Editing City Series:Volume6c Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

Berger stood in a dimly-lit hallway with a letter in hand.

The hallway was long and lined on the left with doors to living quarters. The window at one end of the hallway was fully open, giving a view of the blue sky. This was the second floor. He used the light from the window to open and read the letter the postman had delivered him.

“On May 30 at 8 AM, the two will be wed as part of the village’s summer festival.”

He recognized the woman’s name, but he did not recognize the man’s name.

He spoke both aloud and scratched his head. He threw out the ice pack to tear up the letter with both hands. He tore it in two, in four, in eight, and further shredded it before throwing it away.

He snorted, but then grimaced and held his cheek.

“God, I’m pathetic.”

He looked to the living quarters in front of him: Room 217.

He turned the knob and entered.

Light filled his vision.

It was a small room full of bright light thanks to the open window.

“–––––”

The large window was fully open and the curtain was fluttering in the wind. A black leather bag sat next to the door. It was his. It appeared to have a thin layer of dust.

“Leaving the window open was not enough ventilation. I guess that’s Arizona for you.”

He removed his heavy vest, draped it over his arm, and loosened his shirt’s buttons.

Wondering about the bed, he looked to the old single bed in the right corner, which got less sun. The mattress must have been green at some point, but it had faded to nearly white. The sheets had become a disordered ball of cloth on the bed, presumably due to the wind.

“Yeah, it’s not like they have a maid to make the bed.”

With a legitimate sigh, he reached for the sheets and lifted them.

There was nothing there. There shouldn’t have been, but he still nodded in satisfaction.

“She was hiding in there that one time.”

Then he ran over to the door, opened it, and checked the hallway. It was empty.

He shut the door again.

“And she didn’t come tumbling in when I did that.”

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, raised his arms, and stretched.

The wind blew into his room, carrying the barking of a dog outside. He also heard the sound of something scratching at wood.

“Hm?”

He took a look outside just in time to see something fly across the windowsill and into the room.

The small golden fluffball tried to run across the room as fast as its four legs would take it.

It was a cat.

Specifically, a cat with a brown feline right eye and a blue human left eye.

Berger gasped and called the cat’s name.

“Hazel Mirildorf!?”

The cat responded by looking back in the middle of her feline sprint of repeatedly scrunching up and stretching out. She turned a head wearing a choker like a collar and looked Berger in the eye.

For a cat, she had a very human combination of surprise and relief on her face.

But cat anatomy was not made to look to the side while running, so she lost her balance and took a tumble.

Her tail was caught in it and she rolled like a ball…right toward the door.

Berger wordlessly ran over and opened the door, so Cat Hazel tumbled right on out into the hallway.

Then he shut the door, locked it, and leaned his back against it.

“…”

He sighed when he heard a female voice from beyond the door.

“O-open the door! Please open the door! C-clothes! I need clothes!”

What the voice said and the voice itself made him hang his head in an “I hate being right” kind of way.

“Is that you again, Hazel Mirildorf?”