A Ghost Haunts Me With Words In My Window: This Mirror Of Mine

Nine

The large automatic doors slid open revealing the lobby. It resembled that of a carpeted living room you would find at your grandmother's house; the residents resembling that of your grandma's friends. They occupied the vintage-esq fabric sofa and chairs around the lower sitting coffee table. Idle chitchat carried on but the individuals turned and gave Kay a wry but comforting smile.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. I can help you over here," a voice called from what looked like a help desk.

Ma'am? Kay sighed. My mother was a ma'am. Mrs. Doyle was a ma'am. I'm twenty-three dammit! But since acquiring a few more hours of sleep than normal, Kaylee mustered the energy to put on a face. Being friendly seemed like the best way to get in. "I'm—," she coughed. "I'm here to visit room twelve-o-two." Kaylee gave the smile she had just received from the lobby dwellers, but the receptionist didn't return the gesture.

"Are you a relative of the resident?" It was clear that friendly wasn't the game at play.

"Oh... well, I—" A growl resonated from the chihuahua previously hidden under the desk, now its paws rested on the computer keyboard as its cold dark eyes stopped the lie before it was even spoken. "Well, no, but—"

"If you're not family of the resident, you must sign in and wait here until we find the time to verify with the individual concerning your arrival."

"Yeah, that's fine." Or at least it would have been if Kaylee wasn't being forced to watch the receptionist sit and do nothing but file her nails and baby her pooch. No call was made, no one was sent for, nothing. "Verify my ass," she spoke under a hushed tone.

"What was that, dear?" One of the older women she passed as she entered asked, cutting off her own story.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about lazy workers."

"I knooow, sweetie. Isn't it terrible?" her voice shook as she asked as if her throat itself was trembling. "These kids today don't know what a hard day's work is, but unlike these other kooks, I think that's okay. We suffered terrible things back then and you youngins are dealing with entirely different issues now. I can only imagine what your future will look like." She wiped the edge of her mouth with a tissue. "But that's no excuse for being a lazy ass," she leaned over to whisper, "like that bitch at the desk."

Kaylee gave a shocked expression before giggling at the woman's wink. She finally knew what it felt like to be on the giving end of the gossip back in the schoolyard.

"Who were you here to see again, deary?"

Kay pulled the note from her pocket to not only remind herself of the room number of the occupant she was here to visit, but also present it to her new friend. "I was here to see the person in room twelve-o-two, but the reason I'm here is because I found this note with Mrs. Doyle's belongings."

"Oh," she brought a pair of reading glasses to her face as she took the note to make out the handwriting. "You're looking for Robert. We used to poke fun at Ronita for getting these little 'love letters' from Robert, but I guess all it ended up being was delivery requests," she gave a sly chuckle as she handed back the note. "Are you here to fill out his last request?"

The young woman didn't think that far ahead. It would have been a nice sentiment, but she wasn't walking back to the library. The musk radiating from her body was already powerful enough. Another journey like that and this Robert might find her repulsive. "No, I just wanted to see if he had any information about her, or her family, or... death."

"Oh, well you can ask him yourself," the woman said, waving at a figure approaching from outside of Kaylee's natural neck rotation. "Bob, over here. This woman would like to speak with you."

It took Kay turning her body to finally meet eyes with the resident. What she saw was a taller gentleman with thin gray hair neatly combed back. Even at his age, he would have been a hit with the ladies if not for his posture. His head was hanging so far forward that someone could mistake him for the hunchback of Notre Dame but with the height of an NBA all-star. "Hello, sir. I'm—"

"You..." he said with a shaky point of his finger. "I know you. Oh-oh, my God... Her time came and now it's mine. I should have left. If I had just left you wouldn't have found me."

Kaylee stuttered as the man continued with his bashing rambles. She looked around at her fellow witnesses but they all were locked on her with furrows and disdain. No one said a word, but Kaylee interrupted it as, "How could you do this to this man? Whatever it was, you deserve hell for it. Someone restrain her—call the police."

It was time to flee. This lead was drying up faster than a water bottle in the desert. But just as she planned her move for the door, the receptionist along with two nurses took hold of the man's arms and stuck him with a needle. "It's okay, Robert. Come back to us now. That's right." A fourth individual brought a wheelchair around just soon enough for Robert to find a seat. "Ma'am, you can go now. I think you've caused enough trouble."

Kaylee had planned a villain's escape, but now the unfriendly one was giving her an out. Thank you, she thought to say but figured words were best left behind. Pushing herself off the chair, she took one step, but suddenly, there was a strong grip on her hand. She turned back in terror to find the woman she had been talking to was the one with the hold on her. "Please let go—" she said, thinking the woman was going to verbally accuse her of something.

But instead, she continued to say nothing. She let go just as quickly as she had grabbed on, but now, Kaylee felt something in her palm. There was no time. Kay crushed the paper in her palm and darted out the door.