In the Sixth Hour

Bonus Ending

The setting spring sun shines in through the window Beatrice had yet to put drapes up on. Fresh sunlight flooding into the living room, and bathing the carpet in warmth. The light danced over every piece of covered up furniture, and unpacked box. It made the apartment look more like a home in this kind of light. A Chicago sunset in her Chicago home.

Bringing in the last box, Beatrice closes the white door with the back of her foot. Walking into the roomy apartment, she moves into the living room to set down the box. Placing it on top of another one she has yet to open, she turns around to head for her new little kitchen. But as she does so, that box she had just put down falls. Ripping open and spilling all the contents over the pale carpet.

Beatrice sighs, as she kneels down to pick it all up. She was exhausted. All day moving in had drained her dry, and she just wanted to rest. She wanted to leave the boxes for the morning, and get some sleep in her own bedroom.

The box that tipped over is filled with old papers, files and other documents. Some Beatrice saved for a reason, but as she picks up each sheet of paper, some make her question the reason behind still having it. But she scoops it all up, trying to straighten them to the way they were before the box fell. And as she is just near done, one stray document that had floated over to the window catches her eye.

Getting up, she bends down near the window that is showing that night has fallen quickly over the city. The beautiful sunset that was once painting the sky in shades of lavender and pink, now a dark indigo as the stars line the blanket of night.

The small square paper feels familiar in her hands, and staring down at it Beatrice swears she feels her heart skip a beat. The card takes her back to only a couple months ago, and she sits all the way down. Leaning against the wall as she reads over the comment card. The hotel comment card Tobias Eaton had filled out and slipped in her coat pocket the morning she had to leave. She had forgotten where she had placed that sentimental piece of paper in the craziness of packing and moving, but just as she did with him, she found the comment card at just the right moment.

Looking up from the card, she stares off at the opposite wall. Where was Tobias Eaton now? It was a question she found herself asking from time to time, if she was being honest. And right now, she could see his face clear and wondered even more where and what he was doing. How he was doing.

Was he still going to a train station or a bar to keep warm in the cold early hours? Was he still unemployed or had he followed through on his want to make his art something more than just a lost dream? Was there someone new in his life? Was Tobias Eaton even still in Chicago?

Standing to her feet, Beatrice glances out the window that shows the city lights bright against the dark backdrop. Still holding the comment card tightly in her hand, she heads for her front door. Grabbing her coat on the way out, she doesn't want to just wonder these things about Tobias. She wants to know. She wants to hear all about it. But most of all, she wants to see him. And now that she's here... she has no excuse not to.

Although spring had begun to bloom in the city, this hour at night made it feel more like winter was still around. For the wind wrapped around Beatrice as she walked down the street, blowing through her hair and through the fabric of her coat. Leaving chills on her skin, and water in her eyes from the bitter cold wind.

Beatrice questioned her actions, as she strolled down the streets of Chicago with nothing more than the moon and street lamps lighting her way. Was she being foolish believing she could find him at this late-- or rather early-- hour? It had been months since she had seen this man, and to both of them the last time felt like it would be the last. But here she was in the city that they had met in, and she had no reason not to seek him out.