Historians called it a ghost. To Elias, it was an obsession.
The fluorescent lights of the library buzzed like a trapped insect as Elias stared at the blinking cursor. He’d spent three years tracking the "Serai Manuscript," a legendary document rumored to be the only firsthand account of a city that vanished from the Silk Road in the 14th century.
The computer screen flickered and went black. When the librarian did her rounds the next morning, she found an empty chair, a cold cup of coffee, and a single, ancient gold coin resting on the keyboard.
