A Librarian Ghost Story

My heart was beating fast but I kept calm and followed the ghost with the tiny book in my hand without saying a word.

This was a library after all and the only sounds were the gentle tapping of the rain at the large window, the cracking of the wood in the fireplace and sometimes the pages of a book being turned.

There were just a few people in the library, though I always loved spending those rainy afternoons here.

The ghost led me upstairs and while I was still wondering about this mysterious encounter, he suddenly stopped and I walked right through him.

The chilling feeling on my skin made me shiver and the ghost was laughing, just quietly. Spending all this time in the library he must have gotten used to preserving the calm ambience of this place even after his death.

We stood at the top of the stairs – that is, I was standing and he was floating a few inches above the old carpet – and looked at all these book shelves below us.

"It's a shame that most of these books won't ever be read again."

The ghost seemed a bit sad.

"I like to come here quite often, it's a peaceful place", I said and looked at him. His presence was really like some kind of thin haze or fog, with the light of the chandelier at the ceiling shining through him.

"I know. Most people just come here for their studies, looking up things for their homework, write down the information they need and then leave again. I guess that's how it's supposed nowadays in this quick and always stressed life of students. Get good grades, get a good job, earn your money and then spend it on this modern technology and things you don't really need."

The ghost was quite upset and I didn't expect at all to hear him speaking about technology and modern lifestyle.

"So what is life about then?", I asked carefully.

"What do you think what it is about?"

I looked down on the tiny mystical book in my hand.

"I guess... life is more about the tiny things. The things that nobody sees."

"Exactly!"

The haze got a little bit thicker and the ghost floated further ahead, towards the corner of the upper floor.

"You called me 'scholar' when I picked up the book."

"Yes, because I'm going to teach you about the things that nobody sees. That makes you a scholar then, I guess."

We reached the corner – a large dusty book shelf stood here, obviously one of the oldest ones in the library – and the ghost told me to put the tiny book in there. When I looked all over the shelf I only saw very old books and even some rolled papers that looked like papyrus.

"What's all this?"

"Memories."

The answer was short and came quickly. I had a doubt that it was just about that, but didn't asked further questions to not upset the ghost. Maybe time would tell what it was all about.

"So... what exactly shall I do? What do you want to teach me?"

Very curious I waited for his answer.

"I'll teach you to find the tiny things, the hidden things that nobody sees. Nothing you can find with the use of technology but the kind of things that can only be found with enough proper knowledge about the spirit world."

"You mean... magic?"

"Magic? Do I look like a wizard?"

The thick haze of his presence was pulsing quite threatening now.