Honestly, when I see it all, I'm overwhelmed. "How long have all these books been here? Did you and Gaster find them all?"

Rogue smiles as he waves his hand around. "The books have always been here, but not really. Kind of. That's the best way to put it."

"Kind of?"

"All this knowledge was always here, in the Inbetween, but it took shape once Gaster got here. I always knew what was in the books because, well, it was like I could just have everything in the book just pass into my head. I wasn't reading it, it was more like I was experiencing it."

"Wow. That sounds amazing. I can only imagine what it would be like to just experience a story instead of reading it."

"It's fun, but there's something about reading that's different. It makes you slow down and really think about things."

"That's true. I guess that's why I liked the literature club. I could just slow down and be there."

He motions to the book. "Why don't you grab a book?"

"There's so many. Which one would I look for?"

"This library's kind of special. Sometimes, you just find the book you're supposed to have."

"You're almost talking like the library knows what I'm thinking."

His hand wraps behind his head. "That's not quite what it is, but the library is in tune with your thoughts."

"Because Gaster made it that way?"

"No, because we're all just, you know, part of the universe."

"That doesn't explain anything at all!"

"I know. Look, just trust me on this one. Grab a book. It's your first time. The library's going to give you the one you need to read."

"Ahaha." I laugh uncomfortably as I look back at the shelves. "Well, here we go, I guess." With that, I reach out, and it is a little weird. At first my hand sits there, over the book covers. I'm sure that I'm going to grab just whatever book I want, but then it's kind of like, I don't know, like my hand starts pulling me sideways. I start walking down the shelves until I'm at the stairs leading up to the second floor, and then I'm walking up to the second level, and then the third, until I'm so far up that the ground floor of the library looks like it's a whole other world away. Rogue's there with me the whole time and just waiting patiently. He's a good guy. Anyway, I finally feel my fingers touch something, and, well, it just feels right. My fingers wrap around the cover and I pull it out. For a second, I just stand there, staring at the words on the cover.

I'd probably stay quiet for an hour if Rogue doesn't blurt out, "Well, don't keep me waiting!"

"Uh, I've never herd of this book before."

"What's it called?"

"It's called . . . Moby Dick."

"Oh."

"Oh?" I look back at him, and he doesn't look as happy as he just did. "Is there something wrong with this book?"

"No, it's just . . . it's a deep book. The library picks your first book for you. Sometimes it will pick books for you later on, but the first one's always the most important. It says a lot about you."

"So, what does it say about me?" His eyes drop and he looks away, like he doesn't want to say anything. "Rogue? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just, it's a book about . . . obsession."

Just hearing that word, I feel my heart hammer on the wall of my chest. "Obsession. I'm . . . obsessed?"

"I don't know," he says, looking back at me. "Are you?"

"I . . ."

"Is there . . . I mean, is there something you're looking for? Something you want so incredibly bad that you'd do anything for it?"

"Rogue. I don't know. I've just gotten my memories back. I really . . . I don't remember a lot about where I came from."

"The library doesn't say anything about who you used to be. It says what you are, right now." He stops and shakes his head. "I'm sorry. Look at me! We just got done having a deep bonding moment. That book is great, Monika. Really. There's actually a lot to learn from it. I'd say, just read through it whenever you have time. You might learn something about yourself, and that might help you find whatever it is you're looking for."

It makes me smile when he gets cheerful again. "For a second, I really thought you were going to just tell me I was the most horrible person."

"There are horrible things out there. That's why Gaster wants you to help him so bad. I promise you though . . . you're not one of them."

"Thank you, Rogue. It's weird that I want to hear someone tell me something like that. I just keep having all these memories trickling back, and I think . . . I really think I did some bad things."

"Plenty of people do bad things. Not all of them had the realities of the universe slam into their heads and wake them up to the truth that there's a crazy amount of universes in a way that makes your head want to explode."

That makes me laugh, at least a little. "Okay, so, I'll start reading this book tonight, when I get to bad. I still don't feel like going to bed yet though. Is it late?"

"There's really no such thing as late and early here in the Inbetween. I tell you what though. Cool part about being here?"

"Yeah?"

"You can watch television from I don't know how many universes. I feel you need a comedy to lighten up the mood. Maybe we both do."

"I never watched a lot of television when I was back . . ." I bite my lip for a second. "When I was back in the other universe."

"Look. It's exactly what you need right now. Let's just take a load off. Tomorrow's going to be heavy enough as it is, with everything Gaster wants to talk about."

I wrap my arms behind my back and lean in with a smile. It's almost like . . . I don't know. Instinctual? "Okay! I think I could use that."

Rogue gestures down the stairs and leads the way back down. I'm feeling better as we climb back down the stairs. Still, as we're walking down, I turn back to look at the floor we just came from and the shelf where I found my book. There's nothing there, but that's . . . scary, for some reason. The emptiness is scary, but I don't understand why. I put the thought away and shake it off. I'm sure I'm just imagining things.