Chapter Text
1
Rosie’s hand was still sore, the pain running through her scraped skin, once unbearable, was fortunately letting up. The bandaging that the woman was carefully applying would help greatly with the healing process. Rosie gritted her teeth and bore through the pain until the pressure being put on her hand was finally released. The woman tucked the loose end of the bandage under the main wrapping and gave Rosie’s hand a slight pat before letting it down. “All better.” Rosie flinched as the pain shot through her hand and then quickly tried to hide her face before the woman could see… It didn’t work. “Hurts, huh?”
“No…” Rosie lied. It wasn’t a very good lie.
“So it did hurt.”
“It’s not that bad, I swear, I’m fine,” as Rosie waved her arm through the air, the pain returned and she instinctively flinched, clutched her arm and let out a small cry. “Ow!” The woman looked. Her face was smug and knowing, a cunning smile turned up as she watched Rosie try to pretend that she’d felt nothing at all. “It hurts! Your arm’d hurt if you’d… Well… You know…” The woman did know, she wished she didn’t but there was nothing she could do to pretend that she didn’t. Silence…
“Is it common? What happened to us? Does that sort of thing happen often here?” The woman remained silent. It was common, of course it was.
"More common that I'd like. Than anyone would like." The woman solemnly replied. Rosie understood. Silence fell on them again. "So!" The woman suddenly exclaimed. "Let's hear the rest of it then?"
"The rest of what?" Rosie puzzled.
"Your story, you know, you were telling me the story before I ordered more drinks." The woman smiled, as though she found Rosie's innocent nature sweet.
"Ah! Yes! The story! So… where was I up to?"
"You'd just been given the map,"
"Oh yes! So! I'd just been given the map, what was I to do next?"
"Find a decent job?" The woman's logic was sound, the first idea that Rosie had when she first arrived in the city of Winchley.
"Yes, but you see, I'm Rosie Parker, I'm as dumb as they come so I spent hours wasting time around the city exploring so that by the time I reached the town hall,"
2
"Closed?!"
"Sorry pal." The thin man said as he began closing up the doors to the town hall.
"No no no! You can't be closed! I need a job!"
"Well sorry, you'll have to come back tomorrow." The man continued as he closed yet another shutter over the window. "Why do you need a job now anyway? It's not like you'd have been able to get hired right this second now."
"There's no harm in trying," Rosie sighed. The man smiled.
"You're determined aren't you?"
"Yes I am!" Rosie smiled, hoping that a change of heart had occurred within the man.
"Well, there's still nothing I can do." Rosie's dreams shattered like an old window. The man moved again, towards another window to pull another shutter down. Rosie didn't know what to do. Was she going to spend the first night in her glorious new world sleeping on the streets? She didn't want to think about it. She stood silent. Another hopeless night Rosie? She thought to herself. No! She didn't know how but somehow, she was going to make it through this night with a decent sleep. At that moment, as she was about to turn and walk away, the door to the town hall opened with an audible 'click'. The man? No, he was still busy closing more shutters on each window. Rosie turned to face the door and saw a sight she would never forget. A sight more brilliant and beautiful than any view of a city from any mountain. A woman. Clad in a pink kimono patterned with red flowers. Her shining blonde hair tied up into a large neat bun on her head, her long slender figure being accentuated as she gracefully tapped down each step of the town hall. No loud clacking of the shoes, only a simple tap against each stone brick of the ground. The most beautiful woman Rosie had ever laid eyes on. Clutching a small pile of papers, the woman opened her eyes. A cold but serene look on her face as she approached the man who was closing up the town hall. Rosie felt intimidated by her presence but at the same time, the woman felt approachable, and approach her is what Rosie would do. The woman began to speak,
“Thanks Pete,” as a solemn smile appeared on her face, calming but serious, kind but cold. The woman’s expression was a mystery to Rosie.
“Ah, anything for you, your place is iconic after all, people’ll be snatching up the job offer there the moment they spot it tomorrow.” Job offer?! Thought Rosie.
“You’re too kind Pete,” the woman turned to leave and her smile was gone, her eyes closed again as she took a deep breath then started to walk away from the town hall. Suddenly, she stopped. Rosie hadn’t even noticed that the woman was directly facing her and Rosie hadn’t noticed that her eyes were wide open, a scowl plastered on her face pointed directly at Rosie. She froze as the woman continued staring. “Can I help you?” Rosie didn’t know what to say, a witty response formed in her head.
