Borrowed Margins
Every book Shiori repairs returns a memory that someone paid to remove from the world.
The missing memories wait inside the margins
Shiori repairs an indigo book and releases a memory that does not belong to her. Gen, an antiquarian who recognizes the binding, knows someone has been paying to erase whole lives from its margins. You are the estate appraiser cataloging the shop before it closes. Each repaired page returns another memory, including one carrying your own name.
Who you will play as
You are the adult appraiser assigned to inventory Shiori's Kyoto bindery before its sale. Gen knows the rare books, Shiori knows their repairs, and neither expected the margins to remember you.
I repaired three letters of the name, and the book opened to a memory of you standing here.
Ask Shiori to finish the repair.
Have Gen identify the erased owner.
Close the book before another memory returns.