Shadow Tree by Jake Halpern

confused. Far above him – perhaps 200 feet or so –
he saw, for the first time, a small patch of light. The light was so meager that it illuminated very little. Leif had no idea what this was, but he was intrigued.
    He began climbing. It was steady work, climbing one step at a time, checking each rung first with his hand to confirm that it was steady. Leif assumed that no one had used this ladder in ages and, the higher he climbed, the more nervous he became. After ten minutes of climbing, he reached a wooden trapdoor with his fingertips. The trapdoor was made with several slats of wood, but there were spaces in between these slats, and through these slats light was pouring through. This was the source of light that he had seen from far below.
    Leif pushed up on the trapdoor with gentle and then steady pressure. It creaked loudly, but was unlocked. Dust coated his head and shoulders. He emerged into a circular room lined with bookcases. A movable ladder rotated around the room on an iron rail. Leif looked up and stared in astonishment. The room’s ceiling was several hundred feet overhead – so far above him that he could only barely make it out. Leif tried to grasp where he was. There was only one explanation. Initially, he had fallen into a hole in the ground and now he had climbed up into the trunk of a giant tree – the tree itself was hollowed out and its inner walls were lined with thousands of books.
    As the book-lined walls continued upward, they were joined by what appeared to be light-filled tunnels. These tunnels concentrated light and formed them into rays. Upon closer inspection, Leif realized that the tunnels were actually hollowed-out branches that were channeling light into the main trunk of the tree via an elaborate system of small windows and mirrors. Looking upward, Leif could make out many rays of light crisscrossing the room.
    There were several dozen books scattered across the floor. Some of the books were torn in half along the binding. There were also footprints in the thick dust that covered the floor. Someone had been here recently. This must have been the boy.
He was here, looking for something, but what?
    Uncertain of what else to do, Leif began climbing the moveable ladder, because there appeared nowhere to go but up. As he climbed, he read the binding of the books on the shelves: Bektair Aagar, Bo'orchu Cagar, Jamukha Gbosh, Chila'un Obzok... Each book appeared to bear a person’s name. The lower bookcases were filled with identical handwritten books of varying thickness. Leif examined a few. Each book corresponded with the life of a person, although it was presented in a dreary manner. For example, on the spine of one book was written,
Jugal Patel.
Page after page was taken up intricate logical progressions and what-ifs. Each what-if, was proceeded by a complex notation of symbols and numbers, which Leif could not decipher.
    (‰⅛†) If J.P. turns left down Folken Lane, he will meet a friend who will introduce him to the proprietor of a small coin shop, thus leading to J.P.’s career as a dealer of antique coins.
    Immediately below that came another progression:
    (‡⅝) If J.P. turns right down Folken Lane, he will proceed to buy a loaf of bread that shall turn out to be exceedingly hard, causing J.P. to be in bad humour for several hours afterwards.
    Leif paged through several more of these books before continuing his climb. They all detailed intricate cause and effect relationships, and each book focused on just one person. At first it was all very exciting – this idea of seeing someone’s life unfold on the printed page – but it soon grew tiresome. Leif hoped for something more exciting. He stopped when he reached a section with names beginning with the letter “B.” He stepped off the main ladder and tiptoed along a narrow ledge. He passed
Bidderbold
, then
Bijorge
, and then found himself at
Bilba, Sven
. The name after