“Yes. Yes you can!” The woman was confused. Much to her dismay, the woman shrugged Rosie off and continued off in a different direction. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” Rosie sped over towards the woman who didn’t flinch, she barely even reacted aside from turning slightly in her direction before continuing in her original direction. “I need your help with something!” The woman stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
“I need your help, I think you can help me!” The woman didn’t know how to react.
“Huh?”
“Ok, um, uh,” Rosie didn’t know where to start. “Kimono!”
“Kimono?” Rosie gestured towards the garment the woman was clad in, the pink felt like it shone in the light of the sunset slowly disappearing behind the buildings. “Are you alright?”
“No, I’ve been having a strange day. What were you doing in there?”
“In where?” The woman had stopped walking and started listening to Rosie’s strange ramblings, a confused but slightly intrigued look on her face, the intense but somehow sad eyes staring towards her.
“The building. The uh…”
“...Town hall?”
“Yes! Town hall! What were you doing in there?!”
“None of your business.” The woman began walking away again.
“Wait!” Rosie followed again. “I can take a guess?”
“Which is?”
“Job postings!”
“Well that’s what most people go in there for,”
“So you were there about a job posting.” Rosie declared, a winning smile on her face as the woman stopped once more. “And, I’m pretty sure that you aren’t looking for a job, you were posting for one.”
“So you were eavesdropping on me.” Rosie froze, is that what you’d call it?
“I suppose… You could call it eavesdropping.” Guilty! "Anyway, the point is, the job, I'll take it!" An innocent and genuine smile plastered on Rosie's face.
"You don't even know what I'm hiring for?" Rosie wondered for a bit. She wondered back to her previous life. Kimono, traditional attire worn in Japan, often by service staff, particularly known for being worn by staff in hot springs resorts. In other words,
"A hotel!"
"... Lucky guess,"
"Maybe, or maybe it's fate." Rosie tried to sound cool. The woman had other ideas.
"Fate?"
"You never know what possibilities are out there?" The woman scowled.
"I think I know enough about what's out there." Rosie was frightened. Had she offended the woman? "In this world, there's no fate leading people about, there's no definite path that we all follow. We follow our hearts, our hopes, our dreams, we do what we want and what I want is to run my hotel in peace. I don't want your help" and with that, the woman turned and walked away. She felt victorious, Rosie could tell, not in the arrogant way, but in an honest way. A truth about herself that she genuinely believed.
"Then why advertise for a job at all?" The woman stopped but she didn't turn. "You wouldn't be advertising for a job if you didn't want the help. You see, I think that you do want the help but don't want to admit it." The woman thought for a few moments and then finally turned. A confused but intrigued look on her face.
"Who are you?" Rosie smiled.
"Rosie Parker!" She walked towards the woman, her hand outstretched, offering a handshake, "and I'll happily go through a training arc if it means that you'll give me a chance at a job!" The woman didn't know how to react, her hands were still clutching the last of her posters and the sun was finally disappearing over the tops of the buildings. Rosie's hand was still outstretched so the woman slowly raised her's and returned Rosie's handshake.
"Hiromi…" Her name? The woman, (presumably named ‘Hiromi’) still didn't know what was going on, just that Rosie Parker was very interested in her job offer and that she seemed very willing to try it out.
"'Hiromi'? Is that a Japanese name?" Rosie wondered aloud.
"What's… 'Japanese'?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, you won't have that here. Just forget it then." The woman looked confused so Rosie tried to deflect the conversation cause she didn't really feel like trying to explain what Japan was. "So! Where is this hotel then?"
"What, you want to try out now?"
"It never hurts to be eager." Rosie didn't want to tell the truth.
"And?" The woman knew that there was one though, a truth that Rosie wasn't telling.
"And I don't have anywhere to stay for the night." The woman rolled her eyes and began walking off again and Rosie followed at tremendous speed, trying not to lose the woman, her only hope of a decent night's sleep. "If you give me a room tonight, you can deduct it from my pay!"
"What pay? You don't even have the job yet."
"I'm just that good, I, uh… I know I'll get it anyway!" Rosie was improvising now, trying not to let the woman leave.
