Chapter 3

“Shit, I think you might have actually broken him, Char,” Mel says. They stand near the entrance. The large double doors of Lotus Valley hang open, creaking and groaning like speaking an ancient language, towering over them dramatically, though not quite as high as the ceiling. They are heavy and resist the wind which otherwise whips around off of the nearby ocean. Alex is in thrall as he moves into the wide open space: gold lining against the walls, painted a deep emerald. Past a small foyer, a space with clean circular chairs and tables, a vivid red carpet. In the middle, a dance floor, surrounded by glass panels, separating the room from others. Next to it, a hallway with a fan pattern on the wall leads into the rest of the building. Reflective black tiles line the dance floor, and Alex can see his wobbly, dark reflection. Wide windows above them allow in large streams of light, giving the old objects inside a sense of liveliness. The high ceiling is ornately decorated, and from it hangs a light fixture, geometric and sharp. Doors to private rooms surround the space. Mirrors. Everywhere, on nearly every surface, mirrors. Mirrors behind the bar at the dance floor, next to tables, hanging off walls. The whole place feels like a tomb: Wind-worn and beaten on the exterior, but a time capsule inside, untouched and clean, and there is an unshakable sense that something sacred is preserved here.

“This is where they disappeared,” Alex speaks, as if asking the air to reveal its mysteries. His hand presses against a column, partially to confirm its reality, but just as much to see if his skin can read the secrets therein. He bolts excitedly towards the spiral staircase at the back of the room. The silence hangs over every inch. It feels, to him, as though there should be a party here right at this moment. He doesn’t even feel dust. There is a life here, beating in the heart of the building, and he is here to meld with it. He approaches the dance floor and can feel the music of the past in him.

“You really want to raise that man’s kids?” Mel asks jokingly. As odd as Alex is, she loves Charlotte’s adoration of him. Charlotte does, indeed, intend to raise Alex’s kids. They will graduate. He will accept the offer he received for the PhD program at Columbia. They will get married. They will have their first child. If it’s a boy, he’ll be Frank, after her father. A girl, Emma, after his grandmother. This is the clearly-written treasure map for the future Charlotte Cameron. No steganography, mystery, or puzzle to solve.