—Adam, go ahead and pick a book; that'll formalize the deal— said the teddy bear, looking happily at the five sheep.

Adam followed suit and picked one of the little books from the bookshelf, causing a stone face to form on it. The face didn't seem human, as it was wrinkled, with sharp teeth and blindfolded eyes.

—Are you the same bookshelf from the middle floors bank?— Adam asked, somewhat puzzled by the stone face.

—Yes, and from a few more floors...— replied the stone face, eyeing the little books suspiciously —What transaction do you want to make, kid?

—The kid and I want to exchange the contents of the suitcase for help in the war from a bookshelf— the teddy bear replied before Adam could say anything.

—Alright— replied the stone face, no longer suspicious of the little books —What are you going to exchange?

—The content of the suitcase in exchange for aiding a bookshelf in the war— the teddy bear replied.

—Alright— said the stone face —Any other transactions?

—None— the six little books replied happily.

Upon hearing that there were no more transactions to be done, the stone face retreated back into the stone bookshelf.

With much disappointment, Adam asked:

—Did the bookshelf do anything? It only said "alright" twice.

—It did nothing...— replied the black sheep, looking at the suitcase with delight —The teddy bear was just pulling your leg.

Adam looked at the teddy bear, but it said nothing. Since he had never seen it laugh, he wasn't sure if the little books could even do that, but he was probably laughing inside. Seeing the boy getting angry, the black sheep spoke again cheerfully:

—Actually, you could have asked us to look for the suitcase for you. It must be quite heavy, and the information about the location was valuable enough for our help.

Adam's forehead veins started to bulge, and he glared at the teddy bear, but the bear just ignored him and drank from his bottle.

—Here come our helpers— said the black sheep happily, looking at the bank's door —Deal's done! Once we verify that the content in the suitcase is genuine, we'll look for the teddy bear to find the bookshelf and assist in the war.

Adam looked in the direction the black sheep was looking: eight mannequins were approaching through the door. Four of them stayed by the bank's entrance, while the other four came closer to the little books.

As they approached, Adam noticed that the mannequins were made of silver and wore gray tunics; they had no facial features and walked in sync with each other, meaning when one raised its leg, the other three did the same, creating a rather strange visual effect.

One of the mannequins broke out of sync with the group, took the suitcase, and started to walk away, completely ignoring Adam and the teddy bear. The sheep and the other mannequins followed it, leaving Adam and the bear alone in the bank.

As the mannequins and the sheep left, the teddy bear calmly said:

—Well, our part of the mission is done; now we just have to wait for a while. Congratulations, kid. As a reward for having come this far, I will tell you that if you read the book they gave you in the bathroom, you'll turn into the Toy Maker we killed, and you'll die; it's his biography.

—What?!— Adam yelled in anger. He would, of course, ask his godfather about it later, but right now, he felt completely disillusioned.

—Don't be surprised...— commented the bear in a gruff voice —Have you ever seen a bookshelf giving away something valuable without any hidden motive?

—But that wooden kid seemed very trustworthy...— Adam replied, not believing the bear's words.

—What's worth more? The life of that Toy Maker or that of a librarian?— asked the bear, taking a swig from his bottle.

—The librarians! We're the ones who ascend!— Adam replied angrily.

—Yes, but the world isn't just about ascending and ascending to infinity— the bear responded while taking another drink—Let's say that bookshelves have specific goals, and ascending, in general, are just one of many tools to achieve them. The big problem with that tool is that it also helps all your rivals, while the Toy Maker only helps the bookshelf he fancies. Moreover, Toy Makers are often better tools than regular librarians.

—So, they only see us like that...?— Adam asked with disillusionment.

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But then, the young hero remembered that on two occasions, no bookshelf helped him when he was almost eaten by a creature, except for the old white wooden one and the bathroom bookshelf, which did it in exchange for a favor and because they were its rules.

