I heard a multitude of inaudible whispers echoing through the dark space I was in, My eyes felt heavy and I struggled to open it. There was an overwhelming feeling of drowsiness that filled my body. Eventually, after a few minutes, I managed to open my eyes, but what welcomed me was a dark and empty room.

As I lay down on this void, I felt a soft and warm comfort against my back. It was soothing and the sensation tempted me to go back to sleep.

"Ah, if only I could stay like this. It's so comfortable here." A tired sigh escaped my mouth and I felt a sense of relief.

"NO! GET OUT! THIS IS MY PLACE! GET OUT! GET OUT!!"

My ears felt painful as a deafening voice reverberated through the void. I was surprised and my eyes wandered around to check where the voice came from. I then saw a young boy crouching on the floor a few paces in front of me. His arms were wrapped around his head and his body was curled up in a fetal position. It looked like he was shielding himself from something. I approached the child to check on him, then sat beside him and reached out my hand to touch his back.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

My hand froze up and refused to move, it was just a few inches away from the boy.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

A nostalgic feeling came to me, the child's voice was loud, but the way he spoke reminded me of my childhood.

"I… just want to make sure you're okay." I softly whispered to him.

"NO I'M NOT OKAY!"

The child then unwraps his arms and uncovers his face, his black hair was dishevelled, his skin looked pale and there were bags under his eyes. His irises looked bleak and emptiness seeped through it. I noticed two moles on his face. One by the side of his right eye and one on the lower left part of his chin.

I was stupefied, it was my face when I was a young boy.

The younger me hastily stands up and glares at me with his dark blue eyes, I saw bitter resentment etched on his face, his lips quivered and tears fell from his cheeks.

"YOU LEFT ME HERE! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!!"

The boy used both of his arms and pushed me back with all of his strength, I felt the floor beneath me crumble and the sensation of gravity weighed on my body. I saw the darkness fall apart like eggshells as I fell down into the hole beneath me.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, EIN!!"

As I fell, I saw my child self vanish into the darkness, eventually, the dark and empty space disappeared and was replaced by a white light. I felt like I was endlessly falling from a high place and the sensation jolted me awake.

"Haaahh… what the hell was that?" Cold sweat dribbled from my face as I sat up.

I found myself lying down alone on a hospital cot, the space felt familiar as it resembled the rooms of the Hotel's health centre.

"I'm back to reality."

I groaned as I heaved myself to sit upright, the warm blanket that covered me flopped to the side and the cold air inside the room blew against me.

My body shivered and I noticed that all of my clothes were loose, my shirt was wrinkled and had been unbuttoned exposing my undershirt. My belt was unbuckled, the trousers were unfastened and someone removed the socks on my feet.

'That's right… I remember I got stuck in the elevator with Henry… And that shitty memory too.' I massaged my temple as I sensed a dull headache coming to me, a feeling of dread also loomed inside my thoughts. '

Did something happen? Shit, only remember the lift shutting down and my vision going dark, but the rest…' I scratched my head in frustration, my headache became worse as I tried to recollect what happened.

'I should ask Henry about what happened once I see him.'

My eyes scanned around the room to check for my missing clothes, I saw my tie, belt and socks neatly arranged by the side table, beside it were my planner, tablet, phone and smartwatch stacked up, My coat was also hanging on to a hook by the door. My leather shoes were also placed on the vacant stool by my bedside.

I stretched my legs then got up to fix myself, I gazed at the wall clock in the room, it was already 11:42 AM. almost time for lunch. I quickened my pace and tidied up my clothes, as I hurried along to fix my shirt buttons and cufflinks, I noticed that there were two empty bottles of tea placed near my belongings. It looked like it had been left there recently.

'Did someone forget to clean them?' I sighed and threw them into the trash bin, a gentle thud followed as the bottles dropped inside of it.

I hated seeing trash being left out in the open. After all, it somewhat reminded me of how people acted towards me when they found out of my inclinations.

I heard a soft, rhythmic knock from the door followed by a gentle creak as it swung open.

"Oh, Ein! Glad to see you awake now… How are you feeling?"

It was Arnaut, the GP and onsite psychologist of Hotel Citron. He was wearing scrubs underneath his white lab coat.

"I'm fine now, I just woke up a couple of minutes ago, doctor…" I sat on the bed as I put on my shoes. "By the way, what happened to you?"

Arnaut's hair was a mess and his face was swollen like an overripe red tomato.

"Ah… This… Well, Monique and Seori came to visit since Henry was-"

The door slams open, its loud sound surprises me and I flinch, I then see Monique, her face was beaming and she was lunging towards me.

"EEEEEEIIIINNNNNNNN!"

I felt her entire body weight slam against me, followed by a numbing pain at the back of my head. Next thing I knew, my vision went dark again.

***

It was the 12:00 lunch rush at Hotel Citron's employee dining hall, a busy queue formed at the buffet spread, word got out that Chef Emery had returned for one last time together with his protege. People were intrigued and were looking to get a glimpse of the new kitchen manager.

"Please replenish the Tikka Masala, you guys are almost halfway through the servings!"

Emery's stern voice rang through the buffet tables, he had changed clothes and was now wearing a black chef uniform. He was supervising the kitchen staff.

"Serve the Cobbler, some diners would eat desserts first sometimes!"

"Yes, chef!" The fervent crew replied in unison, they were glad that they were able to work with Emery one last time.

"Pasty and the Shepherd's Pie are almost out, I think a fresh batch was just pulled out from the bakery." A sheepish smile appears on Emery's face as he sees his old colleagues doing well with minimal instruction.

Emery then glances at Henry who was in a daze. Monique had just dropped him off into the dining hall ten minutes ago and the man stood there like an unattended floating balloon. It looked like the man got shell-shocked and was adamant to his busy surroundings.

'Looks like that elevator incident must have shaken him' Emery groans, he then approached Henry and gave him a pat on the back. "Henry!"

"Y-yes, chef!"

"Let's go to the bakery, we need to fetch the pasties and the pies!" Emery then grips Henry's shoulder and drags him towards the kitchen.

~~~~~

To be Continued.

~~~~~