Winter's Loss

Joseph Roberts stepped outside into the harsh, wintry air and drew a cigarette out of his breast pocket. A wintry slush had begun several moments before and cleared the balcony of guests. It was a cold sunless day. The grey afternoon sky coupled with the winter weather left the country side devoid of color. It was the perfect time for Joseph to smoke. The stress from the day had made him jittery and he needed a few moments to regain an outward calm. Their newest guest had hit a little too close to home. Only a few years his junior, she had been an unwelcome guest. From his position on the upstairs balcony he overlooked the unloading dock. Below him there were several workers welcoming a new guest and the family members who had made the trip to see them off. Unusual but not too unusual some family members wanted to see them off. The group thanked the workers for their assistance and piled into their black journey.
A loud crack split the air as the engine turned over and grey smoke spilled out of the exhaust. The red brake lights cast an ominous red wash over the ground. Sanguine light reflected from the building snow. The light died as the Journey began to move forward. For a moment it skidded to a stop as the small tires lost traction and begin to spin wildly slinging dirty snow and mud everywhere. The driver stopped and for a moment the sanguine light was back as the driver applied the brakes. The driver slipped the vehicle into reverse, but was still unable to get any traction. Two of the larger passengers exited and began rocking the it back and forth. Joseph could see them straining as they pushed against the heavy behemoth. The spinning tires sprayed their lower legs, but they finally were able to find purchase and it began to make its way slowly towards the road. The soaked passengers hurried to climb back into it. Finally making the now difficult trek across the parking lot it disappeared as it turned right traveling behind a large row a hedges. Bits and pieces became visible through the hedges for a few moments, but it eventually disappeared out of sight completely.
A knocking from behind drew Joseph’s attention away from the hedge. The doorway behind him was blocked from view from the inside by large black curtains. A hand appeared between them and began to motion for him to come inside. Joseph knocked once in response. The hand gave a thumbs up in response and disappeared again. Turning around Joseph took a final drag from his cigarette. The smoke burned as it entered his lungs and he coughed a very jarring cough.
He carefully put the cigarette out and as he turned he saw a gentleman walking towards the back entrance. The taxi which had dropped him off had already sped back out onto the road without slowing. The gentleman had long brown curly hair and walked with his head bent towards his chest. He was wearing a full length black coat which almost dragged through the slush. The coat was buttoned all the way up and underneath he could see a white dress shirt and a black tie. His face was hidden from view as he made his way across the lot; his steps deliberate, as if he had planned the trip over and over and knew exactly where to place his feet to find purchase.
The frenzied knocking drew Joseph’s attention again and he hurriedly disposed of his spent cigarette and for a brief moment watch the traveler’s purposeful stride.  Breaking his lingering gaze he grasped the silvery door handle as his hand closed around it he felt the icy coldness burn into his palm. He turned the handle and pushed his way inside. The heat felt blistering against his chilled face as he entered into the waiting lounge.  Barely 10 feet by 10 feet; the room was extremely totalitarian in appearance. White walls with black couches there were no nick-nacks in the room at all. It was very impersonal which was against every fiber of Joseph’s being. He had wanted to change the room for years, but his father had said the room was to be left alone. Visitors were supposed to remain in the main galleries. Guests would only visit this far back if they wanted to use the balcony.
Most visitors only came back this far to visit the main office which was exactly opposite this room. He looked through the door and could see guests moving down the hall. Their shuffling gate spoke of extreme grief. Occasionally they would touch each other. Joseph had always been interested in the interactions between their guests. Usually the guests would sort of converge in small groups; like teenagers during lunch time at the local schools. They would discuss varying details of each other’s lives. Sometimes ridicule each other for past mistakes and then move on. The smaller, closer families would remain gathered in the common room and were usually more reserved in their remarks. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule he could clearly remember when one young man had a bit too much to drink and had caused quite a ruckus before the group had calmed him down.
It seemed the festivities would be starting soon. The hallways were finally clearing and the lights were dimming. Joseph peeked around the corner and noticed the long haired gentleman had just opened the doorway into the common room. Stepping out into the hallway he was able catch a brief glimpse of the man’s face. Deep brown eyes set under bushy brown eyebrows. He had a slight scar on one of his cheeks which was almost invisible under his nicely trimmed facial hair, but for the bright white light which poured out into the hallway which reflecting off the whiter scarred tissue  as he quietly entered into the room.
Joseph looked at his watch. He had fifteen minutes to spare before the festivities were scheduled to begin. He turned and quickly marched up to the front entrance while the man’s face was burned into his memory. Just inside the door was a collection of photo’s brought in by the guests. He inspected each and every one looking for the fellow’s image. Over and over he saw the Guest of Honor’s image. In her younger years she’d had pretty shoulder length red hair. Her eyes appeared to change between gray and green. In every frozen moment in time she had a very pretty smile, but there were none of the man in the coat. As he searched he noticed a spot on the board where there appeared to have been a photo at one time. There was a clear thumb tack missing and a space about the size of a 4x6 photograph. There were no rules about removing anything from the board, but it had never happened before.Perhaps the missing vignette held a clue to the strangers identity?
Perhaps it had fallen off? Looking around the floor he did indeed find a thumbtack or rather it found him. Picking it out of the bottom of his leather shoe he stuck it back in the board and continued his search for the missing clue. As the clock struck two he had to give up on the search. He had other more pressing issues to attend to.