—Not all of them...— replied the bear —But some bookshelves see you only as a tool for ascending. Bookshelves are conscious and capricious. Some love librarians more than their books. Others love Toy Makers. Others love their rules. They all love something. It's not that they hate you; they just love you less, and in a life where millennia are nothing, your life is nothing. However, I am not asking you to understand it, emotions are very difficult for librarians to understand.

—What a sad reality...— Adam replied, feeling quite angry.

If the bear was telling the truth, then Adam would die by reading this book, merely because of the whim of a bookshelf, and the Toy Maker who died in his place would be reborn.

—But more importantly, do you know how to use this information, Adam?— asked the bear, looking the boy in the eyes.

-------------------------------Nobody move, the king is going to speak------------------------------------

Now I realize that everything before seemed like it was only to ask this question.

Even visiting this floor, tired, with the suitcase in hand. Absolutely everything might have been just to ask this question.

The problem is that I don't know to what extent it's a coincidence. I don't know how much the events that led to this question were random or orchestrated by the drunk bear. I don't know how normal it is to precisely visit the white wooden bookshelves during one of these special classes. I don't know how much Aquiles was consciously involved. I don't know how normal it is to encounter an Actorino on the middle floors. I don't know to what extent the attack by two people in black robes on some children makes sense. I don't know to what extent the Actorino was cornered to pass through the white wooden bookshelves. I don't know if the white wooden bookshelves are involved. I don't know who gave the black book to the Actorino. I don't know if the little books that ignored me on the 4th floor out of 5 were involved. I don't know if the little books that ignored me on the lower floors were involved. I don't know if the eyeless old man knows another little book in whom he trusts besides the drunk bear. But I do know many things that happened to me later, which led me to ponder these connections now.

It might seem crazy, a Machiavellian act of unimaginable proportions that no librarian or creature inhabiting this library could devise. But if there's one thing I've learned from my childhood, it's that everything—absolutely everything—can be linked to everything else. And that is the charm of my story and the way to discover The History.

What is certain and undeniable is that with silver mannequins: Why would one bother to hide the scent? Besides, visiting a floor full of Toy Makers and then leaving with the biography of one of them to ask this question. That is a reality, not a coincidence, but we could say that the bear was just stupid and didn't fix the deal properly. Unusual for a little book, but possible for a reader who is unfamiliar with them.

Why go through all the fuss of orchestrating this plan to confront a Corruptus who can't distinguish a stone from a librarian, just to ask this question? But that's a fact from a distant future. The reader doesn't know much about the Corruptus, so it's impossible for them to identify the problem (unless they reread the story).

Nevertheless, there are enough shown facts that are useful for understanding that they aren't simple random coincidences.

From that lack of randomness arises a hidden plot for Adam.

From that hidden plot for Adam arises an untold story, or rather, one of the countless and infinite untold stories within a story!

Until today, I never knew my true relationship with the drunk bear from the Care Bear family, but no little book would create such a fuss just to return a favor... or would they?

It could be for the reader: this is the first little book known to Adam. But if they reread the story, it would be more than evident that from this question, one can start building their own untold story. For example, one of the countless stories could be titled "Adam and the bear."

However, a child wouldn't notice it, and unfortunately, Adam wasn't just a child; he was me. And I was always too much of an idiot to notice it. Except now, that I can read it...

Once knowing the end of the story, what arises is the re-reading of the "whys"... The big "whys" of my life.

Why talk about the purge knowing that the floor was already infected with Toy Makers? Why tell me the story of these ancient bookshelves? Why show me the secret of the floor and total hexagon numbers? Why make me get my hand devoured and then heal it? Why make me carry the suitcase upstairs? Why show me that the stairs are safe? Why show me the contents of the suitcase? Why show me that contracts don't exist in the bank? Why show me that not all magical books are safe? Why talk about the whims of the bookshelves? And most importantly, why ask me this last question?

But a dead man bounces twice when one asks: Why bother so much if there was nothing to gain in return?

That's why "Adam and the bear" is a great story, but one I could never know. One of the hidden stories within the paragraphs of my story. But unfortunately, it's not The Story we're looking for, dear reader...