Member-only story
The Authentic Eclectic
Inanimate Voices
The lodge overflowed with elderly men who had stumbled in from the snow to greet the new year with cards and booze, and no tables remained.
Her parents didn’t seem to mind, but, grinning, ordered drinks and dove into the sea of friends and acquaintances. It was noisy and the only food was roast beef.
Olivia walked through the room dodging chairs that squeaked out across the floor. It was all health conditions, politics, weather, drinks, money, and everything fit to print in plain black-and-white for the most boring person in the world. She explored the entire lodge, even running the hand dryer in the bathroom, and her interest, such as it was, finally settled on the Christmas tree left standing in the corner near the entrance.
She crouched beside the tree to admire the golden baubles and tinsel, then checked behind her. Nobody cared. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled behind the tree. It would be the perfect hiding pla —
“Oh!”
A little girl perhaps two years younger than herself had pressed her body into the corner and stared at her with wide, resentful eyes.
“How long have you been here?” Olivia asked more sharply than intended, embarrassed and uncertain.
