The Reserved Seat at the Library
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Vikram wonders why a library chair always has a sweater on it until he learns who it is saved for.
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Every afternoon, Vikram studies at the same table in the library. One seat across from him always has a red sweater on it. But no one ever sits there.
At first, Vikram thinks someone forgot the sweater. But the same sweater appears every day, always on the same chair.
One day, he decides to ask the librarian about it.
"Why does that chair always have a sweater on it?" he asks.
The librarian smiles. "That's Beatrix's chair," she says. "She saves it for her friend Ulla every day."
That afternoon, a woman walks in. She places a red sweater on the chair. Vikram watches, curious.
"Excuse me," he says. "Is that seat for someone?"
"Yes," Beatrix says. "My friend Ulla comes late because of her job. She walks slowly, so I save her a seat near the door."
"That's kind of you," Vikram says.
A few minutes later, a woman with gray hair walks in slowly. She sits down in the saved chair. She smiles at Beatrix and thanks her quietly.
Vikram goes back to his own table. Now he understands the empty chair. He no longer wonders about the sweater.
The next day, he waves at Beatrix when he walks in. She waves back.
