Clara is watching what she is taking on faith to be a sunset. In actuality, she is sitting on a bench facing west, but if she could see through the stand of trees that line the western border of the hotel, she would observe the world rotate enough to view the sun's nightly disappearance. Clara has never truly witnessed the brilliant colors of a setting sun. Even from the rooftop, she can't see over the looming trees, so she settles for sitting on the bench, imagining the pinks and oranges and reds.

Clara seldom lets herself think about the fact that she is trapped within the grounds of the hotel. She hasn't tried to leave in a long time, not since she was eleven or twelve. She was determined then. She believed if she wanted it badly enough, she could break whatever barrier tethered her to this place. She walked past the pool and approached the road marking the hotel's border, imagining herself taking a deep breath before proceeded forward. Her legs and feet moved one in front of the other, but she never went anywhere, as though she was walking on one of the treadmills in the hotel's exercise facility.

Maybe she didn't want to leave badly enough, though if that was the case, she wasn't sure how much more one could desire something.

Clara cried for days after that last failed escape, but now, she won't let herself think about it. Resentment and anger are harbored deep within her. She cannot bear to drudge them up to the surface all of the time.

She has a life to lead, such as it is, so Clara ventures in her mind where she's unable to go bodily. She climbs Mount Rainier and watches the sun sink over the Sound.

It is magnificent.

#

Nolan watches Clara watch the sunset. She is actually staring at a grove of trees behind the hotel, but somehow, he's conscious of what she observes through her mind's eye. Her dark hair is pulled back into a thick braid that reaches almost all the way to the seat of the bench.

She doesn't act cold, despite the fact that in her spaghetti-strapped red sundress, she is dressed for a much warmer evening. The temperature always drops significantly here whenever the sun isn't shining, which is most of the time.

Nolan waited all day for Clara to find him, and now he's found her instead. He isn't prepared for that. All day long he rehearsed how he would react if she appeared in front of him. He's uncertain how to be the one to appear instead, though, truth be told, he didn't just stumble across her path.

"I was hoping to see you again." As soon as he says it, he admits to himself that it is the truth.