The cold sliced through Kyle’s threadbare coat as he stumbled his way to the city library. It was bloody ridiculous that the shelter kicked them out on mornings like this, there ought to be a law against it, he muttered to himself. Most of the others hung out at the basement of a nearby church, but Kyle couldn’t be arsed with that lot, and preferred to walk to the city library to enjoy some culture. After all, just because he was homeless didn’t mean he liked to be always with homeless people, as he often grunted. He liked watching people looking at books, the gentle hustle of the library calmed him.

As he approached the library, he realised something was wrong- the small flow and ebb of people was absent- fuck, the library closed because of the cold? He thought of the walk back to the church basement and groaned out loud.

He reached the closed main door and carefully read the notice – what the fuck? The library was shut down? “Based on Council Order 2019-4890a” Crap no. How can they fucking shut down a fucking library? Where do the books go? Despair flooded Kyle, and he slumped down heavily on the icy-stone steps.

Time passed. He heard a knock, from inside the library- the window by the main door. It was one of the librarians. She waved at him and the door swung open.

The temperature must have risen – he couldn’t feel the cold anymore. He staggered to his feet. The librarian smiled. “Kyle? I recognize you, come on in.”

”I thought the library was shut down.” He followed her in. The book-lined halls were mostly empty, but he spotted a couple of figures, standing still before the shelves, their noses buried in books.

The librarian laughed softly. “It’s never shut for us my dear, You’re always welcome in, now.”

The door slammed shut behind him.

Kyle looked back, feeling a flicker of terror. “What- what do you mean?”

She looked at him kindly. “Oh poor Kyle. It’s quite nice, living forever in a library. My dream, as a child!”

Kyle looked outside the window. An ambulance had pulled up, and two men were walking towards his body, slumped on the steps.

The librarian was chatting. “It’s so nice you died here. I died at home, I had to find my way here – it wasn’t easy. I’m not proud of it- I killed myself after they told me the library was shutting down and I lost my job- I could never find another library job, I just wanted to be here. Others feel the same, regulars who just want to be in a library. You’re in good company.”

The voices of the paramedics were fading into the distance. His terror subsided.

“Well, your armchair is waiting for you, and I’m at my desk. Call me if you need me- I can show you some cool books you might like. I’m always happy to help- and there’s plenty of time.”