A teen girl tried to steal a book from our store

was the book?” I ask, my voice cautious.

She looks at me again, her expression searching, almost afraid of the answer.

“The Night Gardener.”

My breath catches.

“That’s the one,” I say quietly.

The room falls into a heavy silence, the kind that feels alive, filled with something neither of us can explain.

The woman leans back in her chair, staring at me like continue reading …