Luna’s Library Card

Luna lived in a bookshop with tall shelves, rolling ladders, and more laps than she could visit in one day. She judged readers by how gently they turned pages and whether they left room beside the book.

One afternoon, a child opened a story about the moon and waited. Luna stepped onto the chair, circled twice, and settled against the final chapter. Together they read until the lamps came on along the street.

The child returned every Saturday. The books changed, but Luna’s place did not. The bookseller joked that she had issued herself a library card, payable in chin scratches and quiet company.