Chapter 7: Of Helpful People and Sorrowful Dreams
Gabriel walked around the street looking for the hotel that Selene had mentioned to him. He was getting drowsy, but he couldn't sleep outdoors… even after all the times that he did. He didn't have the things to shelter him outside and it was already starting to drizzle a bit. Even if he did have the right equipment, people would find him even stranger and that would make it harder for him. But then again, has anything ever been easy for him?
He was too stubborn and independent to ask someone for directions, but he finally decided to after an hour or two. He grabbed a random pedestrian by the wrist.
"Excuse me, do you know where the nearest decent hotel is?" he asked. The man yanked his hand out of Gabriel's grasp and nodded. He pointed to a building down the street and gave Gabriel the address. Address number was 666.
Gabriel thanked the helpful pedestrian and ran off towards the hotel. He was in desperate need of sleep. The drizzle was beginning to turn into rain, but the pouring water didn't bother him. It was the fact that he almost falling asleep in the middle of the sidewalk that bothered him.
'Stay awake, dammit!' he silently screamed to himself. He looked up and saw a clock. Removing the wet strands of hair from his face, he checked the time. It was already 3:00 AM.
Finally, he reached the hotel and rushed inside. He was shivering from being drenched in the cold rain. His expression was clearly aggravated but exhausted.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you in need of a room or anything? You seem flustered…" the employee at the counter offered. Gabriel grunted in response and walked over to the counter.
"You'll need to tell me how long you'll be here." The employee said. Gabriel told him that he wasn't so sure.
"Okay, just pay when you check out." The employee said. Gabriel gave him a questioning look and asked him what it meant to 'check out'. The man chuckled and said, "Boy, you are funny. Haven't you ever been to a hotel before?"
Gabriel nodded but stated that he has never heard of that term before. The man believed him and simply explained to Gabriel what it meant.
"Basically, it's when you tell me or any other employee when you leave and you give back the key." The man explained and showed Gabriel the card key. Gabriel then asked how he would fit that into a lock. The man chuckled again.
"You must be from some Amish country." He stated. Gabriel shook his head and thought for a moment if he should explain his dilemma to this stranger. He came to this conclusion: what damage could it possibly do except for disbelief?
"No. I've come from the past to retrieve the soul of my lost love." Gabriel simply said. The young man before him stifled a chuckle, but knew that Gabriel couldn't be lying. So far, he hadn't proven himself to be a liar.
"Okay, it's hard to believe. Even if it's not true, I'll give you a room anyway. Just ask me for anything since you seem to have trouble with the modern day appliances, terms and whatnot." The kind employee said. He handed Gabriel the card key and showed him how to put it in the slot.
"Your room is 666. Just press the elevator button and wait." The man explained and pointed to the glowing orange arrow, "When the doors open, go inside and press 4. After that, wait for the doors to open again and exit. Then turn left and just keep looking at the room numbers."
Just before Gabriel was about to leave, the employee told him one more thing. He showed him a telephone. "Pick up the receiver," he explained while doing so, "and put it to your ear." He put the receiver to his ear and told Gabriel which end should be where. "Press number 0 and then wait for someone to answer. This is what you'll do when you need to call for help, okay?" Gabriel nodded.
He thanked the kind man then asked for his name. "I'm Carl." The employee replied pointing to the nametag on his vest. "What about you, sir?" "Gabriel Van Helsing." Gabriel replied. He noticed the man's name. Was it coincidence? It probably was if the man didn't recognize him a bit.
Gabriel walked off to search for his hotel room. He followed Carl's exact instructions. He pushed the elevator button, waited for the doors to open and the entered the little "room". Then he would press button four and wait, yet again. A waste of time, it seemed to Gabriel, but he might as well do whatever Carl said. He needed to trust him in order to get through with all these enhancements in technology that lay in the very building he would sleep in.
An acute sound of a bell ring only once was heard and then the twin doors slid open. Gabriel exited the elevator and turned left, just as Carl said. He went down the hall and checked every door number. 600… 661… 662… 663………… and finally 666! He retrieved the card key that Carl had given him and slid it into the slot in the exact manner that the employee had done. Gabriel saw the red light turn green and heard a beep followed by a click. He turned the doorknob and entered his hotel room.
"What now?" he asked the darkness. Instincts told him to run his hands upon the walls, so he did. He found some sort of switch and flicked it. How lucky he was! The switch turned on the lamps, therefore produced light (duh!). Gabriel grinned and shut the door behind him. He didn't bother to shower and just fell to the bed. He fell asleep almost immediately. That night, he dreamt of Anna.
Anna was looking more beautiful than ever before. She was clothed in a white dress that reached all the way to the floor. It was sleeveless but there was black cloth that crisscrossed down her arms. Her hair was let loose, but only a few thick strands where pulled back. It made her look innocent and heavenly.
She stood in the darkness and faced Gabriel. Her eyes bore tears of sorrow, pain and anguish. And she sung a sorrowful song.
Please, please forgive me
But I won't be home again
Maybe someday you'll look up
And barely conscious you'll say to no one
Isn't something missing?
You won't cry for my absence, I know
You forgot me long ago
Am I that unimportant?
Am I so insignificant?
Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?
Even though I'm the sacrificed
You won't cry for me, not now
And though I'd die to know you love me
I'm all alone
Isn't someone missing me?
Please, please forgive me
But I won't be home again
I know what you do to yourself
I breathe deep and cry out
Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?
Even though I'm the sacrificed
You won't cry for me, not now
Though I'd die to know you love me
I'm all alone
Isn't someone missing me?
And if I bleed, I'll bleed
Knowing you don't care
And if I sleep just to dream of you
I'll wake without you there
Isn't something missing?
Isn't something…
Even though I'm the sacrificed
You won't cry for me, not now
And though I'd die to know you love me
I'm all alone
Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?
When Anna finished singing the song, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She gave a weak smile to Gabriel and drifted away; fading back into the everlasting darkness within his heart. And then the dream ended.
Gabriel roused from his sleep. He rose from the bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Sunlight leaked through the curtain-covered windows. He sat in the same position for a while before groggily dismounting the hotel bed.
'That dream… and that song… what was it supposed to mean?' he asked himself. While he showered, he thought about the lyrics to that sorrowful song.
Anna looked at him the whole time she sang as if to aim the meaning towards him. But the lyrics… she said that he would not cry for her and that he already forgot about her. It didn't make sense! He was searching for her… she even spoke with him, although in spirit form.
And when she sang that she knew what he does to himself… "You know I'm suffering…" he thought aloud. If he's correct, then why must she torment him, like this?
Just as Gabriel finished rinsing his hair out and washing away all the soap from him, he had a thought. "She's testing me, isn't she?" he said aloud and then grinned. It was just like Anna to do that. It was just like her to test his skills, even if it was at love.
"Don't worry, Anna. I will never forget. I swear… I will find you. This is my promise to you that shall never be broken." He swore.