Thanks, that was a big help. Oh, I'll be fine for now.

(I couldn't find it, so I needed to have an attendant look for me. Books in their shelves are pretty hard to find.)

Er, all right, so this is the last book in my notes. Still, it's a lot bigger than I imagined.

Oh, there you are! Heyyy!

Oh, Hanamaru. I just got all of the books noted. These are right, right?

Mm… Yeah! Great, zura, these are the ones, zura!

Whoa, and you're carrying them all?! Hang on, I'll get a cart!

Th-Thanks. To be honest, I haven't had feeling in my arms for a while now, and I've been worried about dropping all of these books.

Here we go, sorry for the wait, zura! Just put 'em on here.

[Fade in/out.]

Phew, my arms feel so light.

Thank you. I was a little worried about shopping alone today.

But you helped so much by coming with me, zura!

You're very welcome.

(I'm a little curious about what she'd have done if she was alone. Would she put them on her shoulders, or something?)

Still, this is a ton of books. Do you usually buy this many?

Not always. Only when there's something I want to research, or a new book from my favorite authors, or when I find books that catch my eye when I'm walking in the store, zura.

Those are all the reasons most people normally go to bookstores, though.

The book might be missing next time I come, and it might take a lot of time to restock.

When I think that, zura, I just can't help but open my wallet.

Yeah, I can understand feeling like that. It's really easy to think about stuff you didn't buy after thinking hard on it, or you never came across again.

That's right! Meetings with books are fate, zura!

Huh? Fate?

Yeah. The books are the authors themselves, zura. Novels, critiques, essays – they all have the writer's heart in them, as expressions of what the writer wants to say.

Making them much like people themselves! And if meeting them can open up new worlds, zura, then I can't let them escape!

Huh. I've never thought of books like that before, really.

I've heard that people are drawn together by fate, but if that's the case with books, too, then I've got to treasure those encounters.

Yeah!

Hanamaru, can I look around the shop a bit more?

I want to see if I can find myself a fated encounter, too.

*Giggle* Of course, zura. Mind if I join you?

Sure, let's go together!