Temporary Places _The Night Circus

Temporary Places ?

Tara Burgess does not realize until after she has returned to London that the address on the card given to her by Mr. Barris is not a private residence at all but the Midland Grand Hotel.

She leaves the card sitting out on a table in her parlor for some time, glancing at it whenever she happens to be in the room. Forgetting about it for stretches of time until she remembers it again.

Lainie attempts to persuade Tara to join her for an extended holiday in Italy, but she refuses. Tara tells her sister little about her visit to Vienna, saying only that Ethan asked after her.

Lainie suggests that they might consider moving, and perhaps they should discuss it further when she returns.

Tara only nods, giving her sister a warm embrace before Lainie departs.

Alone in their town house, Tara wanders absently. She abandons half-read novels on chairs and tables.

The invitations from Mme. Padva to join her for tea or accompany her to the ballet are politely declined.

She turns all of the mirrors in the house to face the walls. Those she cannot manage to turn she covers with sheets so they sit like ghosts in empty rooms.

She has trouble sleeping.

One afternoon, after the card has sat patiently gathering dust for months, she picks it up and places it in her pocket, and she is out the door and on her way to the train before she can decide whether or not the idea is a good one.

Tara has never visited the clock-topped hotel attached to St. Pancras Station, but it strikes her immediately as a temporary place. Despite the size and solidity of the building, it feels impermanent, populated by a constant stream of guests and travelers on their way to and from other locations. Stopping only briefly before continuing to other destinations.

She inquires at the desk but they claim they have no such person listed as a guest. She repeats the name several times after the desk clerk keeps mishearing her. She tries more than one variation, as the words on the card from Mr. Barris have been smudged, and she cannot recall the proper pronunciation. The longer she stands there, the more unsure she becomes that she has ever even heard the smudged name on the card pronounced.

The clerk politely asks if she would like to leave a note, if perhaps the gentleman in question were to be arriving later in the day, but Tara declines, thanking the clerk for his time and replacing the card in her pocket.

She wanders the lobby, wondering if the address is incorrect, though it is not like Mr. Barris to provide anything less than exact information.

“Good afternoon, Miss Burgess,” a voice next to her says. She has not noticed him approach, but the man whose name she still cannot recall the proper pronunciation of is standing by her shoulder in his distinctive grey suit.

“Good afternoon,” she echoes.

“Were you looking for me?” he asks.

“I was, in fact,” Tara says. She starts to explain that Mr. Barris sent her. She reaches into her pocket, but there is no card within it and she stops, confused.

“Is something wrong?” the man in the grey suit asks.

“No,” Tara says, now unsure if she remembered to bring the card, or if it is still sitting on a table in her parlor. “I wanted to speak with you about the circus.”

“Very well,” he says. He waits for her to begin, his expression bearing something that could be construed as very mild interest.

She does her best to explain her concern. That there is more going on with the circus than most people are privy to. That there are elements she can find no reasonable explanations for. She repeats some of the things she mentioned to Mr. Barris. The concern of not being able to be certain if anything is real. How disconcerting it is to look in a mirror and see the same face, unchanged for years.

She falters frequently, finding it difficult to articulate precisely what she means.

The expression of very mild interest does not change.

“What is it you would like from me, Miss Burgess?” he asks when she has finished.

“I would like an explanation,” she says.

He regards her with the same unchanged expression for some time.

“The circus is simply a circus,” he says. “An impressive exhibition, but no more than that. Don’t you agree?”

Tara nods before she can properly process the response.

“Do you have a train to catch, Miss Burgess?” he asks.

“Yes,” Tara says. She had forgotten about her train. She wonders what time it is, but she cannot find a clock to check.

“I am headed toward the station myself, if you do not mind an escort.”

They walk the short distance from the hotel to the train platforms together. He holds doors open for her. He makes empty remarks about the weather.

“I think it may be in your best interest to find something else to occupy your time,” he says when they reach the trains. “Something to take your mind off the circus. Don’t you agree?”

Tara nods again.

“Good day, Miss Burgess,” he says with a tip of his hat.

“Good day,” she echoes.

He leaves her on the platform, and when she turns after him to see which way he went, the grey suit is nowhere to be found amongst the crowd.

Tara stands near the edge of the platform, waiting for her train. She cannot recall telling Mr. A. H— which train it was she would be taking, but he has deposited her on the proper platform nonetheless.

She feels as though there was something else she meant to ask, but now she cannot recall what it was. She cannot recall much of anything about the conversation, save for the impression that there is something else she should be spending her time on, somewhere else to be, some other matter that is more deserving of her attention.

She is wondering what that might be when a flash of grey on the opposite platform catches her eye.

Mr. A. H— stands in a shadowy corner, and even with the distance and the shadows Tara can tell that he is arguing with someone she cannot see.

Other people pass by without even glancing in their direction.

When the light from the arching overhead windows shifts, Tara can see who Mr. A. H— is arguing with.

The man is not quite as tall, the top of his hat sits leveled like a step down from the grey one, so much so that at first Tara thinks the man is only a reflection and finds it odd that Mr. A. H— would be arguing with his own reflection in the middle of a train station.

But the other suit is distinctly darker. The reflection’s hair is longer, though it is a similar shade of grey.

Through the steam and the crowd, Tara can make out the bright spots of lace at the cuffs of the shirt, the dark eyes that catch the light more than the rest of the man’s face. Aspects settle temporarily and then vanish into distorted shadows once more, never remaining steady for more than a moment.

The light filtering in from above shifts again, and the figure quavers as though she were watching through a heat haze, though Mr. A. H— remains comparatively crisp and clear.

Tara takes a step forward, her gaze fixated on the apparition on the opposite platform.

She does not see the train.

