[Illustration 09] A sepia-toned photograph taken on the opening day of the Red Moon Hotel in 1926.
Bellboys, waiters and kitchen staff stood in neat rows before the entrance. At the edge of the group was a young elevator attendant, smiling shyly beneath the brim of his cap.
It was the same face Ryan saw before him now.
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Ryan watched the needle crawl backwards across the dial.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvPTrLoz0S
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That was when he noticed the photograph.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2jzAxUyDk
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It hung in a brass frame on the elevator wall, in a place where Ryan could have sworn there had been nothing but dark wooden paneling before.
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The photograph had faded almost to brown. Water stains clouded its edges, and a web of fine cracks ran across its surface. A crowd of formally dressed men and women stood before the hotel entrance, each wearing the stiff, unnatural smile demanded by an opening-day portrait.
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A banner stretched above them:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhw0C4DA0Vm
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RED MOON HOTEL — GRAND OPENING — 23 AUGUST 192639Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPKv6poFXM
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Ryan leaned closer.
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There, among the hotel staff, stood a young elevator attendant. His cap was pulled low, his white-gloved hands clasped neatly before him.
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Ryan slowly turned his head.
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Same uniform.
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Same face.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiGlkHOgI0
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Not merely similar. Exactly… the same.
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A hundred years had passed, and the boy beside him had not aged a day.
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The elevator boy did not look at the photograph.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcp9vIVDEVS
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“On the night the hotel opened,” he said, his eyes fixed upon the retreating needle, “a banquet was held in the ballroom.” His voice was quiet and perfectly composed.
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“It continued late into the night. Then, at eleven twenty-six, every clock in the hotel stopped at once.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklWXpw3JN2
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Ryan thought of the clock in Room 626.
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Its second hand had continued ticking, round and round, while the minute hand remained fixed at eleven twenty-six.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXolr60r9hJ
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“What happened?” he asked.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIGPO4pFtb
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“Nothing.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6isZvusVP9
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Ryan stared at him. “Nothing that anyone noticed?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr5rN156ML
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“A fire?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBPNIi0LU1
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“No, sir.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfbWrioyRU
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“A murder?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Uy4KktGQf
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“No.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGT9DMAlOF
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“An alien invasion?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oqGfWhSFL
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The elevator boy paused. “……No, sir.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCiPBPWV6B
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“Then what happened?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD2h2x3pJs
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“The musicians continued playing. The kitchen sent out course after course. 39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuXw2hlzX1
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The guests raised their glasses and carried on with the banquet. No one screamed. No one attempted to leave.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARUmok6NTj
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The needle continued its slow journey backwards.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXoD0HLJCN
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“Only the switchboard at the front desk showed anything unusual,” the elevator boy said. “Every line lit up at the same time.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsjgv5TbNi
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“All the rooms were calling reception?” Ryan asked with a frown.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpp0S0AKHGS
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“That was what the front desk assumed. But when the operator picked up the receiver, every telephone in the hotel began ringing at once.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHmf05jrUy
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The elevator boy spoke with unsettling calm—not like someone repeating a story he had heard, but like someone describing a scene he had witnessed himself.
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“…And then?” Ryan prompted.
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The elevator cables scraped somewhere beyond the walls.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdb3jxLYAN
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“Each telephone rang seven times,” the elevator boy continued. “Then a voice came through the line and asked a single question.”
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Ryan waited. The elevator boy finally lifted his eyes.
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When he spoke again, his voice had changed. It carried a bright, almost cheerful lilt, mimicking the voice that had come through the telephone. Yet beneath that borrowed cheerfulness was something empty and hollow—and the faint suggestion that whatever had spoken was amused.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioPC4tadj3
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“Would you like to stay?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4zkhERG3F
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A chill crept slowly across Ryan’s shoulders.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4NqajGLkF
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“And the people who said yes?”
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“They stayed.”
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“What about the ones who didn’t answer?”
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“They stayed as well.”
