The Dark Hotel - Ch. 1 - 10

"Do you have matcha?" Eve happily answered, "Yes, please!"

"Our matcha is very special, Eve; it has an extra organic factor. You will love it!"

"Oh yes, please, Lamia, I am already thrilled." Eve answered overly excited, if you ask me.

And how did she know Eve's name? And why did Eve know her name? And what kind of name is Lamia? Sounds ancient.

I followed the whole thing, watching the waitress, wondering how good she was. For sure she didn't have many customers each day, so how could she guess so well? She had with Eve a 100 % score, and with me at least an 80 %. Amazing. And knowing our names? Weird.

The waitress left, and Eve asked me if I had read the obituary notice. I answered, saying no, I didn't have much time last week reading the papers.

"I find it odd," Eve said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There are clear mistakes in it, and the text is strange. For example, it says R. I. H., and not R. I. P."

"What does the H stand for?" Eve asked.

I don't know, maybe the H from home? Or hallelujah?"

"Or HELL," Eve said.

I doubted that. "What else is weird?" I asked her.

"Well, the lifespan, you know, the birth and passing away dates," Eve said.

"Read them to me, please," I asked her.

"It says born 09.09.1825, which is 200 years ago, and is exactly on your birthdate, minus 200 years? And the passing away date is next year, and not now, last week, and again, also on your birthday?"

"Let me see," I asked her.

She was right. The whole thing was weird. One thing I knew for sure is that he was not born like me on September 9th. And dying next year? On my birthday? They must have mixed up data in the printing process.

"Did you place the obituary?" Eve asked. "Because I asked everybody who came to the reading of his last will, and nobody knew about it or who placed it."

"I didn't place it," I replied.

"Read the last line," Eve added.

It said, "See you soon!"

That was really creepy, and I got goosebumps all over. As if he was waiting for me on my birthday. Waiting where? In Hell? Was I going to die on my birthday next year? Jesus, I don't need this shit, I thought.

Right then, our food arrived. It looked good and very inviting. Eve thanked the waitress, and she caressed Eve's cheek, saying, "Anything for you, my dear; welcome to the family," giving her a loving look.

What was going on here? I asked myself. Everything was out of context. And Eve didn't even notice it. She only smiled back at the waitress, looking at her like an adoring puppy. Had Eve ever been here before? The weird obituary, the hotel thing, the gypsy, the waitress knowing things, and now this creepy "family" thing. Crazy. Maybe I needed a drink tonight.

"Enjoy your meal," Eve said, pulling me away from my crazy thoughts.

"Yea, you too, Eve," I replied, smiling at her.

I was so damn lucky to have met her. One of my best friends had booked a trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea, paid for and scheduled, and at the very last moment his boss needed him, paying him back his money. My friend asked me if I wanted to have his tickets for free, and of course I said yes!

I didn't know it was an expensive town; I only knew it had a great beach. That's where I met Eve. Bumped, that is. As I was walking the sidewalk enjoying the scenery, I didn't watch where I was going and bumped into her by accident. The rest is history.

Her spaghetti looked good. And I was happy having this big hamburger in front of me. It had it all, as far as I could see: onions, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, bacon, and some other long, very thin red things I didn't recognize; perhaps they were some other kind of onions.

We started eating in silence. And Eve drank a lot of her matcha, leaving the large glass only a quarter full. The greenish remains of her matcha looked very thick.

"I have to go again." Eve excused herself.

I looked up at her and nodded and continued chewing, enjoying the taste of my hamburger. As I looked at her matcha again, it was different. As if it ...