This is not strong.

[igiko]

The bookstore right around the corner of his tutee's apartment is a prolific hub for books of all genres and demographics. While ░▒░▒░░ isn't an especially avid reader, he's reminded by the many colorful covers on display behind the glass wall one day: supposedly, there's a series of picture books that have been gaining popularity within the past year, though acquiring so much as a single volume has proven to be something of a challenge for fans.

Whereas the city bursts with metropolitan hustle and bustle, a hush washes over the bookstore interior. Nobody pays ░▒░▒░░ any mind as he wanders over to an unoccupied bookshelf and scans its contents. The books here are ordinary paperbacks, printed in ink and bound with glue. He turns around to a shelf of digital tablets and grasps his chin in thought, racking his brain for something familiar, when a soft voice navigates through the quiet from a distance:

" . . . and so the fox was set free by the grace of the handsome dragon of the mountain, where they . . . "

Hm?

He follows the voice to the back of the store, where his gaze is drawn to a sizable crowd of children and adults, all huddled around an unseen reader. The voice stops speaking, and he takes a step toward the crowd when the children erupt into excited cheers.

Then he remembers. Some books are infused with magic, moving the pictures within as if the pages were alive. The series about the fox and the dragon boast especially robust spells with a colorful style that's said to appeal to both children and young adults. Those very particulars have hindered mass production, limiting the series' dissemination, but in equal measure have inspired great loyalty among fans who prize the series' authenticity before commercial success. ░▒░▒░░ plainly sees why as a spectacle plays out before him in the form of living magic, woven into a cartoonish serpent that soars over the children's heads and leaves behind a trail of colorful fireworks with impressive fluidity.

If the production value is that stellar, it reasons that each volume would be a rare find. Yet, ░▒░▒░░ looks past the dragon and the swaying crowd to a young man against the wall, whose his lips are parted in what seems to be surprise, and the sight of that makes him wonder when their eyes meet by miraculous chance.

It should have been impossible to tell from a distance, but the eyes peering into his are a gentle green. Unbeknownst to him, his breath catches. Like a dream, his depth of vision and sense of time distort until reality wedges itself between them, tearing their gazes apart. Then he finds himself rushing over to a little girl in pursuit of the dissipating dragon and stops her in her tracks, all but gasping.

"Mind your step. You'll fall if you run that way."

He passes the little girl off to her parent, nodding at the latter's gratitude, when the soft thud of a closing book and then a clap sound behind him.

"Thank you for coming, everyone. That's it for today. I would be very happy if you could come by again when I have another story for you. Until then . . . "

Bade by their chaperones, the children sing their thank yous in chorus and then file out of the corner to disperse throughout the store. ░▒░▒░░ turns around; however, before he can leave or engage, the reader steps genially toward him.

"Thank you for stopping that child," he says with the book tucked under his arm. "Though I'm curious as to why you did . . . "

"She would have fallen if I didn't. Her eyes weren't on the floor," says ░▒░▒░░. The reader cants his head to the side.

"Does that mean you can see my tail?" At ░▒░▒░░'s nod, he asks, "Are you a spirit?"

"No. I'm simply a human—a long-lived one, that is."

"Ah, so that's how you're able to perceive my appendage."

Most humans are incapable of perceiving the non-human qualities of spiritual creatures. Those born with sensitivity to all matters spiritual, often the offspring of such creatures, are most likely to possess the gift of sight. Then there are humans with unusual attributes, like his prolonged youth, who sometimes manifest something similar. While such a difference is irreconcilable for some humans, it's tacitly understood between the two of them that they're both more advanced in their years than appearances would suggest. Still, a mere human's ability to sight a tail is hardly worth all the surprise.

"Is everything all right?" asks ░▒░▒░░. The spirit blinks.

"What do you mean?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your spell earlier didn't seem to manifest as you'd planned."

"Oh, that." The spirit shakes his head—░▒░▒░░ wasn't wrong, no—and goes on to explain that the spell came out far stronger than intended, yet at no greater cost to the spirit's heart in spite of the unexpected potency. "The dragon's not normally so big or ostentatious."

An amused smile plays on the spirit's face. Clearly there's something ironic about that statement ░▒░▒░░ doesn't quite grasp.

"Are you the author?" he asks instead. The spirit beams, clutching the book tucked against his side with both hands.

"Yes, I am. I illustrate pictures that dance for the children and adults who want to see the fox and the dragon come to life. Did you enjoy it?"

"I did, yes, though I only managed to see the dragon. My daughter told me about your books; one of her friends from school managed to get hold of a copy, and she's been mesmerized since."

As luck would have it, locating another such copy has proven fruitless to date. In fact, it's been long enough that he nearly forgot about the series until now. Would she still be interested, I wonder . . . Her sense of time for this sort of thing is different from mine.

"Your daughter? Is she here with you?"

"She's currently with her mother. If only I had her today . . . she would have loved to see your spell at work, I'm sure."

The spirit hums, drumming his fingers along the edge of the book, which he holds out after a pause. "Then why don't you take this to her? The magic imbued in it isn't half as powerful as what I showed you today, but it should still work as intended."

"What?" ░▒░▒░░ shakes his head. "I couldn't. That book is yours."

"And it's mine to give as I like. This is the original, you know—not to say the others are ingenuine imitations. If it's all right, I would love for your daughter to have it as a token of my appreciation to you for taking care of that child earlier. I won't accept payment, so please don't try to hand me any."

░▒░▒░░ looks down from the spirit's unyielding smile at the proffered book. After another moment of consideration, he shakes his head, sighs mutedly, and takes it. Far be it from him to challenge a spirit's heart on this day.

"Thank you. I'll make certain that she takes good care of it."

"No, thank you." The spirit clasps his hands over his chest. "I'll be here again next month at around this time. Won't you bring your daughter with you if she's with you then? Of course, you're welcome to come by on your own if she isn't. It's just that I . . . "

The spirit trails off, seemingly taken aback by his own forwardness. ░▒░▒░░ is certain that this isn't how the spirit typically interacts with the audience, or there'd be no book left of which to read off by now, and he's far from the most deserving fan for a gift so enviable. By all rights, none of this should be happening.

That being said, ░▒░▒░░, with the book tucked against his side, similarly finds himself answering more emphatically than intended when he promises that he will.