The Libary of Almosts

Elias moved through New York like a ghost striding through streets and stores. The city was loud, alive and vibrant, overflowing with people who seemed to know where they were going. Today he didn’t, yes not today.

He passed stores he never entered, walked streets he had never been down before, heard conversations he’d never be a part of. That was the special thing about New York: it made you feel small, but in a way that almost felt honest.

The sky hung low stars shining in the sky, a cold breeze passing by only this city knew. Elias pulled his jacket tighter and kept walking, he didn't have a destination but stopping felt worse than keeping on.

He didn't notice the building at first, most people wouldn’t. It was tucked between a deli and a pawn shop, narrow enough to be missed, old enough to be ignored. Though something about it tugged at his heartstrings like it whispered at him to enter. Like how a quiet memory pulls at your heartstrings.

A sign above the door read: The Library of Almosts

He blinked, looked again, the words were still there, he wasn't dreaming this was real. Did nobody else see this? Maybe it was a part of his imagination but maybe this was why he took this walk, fate brought him here. So he did the one thing he could think of he walked in wondering what was here

The shop was dark only with a dim light brightening it, it was empty, nothing was there. He sighed, ready to turn back, when a light flickered in the rear of the room. A door was open flickering with light with another room on the other side. Once again curiosity tugged at him, as he walked through.

On the other side, he found the most magnificent library he had ever seen — shelves stretching impossibly high, lined with gold‑bound books and gemstones that caught the light and scattered it across the walls like stars.

Elias stepped deeper into the library, brushing his hand against books but the feeling was almost unholy. Like he wasn’t supposed to touch them, but he kept going, letting instinct guide him like the city couldn't. Then he saw a book that almost felt like it was for him, he rushed there and grabbed it, inspected it. The title was written in handwriting that wasn't his but it seemed familiar

The title: The Friend You Almost Kept, his chest tightened. He didn't know why this was the one, but it felt right and wrong. He opened it expecting pages but only finding moments, moments that hurt him like nothing could ever

A birthday he didn’t show up to. A phone call he ignored because he was “too tired.” A message he typed and deleted and never sent. A version of himself who stayed instead of drifting. A version of his friend who smiled instead of fading.

Each memory drifts in and out like a poorly projected film, into the air soft and ghostlike. Elias watched himself laugh, watched himself walk away, watched himself choose silence over effort. He swallowed hard, he hadn't thought about this friend in years, didn't know where they lived now, didn't know if they would even recognize him. Didn’t know if they even wanted to. The book closed itself gently like it knew he had seen enough and was on the verge of tears. He placed it back calmly, the library didn't judge, it didn't punish him it just showed him what could have been. Told him the truth, the hard cold truth. He placed the book back and as he turned a new one caught his eye. This one wasn't shy, it glowed, the title made his stomach drop.

The Person You Almost Became

He didn't touch it but he knew the moment he did deep down inside that this would change everything

The book warmed under his fingertips the moment he touched it welcoming him like an old friend, when he opened it, the world shifted. He saw himself, a version he didn't recognize as a man he didn't know. This man was more confident, brighter, he laughed more, he loved more, he lived more. A person who didn't shy away from the big moments, a person who didn't push everyone away, a person who tried even when trying scared him. This version got that big job that he wanted as a kid, he married that girl like he said he would. This version had a huge family like the one Elias always dreamed of having, this version of him was happy, something real Elias hasn't been in forever. The vision started to fade, as he tried to grab the book to never let it go, never let his perfect life end. But the book faded, leaving him alone in the quiet glow of the shelves.

For a moment Elias felt a sharp pain twist inside of him, the feeling of regret, the feeling of longing. It's like his whole life flashed before his eyes, how many chances he let slip through his fingers. But something else settled in its place, the feeling of possibility, the library watched him softly waiting for his next move. Though his next move never came, he took a deep breath as he walked outside the library. The buzzing city of New York waited for him, the busy cars, people, tall buildings in every direction you looked. He was letting go, after all those years of letting his past decide his life he finally let go.

He glanced back once, the building was gone along with every book inside of it. Just a deli and a pawn shop took its place. Elias pulled his jacket closer blocking out the cold, and started walking again, not to escape anything. But to walk towards something new and brighter. He finally realized he didn't need to chase the life he almost lived, he just needed to build the one he had.

And for the first time in a long time that felt like enough.