Location: Some Resort in Hawaii
With: Claire Robinson, @hcneyjarwritings
The sound of the waves lapping lazily at the shore coupled with the gentle background noise of acoustic guitar and laughter provided the necessary tone for a relaxing vacation. Gulls squawked overhead as they searched the land for any missed food on the ground. Children chased one another on a patch of rich, green grass with plastic flowers around their necks. Other guests clinked their glasses together which were filled to the brim with vibrantly colored drinks, cheering to their much needed getaway. The sound of wheels on pavement came and went as bellhops towed luggage towards the elevators and other guests followed behind, their suitcases rolling gently behind them.
However, among all of the fuss Eric found himself seated in the lobby while a line of families stood before the counter awaiting their check-in. He had not found himself in such a rush, giving up his place in line without much conflict to a family who had multiple children that they were attempting to keep in line. So there he sat, lounging casually in the chair with a magazine full of advertisements in his lap. He flipped through pages mindlessly, the bright and cheery ads for adventure selling themselves as being better than the next. One was for horseback riding in the ocean while the next was for scuba diving. Many of the ads focused on experiences with the aquatic life in the area such as whale sightings, dive cages with sharks, swimming with dolphins, and even a manta ray adventure.
While he flipped through the pages mindlessly, a person in his peripheral caught his attention. There had been many people walking through the front of the resort. Couples, families, and so on... however, this woman failed to appear as relaxed as the rest. In fact, her behavior seemed out of place and erratic compared to the flow of the rest of the lobby. His eyes pulled away from the magazine as she slid down into a chair near to him, quickly pulling a newspaper up to hide behind. He closed the magazine, glancing around the room before he spoke to her.
“Hey, excuse me,” Eric began quietly before clearing his throat, “Are you alright, miss?”