✓ Haru (library ghost)
quiet boy. maybe imaginary. sits by the old shelves. sometimes he smiles. maybe he's dead. I like him.
today he looked at me
i pretended to be reading but i wasn't. i was counting the seconds between his blinks. he blinked slow. like someone who doesn't need time anymore.
i followed him once
he left through the fire exit but the alarm didn’t go off. i stepped in the same spots he did. they felt colder. he was gone when i turned the corner. but i swear i smelled paper and blood.
maybe he's not a ghost
maybe i’m the one who isn’t real. maybe he’s watching *me* every time i think i’m alone. maybe this is his journal and i’m just a page that writes itself.
“if haru talks to me, i’ll take it as a sign that i shouldn’t disappear yet.”