painted white, sarajevo

I

"It's a pleasure doing business with you." The man shook Elias' hand, a smile on his face.

Elias had a similar smile, a beaming one, infectious as he pumped the man's hand up and down. "I should be over there by the end of the month, thanks!"

With that, the man gathered up his papers, scurrying out of the room. After he left, Elias leaned on the doorframe, looking side to side in search of the hallway.

Where's Kane...? He's supposed to be here for dinner, and I only ran about five minutes over scheduled time... Where is he?

With that, he poked his head out of the room, fingers gripping at the doorframe. Already, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable, the reassuring feeling of at least one other person in the room beginning to seep away.

Elias didn't like being alone, no, not at all. It made the floor sway under his feet, made it hard to breathe, made it hard to do anything.

He'd been told that he couldn't shut up sometimes. He never liked being alone—there was no one to speak to, a reminder that you're only one person in this world.

Elias peeked around the corner, and his shoulders sagged with relief upon seeing one of his co-workers walking towards him.

"Nicole!"

"Elias," she replied, raising a pencil-thin eyebrow in skepticism. What is he doing here at this time?

Offering her a wide grin, Elias rubbed his neck. "Have you seen Kane?"

Wordlessly, she lifted a finger with several rings along the length of it, pointed it to the left, the metal catching the light of the reflective, silver walls.

Elias didn't move, rocking back and forth, until Nicole finally spoke.

"He's with Boss. Now, leave me alone. I have somewhere to be, Elias." For emphasis, she clicked a ring against the clipboard held to her chest.

"All right, all right," Elias held up his hands in surrender, his expression now light, the former happiness restored. "Thanks for your help."

Nicole had started walking again, and stopped, the large earrings she wore clinking together as she halted. "...You're welcome."

And she started walking again.

Elias clicked his tongue in acknowledgment—not in irritation, but in joy.

Nicole was haughty and it was hard to get a response that wasn't disdainful.

Looking at where she had pointed, he started to stride in that direction, head cocked for noises.

As it was nearing night, the building was empty. Where there was light, there was people—both metaphorically and literally. So, Elias walked towards a light shining in the hallway.

Up ahead, the small back of Kane stood, hunched, arms tucked under one another. The bigger shadow of their boss fell upon him, almost making Kane seem a lot smaller than he actually was.

"You need to give me one good reason why we should keep this useless city."

Elias froze. He may not have been a part of the conversation, but Kane's hurried reply confirmed exactly what they were talking about.

"Uh, er—Wistinburg, sir, I reckon that—"

"You're incapable of answering that right now," Reid grunted. "So excuses will get you nowhere. Anaka's the only one that really knows Wistinburg inside and out."

They're thinking about knocking down a city...? Frowning, Elias let his weight rock back and forth on his heels, hands shoved into his pockets. But... that city has just as much history and potential as any other city!