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“What?” Ryan frowned. “Why?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMeYF5nxaX
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“Because silence may be taken as consent.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡae4SW210Ph
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“And the ones who hesitated?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWX6sr4uHL
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“……” The elevator boy paused before answering.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0nCXbIzUo
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Then, lowering his voice to a whisper, he added: 39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMvlMqqPn2
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“The hotel is especially fond of those who hesitate.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZH02rZ7EP
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Ryan looked back at the faded sepia photograph. “What happened to the ones who said no?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUlgNzxkAX
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“They do not appear in the register,” the elevator boy replied.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIJC8Cf7A3
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“They checked out?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSNVmcyDg1
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“Perhaps.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKPE3pttoe
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“What do you mean, ‘perhaps’?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Sdr51IFhV
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“There is no record of them leaving.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVrWytVgsy
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The elevator boy said it with the same courteous calm he might have used to explain the hotel’s breakfast hours.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1grzRRQ6m2
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After a moment, he added, “For some of them, there is no record that they ever checked in at all.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaVDmiL2is
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Ryan could only stare at him.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkbWFja2Rg
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For several seconds, he could think of nothing to say. Then another question came to mind.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUS6sbqDCNH
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“What about those who chose to stay?”
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“They never checked out.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kAj6yMdm2
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“What happened the next morning?”
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“They remembered only that the hotel was still preparing for its grand opening.”
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“That makes no sense. They had already attended the opening banquet.”
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“Some remembered that the banquet had been cancelled. Others believed the hotel had been operating for years. A few insisted that no hotel had ever existed in this place.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8azCfVAlah
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Ryan studied the elevator boy’s unchanged face.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqaHOqeXZl
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“Then what actually happened?” Ryan asked.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHj2AdnJ66
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The elevator boy met Ryan’s gaze. “You are looking at the answer right now. "39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡED2K0U2bqC
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Ryan glanced again at the photograph—the same cap, the same white gloves, the same young face preserved across a century.
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“So time really stopped at eleven twenty-six?”
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“No.” The elevator boy turned back to the dial.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡok785y6d5r
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“What does that mean?” Ryan frowned.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtM8lsgbPBI
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“The hotel simply never managed to reach eleven twenty-seven.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrx2JfeDprG
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The needle slipped past another mark.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4v3eGbp4W
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“Outside, the years continued to pass,” he said.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgz2AWXfDAy
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“In here, the opening night began again and again. Every 23 August, the lights came on, the banquet resumed, and the empty rooms received new guests.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3M5sBQXt6d
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Ryan thought of the figures in the corridor.
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The portraits.
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The faceless shadows gathered outside Room 626.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVdDxPDm1d
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“…Those ‘shadows’ on sixth floor --- were they ‘guests’ of the hotel?” Ryan asked.
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“Yes.”
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“Why don't they have faces?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1JJKP8FTX
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“They have stayed too long.”
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“That doesn’t explain anything.”
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“When no one remembers a guest, the name disappears first. The letters fade from the register. After that, the face vanishes from photographs. Eventually, even the people who once knew them can no longer remember whom they have forgotten.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACllhJxnGd
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Ryan remembered the boy with the ball, the old woman and the little girl. Their features had been blurred, but not completely erased.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEc5tiovr2
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“Some of them still have faces.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURcAhlZu2C
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“Then someone outside still remembers them.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuVEDk69CN
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“And when the last person forgets?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoSI1nZa5V
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The elevator boy said nothing.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwdfH0Y7dR
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He didn’t need to.
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Ryan pictured the ballroom again: black hands lifting invisible knives and forks, carrying food that did not exist towards mouths that were no longer there.
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“Why do the guests in the dining hall keep eating?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00UAMcJ8aB
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“The opening banquet has not finished.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwQ1eHqwJM
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“But the plates were empty. There wasn’t any food.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCe0Nd09N3c
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The elevator boy’s voice softened. “The hotel remembers that guests must be fed. It has merely forgotten that they have already eaten.”
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Over and over.
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Again and again.
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The same empty meal, repeated forever.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWypU5qb84g
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The worst part was not that the banquet never reached its end.
