Chapter VIII
byChapter VIII begins on the bustling streets of New York City on March 13, 2014, where Addie LaRue’s life takes an unexpected turn in a humble bookshop that she has frequented for years. In a space filled with scholarly individuals, bright-eyed children, and the everyday hum of people seeking solace in books, Addie becomes transfixed by Henry, a young man with an undeniable presence behind the counter. His effortless charm is revealed through a simple act—brushing his hair back—something so ordinary yet strikingly captivating to Addie, who has spent centuries unnoticed and out of place. His vulnerability, coupled with the sincerity of his demeanor, leaves Addie feeling a flicker of something new—a connection that has always eluded her.
Addie circles the bookshop like a shadow, flitting between aisles filled with poetry and memoirs, her presence a mix of quiet elegance and restless energy. She feels the weight of her curse, one that has rendered her invisible to everyone she meets, yet her gaze is constantly drawn to Henry. As the last few customers filter out, she feels her nerves heighten with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension, knowing that any attempt at interaction is bound by the knowledge that she will eventually be forgotten, just as all others before him have done. Her repeated trips to the shop, once marked by a silent existence among books, are now punctuated by the hope that something might shift in her ever-solitary life.
When their paths finally cross, however, it’s not under the most ideal circumstances. Henry, mistakenly thinking Addie is trying to return a stolen book, accuses her of the offense, the tension in the air immediately thickening. For Addie, this moment breaks the cycle of centuries spent in solitude, where her every encounter ended in a blur of forgotten faces. Henry’s words, “I remember you,” cut through the silence like a sharp blade, grounding her in the present moment with the startling reality that for once, she is not forgotten. These words carry a weight Addie can barely process—after years of wandering the earth alone, unseen, her existence suddenly recognized by another human being.
The emotional gravity of this interaction leaves Addie momentarily paralyzed, her usual calm replaced by raw vulnerability. Unable to immediately comprehend Henry’s ability to recall her, she finds herself caught between wanting to flee and desperately wishing to understand the anomaly before her. But the normalcy of life marches on around them, and as the world continues to spin, Addie is left reeling from the shock of Henry’s acknowledgment, her mind unable to reconcile his recognition with the curse that has plagued her for centuries.
As she steps outside the shop, the weight of the moment sinks in. She can’t shake Henry’s words, “I remember you,” repeating over and over in her mind like a mantra. The magnitude of what this means for her—what it could mean—fills her with a mix of hope and fear. Just as she’s about to retreat into the night, Henry emerges again, and their conversation shifts into something more meaningful. With the offer of coffee as an olive branch, Addie finally allows herself to show a crack in her centuries-old façade. Her simple admission of need, something she’s long denied, finally compels Henry to truly see her—not just as a passing face in the crowd, but as someone worth remembering.
In the midst of New York’s frantic energy, Addie finds herself teetering on the edge of something life-changing. The bookshop, a place once filled with quiet, lonely moments, becomes the backdrop for a new chapter in Addie’s immortal life, one that promises the possibility of connection, however fleeting. For the first time in her existence, she dares to believe in the possibility that someone might remember her, offering a glimmer of hope in her eternal struggle against the isolation imposed by her curse.