He knew he wasn’t someone who looked like they belonged in the middle of the isle of delicate pages. Livio was a large man, broad shouldered and muscular, and towering over most people. He looked as if he should be a farmer, a lumberjack, maybe even a construction man. His green eyes scanned over each cover, his calloused hands running over each cover. The white haired man’s favorite covered were the ones with the name stamped into the leather cover. The indents beneath his fingertips considerably reassuring between the tall shelves.

The smell of new pages was one he had always enjoyed, the excitement of a new book to love until the cover was well worn. Each book cover allowing a small peak into the words that inked across the pages. Stacking books wasn’t a bad job, it was quite pleasant, and it allowed him to know the location of each every book. Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller, Comedy, Non-Fiction, Western. Each a book waiting to go home with someone to read it until the pages curled in on themselves. Sentences and paragraphs able to build a colorful world worth indulging.

The familiar bell chime across the bookstore made him look up from the Japanese comic books, or manga, he had been stacking from the brown boxes they were bulked into. “Welcome in.” He called out, offering a rugged grin as he peaked his head out from between the shelves. He wasn’t socially anxious, just a quiet man. Running a hand over his buzzed hair, he heaved a sigh. As he grabbed more books into his arms, cradling them like delicate glass. Each book stacked next to one another carefully. It was satisfying, a simple pleasure of his.

A low hum rumbled through his chest as he listened carefully to the song that played across the store, through the speakers. A simple radio they had set up. He could smell the incense that had burned out a few hours lingering around. His eyes scanned over each book, thoroughly checking them, placing them in alphabetical order. He knew he looked out of place, but he adored the shop.