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There had never been an ending to begin with.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotDuWZoBXJ
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Those shadows had not chosen to keep eating. They had not chosen to wander the corridors for a century.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpt8FYZLY8w
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The hotel simply required them to continue ‘playing’ the part of its guests.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAkk8xI1rO
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The thought left a cold weight in Ryan’s stomach.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR94fik1jyn
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“What about me?” Ryan asked. “I don’t remember checking into this place.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXPmlA7yki
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“You did not.” The elevator boy simply answered.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zZJAeZnDJ
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The dial gave a faint metallic click.
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Ryan waited. “ Then why is my name on that painting?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aHE5U8yZn
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“Because Room 626 registered on your behalf.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGanMSXo8E
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Ryan stared at him as if the young man before him had suddenly switched to an entirely different language.
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“I’m sorry—what?”
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“The room registered you.”
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“Rooms can check people in?”
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“Yes.”
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Ryan looked around the elevator.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEpTDl1mJ5
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“…….Do they clean themselves too? Change their own sheets? Take out their own rubbish?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE59262VBql
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“No. Those are housekeeping duties.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TLZmj4lup
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Ryan opened his mouth, closed it again, then finally managed, “For a haunted—” He coughed. “For a perfectly respectable and only mildly unsettling hotel, you people have surprisingly clear job descriptions.”
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“This hotel has always valued proper division of labour.” The elevator boy replied.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdKjMcj68U
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“……Of course it has.” Ryan mumbled to himself.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHUGSc5TrU
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“Sometimes,” the elevator boy continued, “a room knows who will occupy it before the guest does.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMKG2F4Vbw
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Ryan looked back at the photograph.
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His pale reflection floated across its cracked glass.
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Behind it, the formally dressed figures in the opening-day portrait were no longer looking at the camera.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHAyTbaDa8
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Every one of them was staring at him.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFb5rdW4LQ
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“Why?” Ryan whispered. “Why did it choose me?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07MsNrvixU
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“You fell asleep out there…,” the elevator boy replied.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23oiMY3G5V
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“Out where?”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoxrDuefOW
“Wherever you were before you woke up here.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4OjACkQPb
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEdZ39P9LM
“What kind of answer was that?”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXi5ADu7m9L
“It is the answer I am able to give you.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr25xK4UT72
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPdhlIS7EY
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmKpKAKyO9
Ryan tried to remember.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95q4OjtDdx
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzndvmtn2af
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTK5lOWyTkg
Where had he fallen asleep?39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jzHz2B48W
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Lz13GACEd
At home? On a train? In some unfamiliar room?39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXRCXzaIZ1
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI0rVlcId8
There was nothing—only darkness, and somewhere far away, the sound of a telephone ringing.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAY5j5LwjUL
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgWk67W8gM
“So I didn’t come to this hotel on my own?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7McbBpfFix
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0MuZ8vOnz
“No.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8X7kj7c2b
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bAhJpsXBT
“The hotel brought me in?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydd1wVInza
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGp3U5mxpQ
“Or perhaps you dreamed your way in.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkf3iEk2PN
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9YWoxve6k
“What's the difference?” Ryan asked, confused.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcWmJ6dXho
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbQ47GBG6f
“If this were only a dream,” said the elevator boy, “you would have woken up by now.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQZnd8oGeo
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsTCIdzRl1
Ryan had no answer to that.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJyJzfeZX9
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTeYtXSR40U
────────────────────── ⚜ ─────────────────────39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnfINUEfn2
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHg9F9alZt
Then he looked at the young man before him and asked another question, the one that had been circling his thoughts for a while:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBmtyZ3CJD
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN24gQSG7X3
“Why are you helping me?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTlqrcJpTK
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreprMBvSyY
The elevator boy's expression did not change.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ERtqHjT7B
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhglLZkyl7
“I am not helping you.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GutVQq8By
