15 - Luca's life
Cat's revelation about Luca's situation kept my thoughts turning the whole evening. When I woke on Tuesday morning, a picture of the forlorn looking young man with the bright blue eyes lingered in my mind, the leftovers of a vivid dream. As much as I loved the library, I couldn't imagine spending all my time there and didn't envy his destiny.
But I didn't have the time to dwell on my feelings for our non-corporeal houseguest. Tuesday was the morning of the knitting circle. I still dreaded setting my reading skills to the test in front of an audience that might be more critical than the children last Wednesday afternoon.
Half an hour before the ladies arrived, I rearranged the sitting corner for the third time, my peaking nervousness driving me into action. I jumped when Conny touched my arm, since I hadn't heard her approach.
"Stop hyperventilating, Lynn." She pressed a hot mug of coffee into my hands. "I'm sure you got this, girl. You did a great job with the kids last week—my Danny is still full of praise for your reading. He can't wait to hear the next chapter tomorrow and even prepared a drawing as a gift for you."
I clamped my fingers around the cup and inhaled the fragrance. "That's so sweet."
"It is, but don't let him suspect I told you. It's supposed to be a surprise."
Her ruse worked, and I calmed down enough to greet the visitors, cup in hand, without my heartbeat drumming in my ears. As soon as everyone was seated, I plunged headfirst into the adventure.
Conny was right—my worries had been superfluous. The only time I stumbled over my words was when I glimpsed Luca listening in the back of the audience. He leaned against a shelf with crossed arms, his bright eyes on me, and sent me a conspiratorial wink. What was the man doing there? The blood rushed to my face, and I was sure my ears glowed red. I swallowed and let my gaze drop to the page again, concentrating on my task. But I felt his eyes on me for the rest of the reading.
The ladies either hadn't noticed the interruption or put it down to my nervousness. They were charming and supportive, and when I finished my chapter and closed the book on Harry Potter and his gang, they applauded me and gushed over my impersonation of the distinct characters. Embarrassed by the praise, I was relieved when Conny appeared with a tray loaded with coffee, tea, and cookies. "Here you go, ladies. And stop showering poor Lynn with compliments. Can't you see she is overwhelmed already?"
As before, her words did the trick, and amidst amicable laughter, the conversation drifted to other topics. Relieved, I whispered my thanks to my coworker before I checked for my silent listener. But Luca had disappeared as discreet as he had come.
After my success with the knitting circle, reading to the kids on Wednesday had lost most of its horror. I still was too preoccupied with my task to watch out for otherworldly visitors, but my audience seemed content and my self confidence grew. As announced by his mother, Danny offered me an amazing drawing of the interior of the pink space ship. He had created an almost technical plan of the different rooms and components it contained. If not an artist, the boy might become an engineer one day.
Thursday morning, I found a mail from Paco and clicked through the picture galley on his homepage. His photos were gorgeous. I loved every single one of them and understood why Marjorie had thought them a good fit for an exhibition. Since the library was still quiet and inspired by his impressive work, I began writing my opening speech. After a while, I felt someone's gaze rest on me and looked up.
Luca lounged on the sofa by the window front and watched me from afar. As usual, I could see the upholstery and the window frame through his semi-translucent body, but the sight didn't shock me anymore. Since Conny was busy in the office, I walked over and slumped into an armchair facing him.
"Good morning, Luca."
He acknowledged me with a nod, but kept silent. I suppressed a sigh. "We're alone, so you can talk to me, you know—but you don't have to, of course."
A grin tugged at his lips and I could see the dimples Amber admired so much. Except for the see-through quality of his face, he was attractive, with a firm jaw, a classic nose, and prominent cheekbones beneath his wide blue eyes. Compared to Oliver's eternal boyish looks, Luca seemed marked by life and thus more interesting.
As if he could read my thoughts, his grin softened into a tiny smile. "Good morning to you, too, Lynn."
Now it was my turn to grin. "Much better. I knew you could speak. How come you honour me with your esteemed visit today?"
The smile faded, and his glowering eyes told me I had touched a sore spot. "Cat admitted he informed you about my predicament."
Now I felt bad for my insistence. "Well, it's my fault. I pestered him since I didn't understand why the two of you were so interested in Conny and Paco getting together. So he mentioned you might be caught between two planes of reality because of an unfinished story."
He nodded and ran a hand through his hair until it was spiky and stood in all directions. "This is Cat's theory, but I'm not sure it is the truth."
"Oh—but I gather you don't know which story you are connected to?"
"Yes, but that's the gist of it. Unlike the other crossers I've met in the library, I cannot find the book about me on the shelves of this place. Believe me, I searched up and down during these last years, and I'm sure I read every single story in here. Including the poetry collections and encyclopaedias. Must admit, I enjoyed the former more than the latter."
