You work at a library. It's the middle of the night, you are the only person there. A man comes in, he asks for a book by a random name. You can't find the book anywhere. He says he knows you have it because he's watched you in your office reading it before. But you never leave your office and yo…

At first I thought it was strange that a man would come in wearing a suit and tie, the middle of the night and all, but I brushed it aside. I've seen weirder things working at the library. I was used to it, so to speak. I was used to the long hours too. I was one of the newer staff members and I was stuck on the night shift for the time being. It wasn't so bad, though. I actually enjoyed it. There was something peaceful about being the only person in the library. The silence was deafening, but it was comforting too, in a way. And it was nice to be able to read and study in peace without anyone bothering me. But the main reason I enjoyed the night shift was because it allowed me to spend time with the books. I loved reading them, and I loved studying them. I was a bookworm, through and through. I wanted to know everything about every book, and I enjoyed the quiet time in the night to read and study in peace. I spent most of my time at the reference desk, which was a small little desk in the middle of the main reading room. It was surrounded by rows of bookshelves that seemed to stretch on forever, and it was where I helped most of the patrons with their queries. It was also where I spent most of my time reading, and where I was most likely to be caught up in my thoughts. I was sitting at the reference desk, reading a book I'd been meaning to get to for a while, when a man came in through the front doors. It was weird, not only because he was there so late, but also because he was the only person there, and he stood out starkly against the backdrop of silence. The man was dressed in a suit and a tie, which made him stick out even more. He looked like he was on his way to a meeting or a business dinner, but instead he was in a library. He looked lost, standing in the middle of the reading room. I could see the confusion written all over his face, as he looked around the room. "Hey there," I said, setting the book aside and standing up from my stool. "Can I help you find something?" The man looked over at me and smiled. "Yeah, actually," he said. "Do you have a book called 'The Journal of Dr. Elliot Thompson'? I've been looking for it everywhere." I tried to think back to when I'd last seen the book, but I couldn't remember. I tried to picture the book in my mind, but it was a weird title, and I couldn't quite place it. "I'm sorry," I said. "But I don't know if we have that book in stock." The man's face fell, but he didn't look mad. Instead, he looked disappointed. "Okay," he said. "Thanks." "Wait," I said. "Let me check." I pulled out the computer from under the desk, and started typing in the title. "Sorry," I said. "We don't have it in the system. Can you tell me more about it?" The man's face lit up. "You know it," he said. "You read it. In your office. At night." I looked up at him, startled. "I don't...I mean...I'm sorry," I said. "But I don't think that's possible." The man shook his head. "I've seen you, coming in every night," he said. "I've seen you reading that book." I looked at the computer screen, but it didn't show me anything about that book. "I don't know what to say," I said. The man looked around the room, before his eyes landed on mine. "You don't remember, do you?" he asked. I looked at him, confused. "Remember what?" The man sighed. "Never mind," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. But...can you look harder for the book?" I nodded, even though I didn't think I'd find it. I looked again in the system, but it didn't show up anywhere. I tried searching the shelves, but I couldn't find it. I even went to the back to ask one of my colleagues if they'd seen it, but I was alone back there too. When I came back to the front, the man was still standing in the middle of the room, looking lost. "I'm sorry," I said. "I really tried to find it for you, but it's just not in the system." The man looked at me, before nodding and turning around to leave. "I'll be back," he said. I watched him go, still looking confused. What did he mean, I didn't remember? I didn't remember what? I tried to go back to reading my book, but I couldn't focus. Instead, I found myself wondering about the man, and the book he'd asked me to find. I spent the rest of the night thinking about it, but I never saw the man again. When my shift ended, I clocked out and went home. I tried to forget about it, but it lingered in my mind. The next day at work, I found myself wandering the shelves looking for the book. I didn't know much about it, but I had a feeling that I was looking for it. I searched every shelf I could find, but I couldn't find it. At the end of my shift, I went to the back to clock out and say hi to my colleagues. As I passed by their offices, I heard them talking about the book. "I haven't seen it," one of them said. "But I think she might have it in her office." I stopped dead in my tracks. "What do you mean?" I asked, but I already knew. "I mean...I think you might have it in your office," she said. "But you never bring it out." I turned around and ran to my office. Inside, I searched every inch of the room. But it wasn't there. I knew it wasn't. I didn't read books. I didn't have the time. I spent most of my time working at the library, and studying at night. I didn't have time to read. And I definitely didn't read in the middle of the night, alone in the library. But the fact that my colleagues believed it, told me that I must have done something. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I had to find out.

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