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzddqOZUjj
“You found me a shoe. You kept me away from the dining hall. You warned me about the telephone.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Omp77Xyfu
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9M24G7kNo
“An attendant has a duty of care toward passengers who have not yet reached their floor.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdi0zPxfpsl
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc66iWZTJ5
“Every passenger?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgHON6gxXK
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMTtQBUeZj
“…Generally.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6VWXncyTC
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatsCm3Px3H
Ryan narrowed his eyes. “‘Generally’ is a very polite way of saying no.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgY8hxgF6v
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMt69XgLiV
The elevator boy did not deny it. He only smoothed a crease at the wrist of one white glove.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXvH7rgixU
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUM3Mtbv3U
“Not every guest would think to thank a person without a face—or a thing without one.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jPd8yib8R
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVjtNgAkOC
Ryan blinked. “Are you talking about the sock?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGLVjGznaq
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjk5eWiiGM
“That member of staff picked something up for you.”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLgNh89PxY
“Yeah, so obviously I thanked him,”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFaXWW5vM0
“You also bowed to him at nearly ninety degrees.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DeQDIjXxq
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKMUw45mVM
“…You don't have to remember it that precisely.”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpyAv9Da7B
For the briefest instant, the corner of the elevator boy's mouth moved.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv1MDcxSiQ
Not quite a smile—but dangerously close.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlR8DmFgNIC
Ryan pointed at him. “Hang on. You were inside the elevator the whole time.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNWhTDxIpq
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCXYC6xiKV
“Yes.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57xrVMZuxy
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MFOj4uqQE
“Then how do you know what happened out there?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GgcPt1YS7
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6glnoq7KTy
The elevator boy raised his eyes to meet Ryan’s gaze and said: “I am always in the elevator.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGelusns2y
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXVG8ai5yg
That was not an answer.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPasMcrdxy
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJlEcJqHZA
Or rather, it was an answer considerably worse than no answer at all.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwXQgiNn4Y
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwi4QYoSBu1
“Also,” he went on, “when you saw my face, you asked who I was.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jYvIlyCez
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNIW6Z84Dt
“What's wrong with that?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYBPPkHaVF
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVQeeyQS17
“Most people ask ‘what’ I am.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnR7ym2pfhL
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIqw4I5TuL
Ryan opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it again.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1TAQlqxK9
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh5hWBAQFk
“So I answered your question,” the elevator boy said.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DGwhVy6J2
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjhIw0M146
“You didn't answer anything. You said you were the elevator attendant.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZsflc3Lku
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDo2MD5R2Zq
“That is a fact.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFH7GorxMS
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssV8uThX4C
“It's a very small part of the facts.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFhuBg48bg
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTBE9OSKcV
“Your question was incomplete.”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBLXSBJuHC
“Fine. Then let me ask again—”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ053ugK8OS5
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67TMit6bl7
────────────────────── ⚜ ─────────────────────39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgqhWV314q
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsREZoVFIE
BRRRRING—!39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaczrH4JOq
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKJERz9rQ0
The sound reached them from far away, travelling through layer after layer of the hotel.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1nXoKAR02
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQv885DPeG
Ryan went rigid.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaZQmoMASX
The sixth ring.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegsKuJTu6e
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9WFWqqTTy
His hand flew to his pocket, although there was no telephone there.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkpPrBRUeq
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOb848D5ll8
“So not answering it was the right thing to do?” Ryan then asked hesitantly.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEQZlorYpC
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeDL73VF3s
The elevator boy did not reply immediately. 39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zWbHUioja
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Thvbka3F3
“That note you found,” he said instead. “What colour was the ink?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOPV2MNCX8
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWCHSWf8v9
Ryan froze.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtT8LFL8oL
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8TxRJyq9R
Both lines — When the phone rings,
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzf5BJVuB2
“Whatever you do, don't answer it. — Yourself”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlLWPap3ks
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYNMzlIUSD
And beneath it:
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDY6MsAg3af
“Go on and answer it. — The Front Desk”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fvpRGBrpP
Both messages had been written in dark red.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5CWE3qibh
The same colour. The same pen.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjQTjgyLk2
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRto7WI6l2C
Ryan felt the blood drain from his face.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XiQs66OOu
