without stumbling over my own feet.
"Here you go, Mister Wenger." My knuckles were white, but my fingers remained almost steady while I handed him his card.
He pulled a face. "Just Luke will be fine. Mister Wenger is my father, and Lucas sounds so old-fashioned." Warm fingertips brushed over mine and sent an electric bolt through my veins as he picked up the card. "Thank you, Lynn."
"You're welcome, Luke." I still hadn't recovered and was tempted to ask him if he was sure his surname wasn't Skywalker. Aware this would be too awkward, I handed him the leaflet with the library layout instead and pointed to the right. "The online catalogue is over there, or you can browse the shelves, if you prefer. Enjoy your stay, and if you have questions, I'll be at your service."
He glanced at the flyer, then at me, and placed it back on the stack with a wink. "If I don't find my way around, I'll just come back and ask."
Butterflies soared in my stomach as he strolled down the central aisle, stopped after a few metres, turned around, and walked back to me with determined steps. "Would you care for a coffee after work, perhaps? My neighbour recommended a new coffee shop that should be just around the corner. He insists it is an experience. We could check it out together."
"Oh, your neighbour is right, they serve excellent coffee over there." I couldn't help grinning at the thought Luke might live nearby. "If you don't mind waiting for me, I'll be happy to introduce you. We close at six thirty, but I'll have to tidy away the returns before I leave."
"Are you kidding? There is an entire library to help me pass the time. Perhaps the torrent from the sky even stops until then—six thirty or whenever you're ready. Just don't sneak out without me."
"I won't, promise. Besides, I'm the one with the key. If you stick around, I'll be the one to throw you out. Can't have you staying overnight."
He grinned before he turned on his heel, and I stared after him as he steered towards the science fiction section, sending me a wink over his shoulder before he disappeared between the shelves. A hand touched my arm, and I jumped. Wasn't Marjorie in the office moments ago, discussing finances with Conny? I hadn't heard her sneaking up and wondered how much of our interaction she had witnessed.
"An interesting young man—friendly, and, if I may say so, quite attractive, too."
"Do you think so?" I didn't know where to put my hands, but Marjorie ignored my fidgeting. "I didn't notice."
"You are an awful liar, Lynn. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that he resembles our missing friend Luca."
So she had observed that Luca was gone, too. With a sigh, I gave up pretending. "No, you're not—but how is this possible? I mean, I wanted to help the ghost, but..." I trailed off, at a loss for words.
Marjorie rubbed her chin. "Don't ask me—this is way beyond my expertise. What did you do?"
I shrugged, crossing my arms to stop my hands from shaking. "I wrote an ending to Conny's story, nothing fancy, just so he wouldn't be caught between the worlds anymore. Cat said that it set Luca free, though, and I can confirm I haven't seen him since."
She nodded with a thoughtful expression. "I wondered why he was missing. So that's the explanation."
"My writing can't have made him a real person, though, can it?"
"Who knows—perhaps you taped into the magic of this place, and better than anyone I know could have. Or perhaps it's all coincidence. I fear the answer lies within yourself, my dear."
Did it? The thought was frightening. "It must be a stupid coincidence."
The librarian pinched her nose. "I agree this is the most likely explanation, but does it matter? This Luke seems kind and genuinely interested in you."
"I don't know." If he was, was I ready for another plunge into a relationship so close to the last disaster?
Marjorie lowered her voice to a quiet whisper. "Lynn, the young man was wax in your hands. You should at least give him the benefit of the doubt."
I glanced towards the back of the room, hoping Luke hadn't overheard our conversation, and lowered my voice. "I already promised to go for a coffee with him. Still, just because he has cute dimples and seems interested, it remains unlikely Luca's ghost and Luke are the same person."
She shrugged. "How should I know? I'm just the keeper of this place, and while I see myself as the warden of its magic, I can't say I ever understood it. Though there is one thing I've learned in all my years running this place. There are fewer coincidences than most people, including me, believe."
Could she be right? If I wrote Luca alive, what did this say about my gifts and where would it lead, could it lead, in a future where this man was part of my life?
While I slumped into my chair, Marjorie pulled up one for herself. "Don't worry so much, Lynn. Just go out with the nice young man and see what happens, will you?"
I nodded, still stupefied. He couldn't be a serial killer, right? I'd never heard of a mass murderer with dimples, after all. As if they had anything to do with his lifestyle or reputation.
"Stop thinking the worst of everyone, Lynn." Cat's grin flashed up on the desk beside my screen before his body materialised in all its blue, glowing glory.
"Easy to say for you, Cat. Can you explain what happened here?"
"How and why should I? It is you who did the magic trick."
"I didn't—I just wrote a few chapters of the story someone lose started."
"We already established that there is magic in stories, didn't we?" His grin broadened. "I think I'll have to convince Marjorie to read me this story of yours, since whatever you did, the outcome is amazing. And may I remind you that if you made him a mass murderer, only you are to blame."
"I didn't, I swear." But I had made him fall in love with a young librarian, although she was a much nicer and less insecure person than I was—or would ever become. Blood rushed to my face.
"Young lady, I don't like to repeat myself, but stop talking—or thinking—yourself down." Cat stretched his back, jumped from the desk and walked towards the science fiction section in plain sight for everyone with the gift, barely avoiding being trampled by two oblivious library customers.
Marjorie glanced after him and shook her head. "Snarky as ever. But he is right, Lynn, you must learn to trust yourself."
I still mulled over her advice an hour later when I offered Luke shelter under my umbrella on the short walk to the coffee shop. The rain hadn't stopped but hardened, and we splashed through puddles on the sidewalk, wetting the seams of our jeans.
Luke disregarded the weather and gave me a questioning glance from the side. I pushed my worries into the back of my mind. "What is it?"
"May I ask you something, Lynn?"
Please, don't make a proposal right here and now. This would be awkward after only meeting you two hours ago—and worse than anything I wrote. I raised a brow. "Go ahead."
"This afternoon, in the library, for a split second, I thought I saw a huge tabby cat. But that's impossible, right? I mean, a library wouldn't allow pets on the premises."
I gave my best to hide my surprise. "I agree. There is even a 'no pets' sign at the door."
He seemed relieved. "The weird thing is, I thought it was glowing blue." His laugh had a nervous edge, but he shook his head and shrugged it off to open the door of the coffee shop for me. "Sorry, forget it. Blame my vivid imagination."
I stepped into the warmth of the cozy place and let the delicious smell of fresh coffee engulf me. "I own a vivid imagination, too, and I know what you mean. Some days, the weirdness of this world is way beyond my understanding."
Like today, when he walked into the library, with his well known and yet so unfamiliar face. But this wasn't the moment to elaborate. Instead, I led him to my favourite table by the window.
Perhaps, one day, when I knew him much better, I might tell him about Cat, about Luca's ghost keeping me company in the empty library, and about the magic of stories.