最后編輯于
?著作權(quán)歸作者所有,轉(zhuǎn)載或內(nèi)容合作請聯(lián)系作者
  • 序言:七十年代末绘闷,一起剝皮案震驚了整個濱河市蜕劝,隨后出現(xiàn)的幾起案子酪惭,更是在濱河造成了極大的恐慌辙纬,老刑警劉巖鹃唯,帶你破解...
    沈念sama閱讀 218,755評論 6 507
  • 序言:濱河連續(xù)發(fā)生了三起死亡事件榆芦,死亡現(xiàn)場離奇詭異达椰,居然都是意外死亡友绝,警方通過查閱死者的電腦和手機抛腕,發(fā)現(xiàn)死者居然都...
    沈念sama閱讀 93,305評論 3 395
  • 文/潘曉璐 我一進店門芋绸,熙熙樓的掌柜王于貴愁眉苦臉地迎上來,“玉大人担敌,你說我怎么就攤上這事摔敛。” “怎么了全封?”我有些...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 165,138評論 0 355
  • 文/不壞的土叔 我叫張陵马昙,是天一觀的道長。 經(jīng)常有香客問我刹悴,道長行楞,這世上最難降的妖魔是什么? 我笑而不...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 58,791評論 1 295
  • 正文 為了忘掉前任土匀,我火速辦了婚禮子房,結(jié)果婚禮上,老公的妹妹穿的比我還像新娘恒削。我一直安慰自己池颈,他們只是感情好,可當我...
    茶點故事閱讀 67,794評論 6 392
  • 文/花漫 我一把揭開白布钓丰。 她就那樣靜靜地躺著躯砰,像睡著了一般。 火紅的嫁衣襯著肌膚如雪携丁。 梳的紋絲不亂的頭發(fā)上琢歇,一...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 51,631評論 1 305
  • 那天兰怠,我揣著相機與錄音,去河邊找鬼李茫。 笑死揭保,一個胖子當著我的面吹牛,可吹牛的內(nèi)容都是我干的魄宏。 我是一名探鬼主播秸侣,決...
    沈念sama閱讀 40,362評論 3 418
  • 文/蒼蘭香墨 我猛地睜開眼,長吁一口氣:“原來是場噩夢啊……” “哼宠互!你這毒婦竟也來了味榛?” 一聲冷哼從身側(cè)響起,我...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 39,264評論 0 276
  • 序言:老撾萬榮一對情侶失蹤予跌,失蹤者是張志新(化名)和其女友劉穎搏色,沒想到半個月后,有當?shù)厝嗽跇淞掷锇l(fā)現(xiàn)了一具尸體券册,經(jīng)...
    沈念sama閱讀 45,724評論 1 315
  • 正文 獨居荒郊野嶺守林人離奇死亡频轿,尸身上長有42處帶血的膿包…… 初始之章·張勛 以下內(nèi)容為張勛視角 年9月15日...
    茶點故事閱讀 37,900評論 3 336
  • 正文 我和宋清朗相戀三年,在試婚紗的時候發(fā)現(xiàn)自己被綠了烁焙。 大學(xué)時的朋友給我發(fā)了我未婚夫和他白月光在一起吃飯的照片航邢。...
    茶點故事閱讀 40,040評論 1 350
  • 序言:一個原本活蹦亂跳的男人離奇死亡,死狀恐怖考阱,靈堂內(nèi)的尸體忽然破棺而出翠忠,到底是詐尸還是另有隱情鞠苟,我是刑警寧澤乞榨,帶...
    沈念sama閱讀 35,742評論 5 346
  • 正文 年R本政府宣布,位于F島的核電站当娱,受9級特大地震影響吃既,放射性物質(zhì)發(fā)生泄漏。R本人自食惡果不足惜跨细,卻給世界環(huán)境...
    茶點故事閱讀 41,364評論 3 330
  • 文/蒙蒙 一鹦倚、第九天 我趴在偏房一處隱蔽的房頂上張望。 院中可真熱鬧冀惭,春花似錦震叙、人聲如沸。這莊子的主人今日做“春日...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 31,944評論 0 22
  • 文/蒼蘭香墨 我抬頭看了看天上的太陽。三九已至戚丸,卻和暖如春划址,著一層夾襖步出監(jiān)牢的瞬間,已是汗流浹背。 一陣腳步聲響...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 33,060評論 1 270
  • 我被黑心中介騙來泰國打工夺颤, 沒想到剛下飛機就差點兒被人妖公主榨干…… 1. 我叫王不留痢缎,地道東北人。 一個月前我還...
    沈念sama閱讀 48,247評論 3 371
  • 正文 我出身青樓世澜,卻偏偏與公主長得像独旷,于是被迫代替她去往敵國和親。 傳聞我的和親對象是個殘疾皇子寥裂,可洞房花燭夜當晚...
    茶點故事閱讀 44,979評論 2 355

推薦閱讀更多精彩內(nèi)容

  • **2014真題Directions:Read the following text. Choose the be...
    又是夜半驚坐起閱讀 9,509評論 0 23
  • Can you hear me when I call you name?
    凝墨寒閱讀 97評論 0 0
  • 才見過不到三次面的舍友搬走了势告,去廣州,她說抚恒,在廣州呆了三年咱台,在深圳呆了半年,最終還是回到廣州俭驮。早知道別來了回溺,這么折...
    椰子菇?jīng)?/span>閱讀 172評論 0 0
  • 今天一覺醒來已經(jīng)有了十點半了,感覺自己好能睡啊混萝∫抛瘢看著窗外的大雨,從樓上望去自己竟然有一個想出去跑幾圈的沖動逸嘀。估計我...
    旅人未安閱讀 219評論 0 0