Chapter 8

                                                                The Distance Between Shelves

 

The rain hadn’t returned, but something else had—something quieter.

A stillness.

Kai stepped into the bookstore without his hoodie this time. The clouds had parted earlier, revealing a soft afternoon sun that made everything feel strangely unfamiliar. Like the city had changed overnight.

Inside, the familiar warmth welcomed him. The usual jazz tune hummed in the background, soft and slow. But today, the bookstore felt bigger—emptier somehow.

Yuna wasn’t at the counter.

He wandered toward aisle three, out of habit. But even there, the quiet felt different without her hum behind the register or the faint sound of her turning pages. He didn’t realize how used he’d become to her being part of the atmosphere—like the smell of old books or the creak in the floorboard near the travel section.

Then, a voice broke the silence.

 “You came even when it’s not raining?”

He turned. Yuna stood behind him, holding a small stack of new arrivals.

 “Yeah,” Kai said, shrugging. “Guess it’s not just the rain anymore.”

Yuna smiled, but it was softer than usual. A little tired. A little distant.

 “It’s been… a weird day,” she said, shelving a book beside him.

 “Weird how?”

 “You ever feel like you're waiting for something, but you’re not sure what it is?”

He paused.

 “Yeah. Lately… all the time.”

Their eyes met, briefly—two questions hanging between them, unspoken.

Kai looked down at the book in his hand. A poetry volume again.

 “You ever wish books could answer questions?” he asked.

 “All the time,” she replied. “But they only whisper back. Never quite loud enough.”

A silence followed. Not uncomfortable—but weighty. As if something invisible had sat down beside them.

 “Yuna,” he said, suddenly.

She looked up.

 “Do you—”

He stopped. Shook his head.

 “Never mind.”

But she didn’t press. Instead, she stepped back, gently brushing his arm.

 “Aisle six has better answers today,” she whispered, then walked off.

Kai stood there, staring at the spine of the book he hadn’t opened.

And then he smiled, just a little.

Because even if the books couldn’t answer him…

Maybe she could.

---

 Author’s Note:

Some moments aren’t loud, but they leave echoes behind.

Kai and Yuna are slowly stepping into spaces they didn’t know they shared.

If today’s chapter made your heart pause or your thoughts wander, leave a like or comment. Every little bit keeps this story going 

See you in Chapter 9.

— Arthur