The Stranger

Meeting

The building may tower over the person on the street, but it was overshadowed itself by its surroundings, yet its cracked, beige brick walls made it stand out from the reddish-brown neighbourhood. A faint lime green light seeped out from behind the red-line, green curtained window. There were eight rows of windows upwards, each having ten windows along them. Very small flashes of people could be seen behind the curtains but aside from that, the building could be believed to be uninhabited if it weren't for the front of the building that sported a neon sign, reading Ymir Hotel in an abrasive red and green. Not too far above it, a pair of ravens circled, occasionally croaking and calling out, to each other or the world around them remained to be seen. Along the front, a row of hedges lined the wall, just under the windows. The front entrance began with a fading gold pillared and green tarp roofed portico with the glass doors set into the building itself.

The bystander on the street, dressed in a simple combo of white shirt, black trousers, shoes and blazer, topped off with a tan coat, straightened the cuffs of his coat's sleeves, stepped across the street and strode on in through the glass doors. In the rooms light that was just too bright to be intimate, his pale, white skin was further accentuated. The hotel interior had a dark green carpet and a lighter green wallpaper with the corners of the room being taken up by beigey gold columns. Scattered around was a cluster of chairs, sofas and tables with a few lamps scattered in the mix. Directly in front of him in the opposite wall was another set of doors, these ones not glass, but once again green with a double layer of gold and red but in the front, a secretary's desk lay, ornate and gold, one that would be considered classy if not for the occasional splotch of chipped paint that lined the counter. The bystander stepped up towards the desk, removed his hat, revealing his black, with tints of grey, streaked back hair and allowing his almost glowing green eyes to be seen from under the hats shadow and then promptly rang the small bell on the table.

A loud audible sigh came from the curtain behind the desk and a small, brunette emerged with a bored expression settled upon her face. She sat heavily down on her chair, spun to face the man and grunted out a "Yes, sir, how may I help?".

The man cleared his throat. "I've been told that someone is waiting for me. I don't know what room they're in, nor the name I'm afraid". He rubbed his clean-shaven chin in an apologetic manner, a slight twinge of awkwardness lurking in his voice.

"Oh, someone mentioned this to me" The woman looked around in a half-hearted matter. "There was a note somewhere..." She rustled through the sheets of paper on her desk and scrambled with little effort in the desks' drawers. The man looked around and checked his watch with an air of unease. Eventually, the note was procured.

"What's your name? The note says to give the room number only to this person" She monotonously read.

"Oh, my name is-" The man looked around, checking for anyone listening, leaned in so far that he wasn't that far from the receptionists' ear and whispered.

A little disturbed looking, the receptionist checked it against the note, nodded and spoke "Uh, okay then, yeah it checks out. They're in room one hundred and thirty-six, top floor". She lazily pointed in the general direction of the double doors in the front wall. "Want me to call the room to let him know you're here, Mr-"

"No need, you needn't worry yourself about that" he cut her off. "I'm sure he already knows I'm here"

The stranger sighed, gave a quick nod of thank you, picked up his hat and made his way over to the elevator, not before making a small gesture with his hand.

A small flash briefly flickered in the receptionists peripherals, but she ignored it as she slightly turned in her chair, following him with her eyes, the slight sense of distrust she got from him still swirling around the air. Once he had gone through the doors, thus leaving her sight, and she swung back to her desk to not only investigate the flash but to also look for the note to once again survey the message hastily scrawled upon it but, to her surprise, in its place there was a small pile of ash that gently blew away with a seemingly origin-less wind blow.