Elizabeth and I linger at the revolving door in the lobby, watching as it leisurely spins and the guest we just sent through it does not return. A funny little man who had just lacked confidence. He only stayed three weeks; his confidence wasn’t hard to find after he was freed of the people who’d robbed him of it. These goodbyes are bittersweet in a different way than the longtime friends. We all want to move on, but these short-term guests feel like a missed opportunity, like someone we truly could have known but just did not get the time.

Elizabeth turns on one of her perfect little pumps to face me, “A job well done,” she congratulates.

I honestly didn’t do much this time, “The credit is yours, ma’am.”

“Ha.” She mocks while primping her hair, “Like I’d have given you any, I was speaking to myself.” Her teasing smirk is more than distracting.

I never know how to respond when she so brazenly flirts with me like that. Nor do I really know her intentions, is she teasing because she knows it gets a reaction out of me every time or is she being genuine in her pursuit? I didn’t know last night at the bar, and I don’t know now. So, I react in much the same manner as I did then, sputtering a bit of nonsense and getting a delighted laugh out of her for my shameful display.

Romance wasn’t so difficult when I was alive. But to be fair, I never attempted to romance a girl I actually liked when I was alive. My few relationships were sensible pairings, ruled by logic not emotion. Not that I have any intentions of romancing Elizabeth anyway. I like her, obviously, I’d be a fool not to see that by now, but we’ve already ventured into a deeper relationship than I am comfortable with. Furthering it is out of the question.

“Is there anywhere else you need to go before we call it a day?” Elizabeth asks when she’s done laughing.

“Um, no,” I tug on the ends on my sleeves, “I’m fine, thank you.” I’m not sure when it happened, it’s hard to say since I normally have a guide, but I no longer need one. The hotel is still a confusing labyrinth of nonsensical doors and hallways, but I seem to belong among them now. It’s like I have gained an anchor point and am not adrift just outside the map anymore. I had fully expected to be relieved upon this discovery, as it was my chief concern on my arrival, yet after a moment of bliss, my joy in renewed independence turned sour. My dependance on Eddie and Elizabeth as guides had tethered them to me, and as foolish and immature as it is, I am desperately afraid of the loss of that tether.

I miss whatever Elizabeth says after that because a keeper puts a hand on my shoulder. I wouldn’t have ignored it in any scenario, but an eye blinks at me from a knuckle, informing me the creature requires my attention. I’ve gotten used to keepers in my time here but the eyes in odd places are still unsettling.

I clear my throat, “What can I do for you?”

The creature unfolds a wing, revealing a child with teary eyes.

I have met other guests that had passed too young, Eddie for instance was only 19 when he arrived, but this is the first time I am seeing a guest in the form of a child. I never had children of my own and my work did not put me in proximity to children often, so I am largely unfamiliar with the life stage. I’m guessing the child is 10 or so but I truly have no idea.

What I assume are the keepers’ main eyes glance down at the child and they use a few arms to gently push them forward. Keepers can be difficult to deal with, they just don’t think like we do but it pleases me to know that they have enough awareness to treat a distressed child with tenderness.

The keeper impresses upon me that I will assist.

Elizabeth immediately gets down on the child’s level, setting her clipboard on the marble flooring, “Hello,” she greets “my name Elizabeth, can you tell me yours?” she quickly shoots me a confused glance that tells me the Keeper spoke only to me.

“And I am Isaiah,” I inject, taking Elizabeth’s lead and kneeling beside her.

“Hannah,” the child sniffs, “The angel says you can help me.”

Angel? An odd comparison for a keeper, but the mind of a child is a mystery.

“Yes, we’d be happy to help you,” Elizabeth’s smile is warm and inviting as she holds out a welcoming hand for the young girl.

She turns her eyes up to the keeper in a questioning glance to which the creature nods and pats her head before ushering her towards us again.

This time the child moves willingly, setting her hand inside Elizabeth’s. “Bye, bye,” Hannah turns to wave at her angel. It waves back with all of its hands and ventures away. Hannah turns back to us, her eyes already spilling over with tears again, “I want to go home,” she cries. Her curly hair is neatly arranged in rows of beaded braids, a hairstyle that someone who clearly cares about this girl put time and effort into perfecting.

My heart breaks into a thousand pieces, but I’m in my suit, wearing my armor, so none of the cracks show through. “Have you ever moved before Hannah?” I ask her.

Hannah runs her sleeve under her running nose, “Yeah, I- I think so, when I was little.”

“Well, you’ve sort of moved again, you have a new home now.”

“Here?” She looks around skeptically.

“No,” Elizabeth chimes in, “this is a hotel, a kind of stop on your way to your new home.”

The little girl thinks about it for a moment and then steps back, “No.” she decides rather firmly, “I don’t want to go to a new home, I want to go to my old one!”

A fit is about to start, I can feel it in my bones. “Hannah, are you hungry?”

“No.”

Stupid question, none of us get hungry.

“Well could I interest you in some ice-cream anyway?”

She pretends to think about it, but I’m a businessman, I know when I’ve offered someone a deal they can’t refuse. “Yeah, I guess I could eat a little.”

“What are you doing?” Elizabeth whispers at me.

“Distracting her?” I whisper back.

“I want cotton candy ice cream,” Hannah informs.

“Then we will get you some!” Elizabeth claps, “there’s an ice cream parlor down one of the event halls.”