Chapter 10 - The Door That Stayed Open
Back in New York,
the snow was still falling,
coating the city in a fresh layer of white.
I walked into the Meridian Room,
the familiar scent of polish and perfume greeting me.
My manager looked at me,
his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Hannah?"
he stammered.
"You're back?"
"I'm sorry I missed my shift,"
I said,
picking up an apron.
"I had some family business to attend to."
He didn't ask questions,
not after he saw the way the VIPs looked at me.
The story of the waitress who answered the billionaire had become a legend,
but no one knew the truth of what happened after we left.
I moved between the tables,
carrying trays and filling glasses,
just like before.
But I felt different.
The air felt thinner,
the sounds of the city more melodic.
One evening,
a man sat down at the center table.
He was young,
dressed in a simple suit,
and he was reading a book in a language I didn't recognize.
I set his water down,
and he looked up at me.
"Is it true?"
he asked in a whisper.
"Is what true?"
I replied,
my face a mask of polite indifference.
"That words can open doors,"
he said.
I paused,
my hand resting on the table.
I leaned in close,
so no one else could hear.
"Only if you know how to breathe,"
I said in the forgotten tongue.
His eyes widened,
and he dropped his book.
I walked away,
a small smile playing on my lips.
My grandfather was right.
The words were a key,
but the person holding them was the lock.
I looked out the window at the swirling snow,
knowing that somewhere,
in the heart of a mountain,
the light was still pulsing.
And as long as I was alive,
the secret was safe.
I picked up a tray and headed back to the kitchen,
just another ordinary girl in a world full of magic.
The door was open,
but only for those who knew the name of the wind.
I was Hannah,
the waitress from Queens,
and I was the most powerful person in the room.
I always would be.
The end of one story,
was only the beginning of the next.
May you like
The words were waiting.
And so was I.