“The first message wasn't written by me?” Ryan murmured, as though asking for an answer he already knew he would not receive.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbpuvpPgBG
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdfS60372w
The elevator boy remained silent.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl5KNGGPfw
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7B1bhExDi
“And the second one wasn’t written by the front desk?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqt43ZQ8L7
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKwhzAxcWr
Still nothing.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLea9XhOFCN
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKSnheIYXC
“Then… who wrote them?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9btWL4kC0
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOK0ognjRx
“Something that can imitate your handwriting.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7WsEIXkrS
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQ3fMWNgiI
Ryan swallowed hard.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQdIH8PpJb
“Why would it tell me to answer in one line and not to answer in the other?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDjLjR6ugi
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEf9Qyck52M
The elevator boy watched the needle run backwards.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNITYrBGBmt
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvM1DUicNrm
“Because the hotel does not need you to say yes.” His eyes shifted towards Ryan.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzfNd0rJok
“It only needs you to hesitate…..”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyv1vOW3jU7
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKHfwiOmXm
────────────────────── ⚜ ─────────────────────39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli17iDPZmm
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JgKkcWpIZ
Ryan thought of the shadows in the corridor, every one of them pointing at once toward Room 626.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxzlJfGR75
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvM7Quhp2t
They had not been trying to drive him away.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlF0tAPU5ro
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTJs93v4Cg
They had been warning him.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYrThLWcWD
They wanted him to return to the room and answer the telephone call—because every one of them had once missed the seventh ring of their own call.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwwJhfigjf
“Who's calling me?” Ryan asked, wetting his suddenly dry lips.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8lxBESDAt
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPD8bqj7s4X
“Someone outside who still remembers you.” The elevator boy answered.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuchx6TfVev
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKrPJVDtdD
Ryan seized the iron gate. “I need to get back. Take me to the sixth floor.”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9KjDbGPpF
“Take me back. Please,” Ryan pleaded.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQZG6ej3bG
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALQOXOFLMo
“I am taking you back.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDoIRaznp5
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUwSHyjewt
Ryan glanced at the descending needle.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGBAD85UeF
“…But we're still going down!”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjVDv79asC
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7i1OBCfIc
“In this elevator, descending and travelling backwards are not necessarily opposite directions.”
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOuQZc4mDh
The boy said it with the faintest trace of mystery—and, Ryan suspected, an equally faint trace of amusement.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdi15eq7L9J
Ryan tightened his grip on the cold iron rail. Anxiety was steadily stripping away what little patience he had left.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KXYh8ydC4
“How long do I have?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Jcqig3Wz7
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrv3IakE6i
────────────────────── ⚜ ─────────────────────39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfCsg0fs2L
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9Vqpvm8EU
The elevator boy looked at the dial.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjauV5ykyR
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ob6zxYRwN
“The telephone rings seven times.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMvkCOhFhG
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrfPOr93BB
The needle crept toward the number 6.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSTTG7gSjb
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghP77i41xD
Ryan looked again at the opening-day photograph. Every face in it had turned toward him now.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42If9tez7s
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPNfSiBACR
The gentleman in the front row.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylWPyLdbWv
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YL9OgdG4V
The maid holding a bouquet of flowers.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOACd7xuHp
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIp4TzREDV
The guest in the tall hat.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFtLCxqHYH
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV60vGh4DpM
The chef, the bellboy, the switchboard operator.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fDVAIvDwE
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw7xoJqMU0
Pair after pair of eyes watched him in silence from across a hundred years.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd8YoNZPlP
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r5KNiGTTI
Only the centre of the photograph was empty.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMicxBi1ZIy
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9U0bvgXLW
The young elevator attendant who had been standing there was gone.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUyzrZVYNb
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiFZPVJfbe
The needle had passed 6.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR5OMi2lRN
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9iujuW2na
Above the dial, on a stretch of polished brass where there had never been a marking before, a thin line slowly appeared.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AmXmHE42i
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kse94KRLc
Then came a number.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzfGKS5f5m
7.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6ILk3qlRu
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuSnc2YVtp
────────────────────── ⚜ ─────────────────────39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRfSqCnS0X
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE6yj2omN1
Ding.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGDAdnnEFc
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCt1R4B5Hhy
The elevator boy calmly straightened his white gloves.
39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGkcgKYc16
and then Add to home screen.