The Visiting card

Title: The Visiting Card

Chapter 1: A Card from the Past

London — a city where the shadows of history still roam the cobbled streets, and modern buildings stand like silent guardians of long-buried secrets.

Among the countless souls in this vast city lived a young student named Will — quiet, introspective, and deeply thoughtful. He had an unbreakable bond with books, often escaping into the timeless halls of old libraries, drawn to the forgotten worlds that whispered from ancient pages.

One morning, as usual, Will left his college and made his way to his favorite library. The familiar scent of old paper and faded ink greeted him the moment he stepped inside. Slowly, he walked between the rows of shelves, letting his fingers trail across the dust-laden spines of books that hadn’t been touched in years.

Then, his eyes caught sight of a particularly old volume. Its leather cover was worn and cracked, the title barely visible. Yet something about it pulled at him — a quiet voice from the past calling out.

He took the book in his hands and settled into a quiet corner.

For hours, Will was lost in its pages. The book was strange, almost mystical — as if it told the tale of another world entirely. With each turn of the page, he sank deeper into its story.

Then, just as he flipped another fragile page, a sudden gust of wind rushed through the room. From within the book, an old visiting card fluttered out and landed at his feet.

Startled, Will bent down and picked it up.

The card bore a name, a date, and a mention of an ancient castle.

He frowned.

“This castle is over a hundred years old… but visiting cards didn’t even exist back then.”

A spark of curiosity lit within him.

Without wasting a moment, he opened his laptop and began searching for information about the castle. But then, he felt something — a faint whisper near his ear, as if someone was speaking just out of reach. The air in the library stirred. A shadow… watching him from afar?

He shook his head. Just my imagination, he told himself, refocusing on the book.

But when he finally glanced at the clock, he was stunned — morning had faded into evening. He had been reading non-stop for hours.

At that moment, the librarian — a middle-aged woman who managed the place — approached him and said gently,

"You’ve been lost in that book since morning… it’s time to head home. We’re about to close."

Will blinked, slowly nodding with a faint smile. He closed the book and stood up, his thoughts still tangled in the mystery he had just uncovered.

As he stepped out into the cool evening air, the card remained clutched in his hand.

Its secret had already taken root in his mind — and it refused to let go.