The library does not end.
Visitors who descend past the third landing
have reported shelves that continue downward
beyond the reach of any lantern.
The books found there are legible.
That is the troubling part.
— note, written in the margin of Vol. CXII:
"do not read aloud. do not read alone. do not read."
Received today: one volume, no title, no spine.
Pages: indeterminate.
Content: changes between readings.
Catalogued under [ entry obscured by water damage ]
Donor unknown. Left at the gate before dawn.
The lock had not been opened.
I have stopped counting the candles.
The reading room on the left has a window
that looks onto a courtyard
that does not exist in this building.
It is summer there.
It is always summer there.
I have not opened the window.
I am afraid it would close behind me.
— found on a slip of paper between pages 408 and 409 of a book with no page 409:
"you were here before. you will not remember this visit either."
1. Return all volumes to their original shelf.
(the shelves will tell you which one.)
2. If a book opens on its own, do not look away.
3. The librarian is not on duty.
(the librarian has not been on duty for some time.)
4. Silence is observed in all wings.
(silence observes you in return.)