"A spell book. Like, there are magic spells in this book?" My voice is dripping with concern. Concern for the woman who is certainly talking nonsense. And concern for myself because everything in the past 15 minutes lends credence to her words.

"One spell. And not a very good one at that." She mumbles the last bit as she takes the book in her hands. She looks it over before handing it back to me.

I take it back. And then, I pause. "Wait, why are you giving it to me? I'm here to return it."

I look down at the book and the gold leaf on the spine winks at me in the firelight. I remember the few lines that I read and realize that I want to read the rest. Giving up the book fills me with dread and as I look up to say as much, I realize I don't have to.

"You can keep the book a while longer," she says. "But you'll have to sign up for a membership."

Membership? Why would-? And then it hits me. There aren't any prices on the books and there's no register at the front (or anywhere else in this maze). "Is this a library?"

The woman smiled softly. "Took you long enough. Your uncle checked out that particular book over 10 years ago. 600 pages and hundreds of thousands of words that have to be read a  letter at a time. It's a great volume, but it can take ages to read."

I look down at the book again and when I look up, the woman is walking away down an aisle of books. Her voices echoes off the books, "Come along now."

I hurry after her and try not to knock over any books along the way. Her trail led us to a small desk, covered in a sea of papers flanked by rows of stamps sitting on top of something that looks like papyrus parchment.

"Here we are, new memberships," she announces, unearthing a sheet of paper. "Been a while since I've needed this." She shifts a platoon of stamps sideways to reveal a beautiful black fountain pen.

She hands me the paperwork and pen and I look at her. Confused.

"My name is Maria and this is the Leafshire Emporium and Library for Volumes of the Mystik and Magistical. But, everyone just calls it the Leatherbound."

The silent quiet in the library laughs to itself. Roll credits.

"Obviously, there are rules. Each member can only check books out for themselves and must return said books within their lifetime. Misuse and/or abuse of the books or the knowledge therein is subject to banishment."

I try to keep up with her as I fill in the form which is comparatively mundane to the rules she espouses. I suppose even magic libraries need a daytime phone number to reach you by.

"Finally, new members must donate at least one volume and will only be allowed to check out one volume at a time. So, darling, what have you brought me?"

I look up and hand over the spell book, but she shakes her head. "That is a book from this library. You cannot donate a book that was already owned by the library."

My mind immediately goes back to the shelves of books at my parent's house. I try to think of a book that I'd be able to  donate without angering the rest of my family.

"This isn't your local hobby shop. We looking for books of magic and mysticism. Not your mother's spare copy of vampire-werewolf erotica," she laughs. I cringe. Hard. "Am I to understand you don't have a donation at this time?"

I shake my head. "Oh dear," she says. "I'm sorry, but the rules are quite clear. And memberships, I'm afraid, cannot be transferred."

My disappointment is clear. This place has more books than I knew existed in the world. In fact,  these books are a world I never knew existed.

"But... there is another option," Maria whispers. She dives back into the messy desk, this time knocking over the stacks completely before revealing a sheet of parchment. It's old.

"Without a donation, membership is quite out of the question." She chuckles. "But, I'm sure you can see that the library is in need of some... help."

She waves her arm at the piles of books and papers (some of which she just knocked over). "It's been just me for the past two decades and upkeep has gotten away from me."

That's an understatement. I look around and see  that some of the shelves are quite broken. The weight of the books has collapsed the shelving and now the books are very much just sitting on top of each other. Elsewhere, books are piled higher than the shelves and I realize that some are just floating in midair. Like they're waiting to be organized.

"Yes, yes. Obviously, it's a bit worse for the wear. But it's not as bad as it looks. Plus, you'd be able to read while you're working!" she exclaims excitedly.

"So," I venture, having not spoken for the past twenty minutes, "does that mean I'd be a librarian here?"

She breaks out into what can only be described as a joyous cackle. "Lordy, no! It takes years to be a librarian-in-training and decades to be one proper." I hear the bookshelves creak. Apparently they think what I said was funny too.

"So it'd be part-time work?" I say.

"Yes. Nothing too intense. A few hours a day with enough time for you to read your choice of books on the grounds," she says, wiping a tear from her eye. Was what I said really that funny?

I take another look around. The library is warm.

"Okay, sounds fair," I hear myself say. In the corner, the quiet smiles politely.

"Wonderful," Maria whispers. "Welcome, Soo. The newest page of the Leatherbound."