I was about to ask what kind of poetry he liked when a blue glow appeared beside him.
"And that's why I keep telling you it must be an unfinished story, not something featured in a library." Cat stretched and sunk his claws into the upholstery. Could he damage the thing?
Probably not. I pinched my nose, thinking. "There must be thousands, if not millions, of stories not featured in this library."
"That's a clever point. We might have to check other places for your story, Luca." An adventurous spark glinted in Cat's emerald eyes.
I shrugged. "It's a possibility, but it could also be something not printed, a story only available on the internet, perhaps? Since we don't offer online reading here, you might have missed it."
Cat wrinkled his nose, but Luca's eyes lit up. "Would this mean that you can find my story with your machine?" He pointed at the computer over on the front desk.
I shrugged. "I don't know, but I can try. If the story is available somewhere in print, I should be able to locate it. But if Cat is right, and it is unfinished, it might be a challenge. As far as we know, it could be an ongoing story on one of these online writing platforms, like Wattpad. As far as I see, there are tons of unfinished works featured on the web."
Cat's ears perked up as I caught his attention. "This would support my theory."
"I guess. Have you ever checked the internet?"
He wrinkled his nose. "How? We aren't corporeal in this place. Your human machines don't accept us as valid interaction partners."
I'd never considered that, but the thought of Cat working a search engine or creating a social media account and interacting with a chat bot made me smile. Perhaps it was a blessing for humanity he couldn't wreak havoc using a computer. "Okay, I'll volunteer to do some online research for you."
Luca reached out a hand as if to touch my knee, but hesitated, letting his finger hover only centimetres from my leg. "Thanks Lynn, that's very considerate."
"No worries." I stared at his fingers, electrified, as if he had touched me for real. "It's what any friend would do, right?"
His eyes lit up, but I didn't get to hear his answer as the door chime interrupted us to announce the first customer of the day. My conversation partners faded away, but I believed to glimpse a sliver of hope gleaming in Luca's gaze.
As promised, I searched the internet for any hint on a story that might contain a mention of Luca. But although the name turned out to be less uncommon than I'd thought, my attempts remained fruitless. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of protagonists called Luca in literature of all kinds, reaching from a Disney movie to werewolf romances. Not a single one seemed to show a connection with the character I knew, though. I tried to widen the search to the name of Lucas, but gave up when I saw the astronomical number of search results Google announced.
The day passed between my searches, writing my speech, and catering for the customers. When Luca joined me Friday morning on my round, I hadn't made progress.
"Hey Lynn, any news?"
I shook my head. "Sorry, no success yet. The internet is a vast place, though. Can you give me any more details on what I should search for?"
He lowered his gaze, a vertical fold forming on his forehead. "I wish I knew. There is something I was looking for, but I can't remember what it was. Every time I think it is about to pop up in my mind any second, it fades away before I can grasp it. It's an uncomfortable feeling."
I could relate to that. "Don't we all share this experience? Although in your case, it must be even more frustrating. I'll keep searching—perhaps I'll stumble over something useful. Or Cat might have a suggestion."
"Cat... that's a good idea. He must be connected to the whole situation, somehow."
I wanted to ask how he knew, but he faded away when Conny called for me. I resolved to talk to Amber if she turned up one of these days. She was the only person aside from Marjorie who could see our visitor and had studied his behaviour. Perhaps she had another suggestion.
But Amber didn't come by that day, and Cat turned out to be less helpful than I had hoped. When he greeted me Saturday morning, sitting atop the front desk, I took my chance. "Cat, what is your role in Luca's predicament?"
"Why do you think I have one?"
"Stop answering my questions with your own. Luca says you must be connected to his case."
"Hm. I can't guess why he would say that, but if he is convinced of it, perhaps he is right. Not that I can help you much, there. Didn't your research pay out?"
I sighed. "Not in the way I hoped for. But I'll keep digging. Just promise that you'll tell me if you have more information, will you?"
"Of course—whatever you think of me, Luca is a friend and I want to help. What about the Paco-and-Conny situation?"
"What about it?"
"Did you make progress there?"
"Cat, I haven't seen Paco all week. He will join us next Thursday for the opening event. What should I be doing the meantime, using my incredible mind powers to convince him to invite Conny for dinner?" My patience was wearing thin. "Look, I spent every free minute searching the internet for Luca's story, but drew only blanks so far. For the other project, I don't know how I shall approach this. As a matchmaker, I'm about as inexperienced as a frog in ice skating."
"There is no need to get worked up about it."
I held my breath while I counted to ten in my mind. "You're right—see it like this. Either an opportunity will present itself, or it won't. Let's just see what we can do, shall we?"
To my surprise, Cat agreed and left me alone after that.
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