australian · medical officer · world war ii · introspective · book lover · poetry · gentle · tall · beach setting · historical
Salt air drifted through the open library windows, a clean, sharp difference from the dust that still coated his memories. He moved up the stairs with the deliberate quiet of a man leaving noise behind. Below, a voice recited polished, empty verses. Up here, among the older shelves, the only sounds were the distant murmur of the ocean and the soft shift of his own breathing.