We are a learned culture here in Bluster County. Well read, well educated, and we think good thoughts.

As such, we have a lot of books set on long shelves. Some are built deep into the walls in luxurious libraries of leather bound volumes.

Others are economical: thin, DIY shelves bought at the Walmart in the next town filled with discount paperbacks and used classics discovered at the Salvation Army store.

In all of the shelves, you will find something common. Books, of course, and probably many of the same great writers. There is more than that, things unseen. We all have these whether we read Stephen Crane or Stephen King.

Look in my shelves. Chaucer is in there. Shakespeare. Poe. Keats. Theology. History. Various hobbies: running, chess, art. All covered.

Look deeper. Look between the books. Between the between the books. Between the shelves themselves. That slim avenue leading to the wall. Mostly dark and mostly hidden is that space, but there are Finders -- sleek, kind creatures -- living there.

You can't see them: As fast as elves. More invisible than poltergeists. And harder workers than brownies.

When you are looking for a book, they are the ones poking it gently so you can find it. The book might move so little that no dust is unsettled, but still your eye catches it. A shake of the spine is all they do, but it is enough for you.

They work in small teams. There's one Finder per shelf, with a leader giving directions. With only a moment to slip from book to book, they are on a mission to show you yours. They know what you want before you do, and nudge you along the way. The Finders get it done every time.

Where, though, is that book of sonnets? Why can’t it be found? There’s no question it was there, but now, it is missing. Good as they are, sonnets are their addiction. Not to worry. The book will be returned. Be assured it will be missing again, borrowed by a Finder indulging in the little songs built in iambs ad rhyme.

Need a book? Look in the shelves. You'll find it.

These are the days in Bluster County which cause me to smile, and I would live nowhere else. The sun rises an inch higher here than anywhere else in the world, making every day brighter. Click here to read my other tales, and here to contact me. I would love to tell these strange tales to your group.

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• Learn more about Bluster County here. Read what inspires these stories, including classic tales.