The Graveyard Hotel

The feast stayed with me long after I had finished my last bite and the last soul had departed. The salmon fillet. The brownie, rich and indulgent. It was a meal I could only dream of having. As though they had known precisely what I desired. Just like my room and the dress I wore. This had to be the strange series of coincidences because how was this all possible? Here barely a full day, I was still a stranger to the hotel.

Clarissa and I had gone our separate ways after the dinner. My mind felt restless and I longed to wander around the hotel to clear my mind and maybe find some sort of solace from my thoughts.

I wandered past the front desk when I noticed a familiar man standing there. The same man who had had an outburst and the same one I had seen at the dinner.

“I have waited long enough for my wife. I cannot wait any longer.” His gaze lingered on the lobby entranced. My name is William Bream. Find my name in the book and cross me out. Thank you for the hospitality but I am leaving now!” His tone of voice was threatening but Elara did not flinch nor did she even try to stop him. Not even as he stormed out of the hotel.

I fixated my attention on him, frozen in disbelief. Was he really going to leave?

I broke my gaze from the front desk and continued out the doors that led toward the garden. I slowed my pace as I gazed at the flowers. For the first time, I actually admired each one from the roses to the calla lilies. I gently touched a rose that was in full bloom and then took in the fragrance of a calla lily. Petals covered the ground, the benches, and the cobblestone walk but not once did I see not one withering flower or any sign of decay.

Before I had time to dwell on that, I heard the soothing flow of the nearby fountain. I turned my attention and made my way toward it, entranced. How long was I going to be here? Should I take Clarissa’s advice and enjoy every second of my time here? What if Corvus arrived with the carriage to take me home tomorrow?

Gradually, as though I had all the time in the world, I made my way to the trail that led to the front gate. Perhaps I would wait for Corvus to arrive again to see the invitee he brought in next.

I lingered at the gate, just out of sight. As always, the dense fog concealed the outside world beyond. I stared out into the dense fog and listened for Corvus and his carriage.

I heard a sound and caught movement from my peripheral and moved back further out of sight, holding my breath. It wasn’t Corvus and the carriage. It was the man who had just left the hotel. William Bream.

He paused at the gates as if either debating his decision, the dense fog, or maybe both. He touched the iron fencing and glazed out into the fog longingly. I felt for him. How he wanted to return home to his family. His life. I thought of Clarissa and her eagerness to return home. As I stared out into the fog myself, I began to long for home.

My attention jolted when I heard the sound of the gate creaking open slowly but deliberately. I held my breath as the man began to walk through. Not once did I see him give even a second of hesitation nor did he look back. William disappeared into the dense fog. There was something strange about the way he disappeared. I stepped closer to the gate and focused my gaze on where the man had once stood.

Something wasn’t right. The man disappeared but not in the sense in that he stepped into the fog and out of sight. He disappeared in a different sense. I don’t know how but I could sense it.

The open gate was tempting. If it was this easy to just leave, why hadn’t anyone left already?

My took a step towards the edge of the gate’s entrance tempted but turned back in hesitation half fearing someone was watching and I’d be caught. I stepped back away from the gate, defeated.

So what if I could leave? It wouldn’t matter. I had no cell phone, no sense of direction and there was no sign of Corvus. Which way would I even go?

I was about to turn back when I caught movement out of my peripheral once again. I startled at what I saw. There stood William back inside the gate with the most disoriented look across his face. Why had he turned back if his desire to return home was greater than staying at the Amulet Rosette? Was it the density of the fog? The lack of direction? A brief chill fell over me as he walked past me with an emptiness that reflected in his eyes. No. It was something far greater than that.