"You're seriously that confident? How much hotel work have you done before?”
“Zero!” How Rosie could say something so pathetic with such glee was anyone’s guess. The woman chuckled slightly and continued on her path. “Wait, wait!” Rosie caught up again.
“You can’t seriously expect me to give you this job based on that?”
“I can always try.” Rosie was still determined.
“I know that you were eavesdropping on me and Pete so I know that you heard what he said about my hotel being iconic. People will be lining up to take this offer.” Hiromi stopped. She paused, took a deep breath and said, “I’ll give you one chance. Tell me in one sentence, why should I give you this job?” Rosie didn’t hesitate.
“Because you’re kind.” Hiromi gasped and then froze. She didn’t know how to respond. When was the last time someone had called her kind? She’d always just been the scary woman who runs the old hotel. She turned. Rosie faced her, no longer smiling, a serious look plastered on her face. She meant what she said.
“Me? Kind?” The woman couldn’t understand. What was she missing? “I… I’m literally turning you away. You’re going to end up sleeping on the streets because of me… What part of that is kind?” Rosie’s face changed, a smile appearing.
“Because you listened to me at all.” The woman didn’t know what to say. Rosie continued, “a truly cruel person would’ve walked off at the first word. You didn’t. You stayed and you listened. What’s cruel about that?” Silence fell between them. Nothing but the sound of the wind flowing between them. Echoing throughout the now empty streets. Rosie waited. Hiromi simply stared. Bewildered. Then, she closed her eyes, turned and walked away, down the street in the direction of the golden sunset. Rosie’s last hope. She hadn’t thought this far ahead. Where would she go now? She turned. Defeated, headed in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going!?” A voice called from behind her. Rosie turned. Hiromi was facing her again. “Where are you going, my hotel is this way?” Rosie smiled, knowing exactly what this meant. Knowing exactly what Hiromi was offering. She began running, almost skipping towards the woman who turned and continued on the way she was originally going.
3
The road was long and the pair did not speak. As the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness fell, the lights of the street began to glow, one by one. More and more people began emerging onto the streets as the city of Winchley’s nightlife sprung into action. All around her, Rosie could see various tables and chairs being set up creating the parlour for various cafes. Night shops opened, pubs, other areas one might tend to find during the late hours and most importantly the people. Each and every person worked in tandem with each other, walking, talking, working. Rosie found herself lost in this beautiful dance of life that she almost lost sight of Hiromi a few times but she made sure to keep up.
At long last, after traversing many roads, Rosie and Hiromi came across their destination. The hotel? No, the pair had come to a stop outside a small building, the large sign on the top read “Cloudridge Cable Car.”
Cable car? Cloudridge?? Had Rosie seriously just stumbled upon the dream job by chance? It certainly seemed that way. It was here that Rosie noticed for the first time that all of the signs that she was reading in this world were in English. Lucky break I guess. Hiromi turned and spoke her first words for a while. “Come on then,” then she turned and headed into the building. The building had no doors, only two doorways, one labelled “entrance”, and the other labelled “exit.” Hiromi strode towards the one labelled “entrance” and Rosie quickly followed, trying to stay light on her feet so as to not lose the remarkably fast Hiromi and in some desperate attempt to impress her. The two walked into the building and saw what lay inside. A large room, white metal surrounding the walls and a series of white lights lining the edges to illuminate the room. The pair stood on a metal platform and could see the heavy wire turning around an axis, pulling the cable cars around. There were no staff about so the entire thing must have been automated. Only a few seconds after entering, a noise began to fill the room as Rosie looked up and saw a large cable car moving towards the hole in the wall. Red with a single white stripe tracing all around the seemingly magic box that would take Rosie to the world of her dreams. The cable car stopped and the doors slid open. No one stepped out, no one stepped in. Must not be a busy route. With this, Hiromi stepped forwards and said, “this will take us to the Inn,” as she stepped into the car. The next moment, a sound like a release of pressure from the doors was heard and the doors slowly started closing again so Rosie hurried towards the door and slipped through just as they closed.
Inside, Rosie threw her hands behind her, first to her head and then to the hem of her skirt to make sure that nothing had been caught in the door. She was safe so she let out a sigh of relief and strolled over to one of the benches and sat down.
The cable car rattled on through the night. The room was quiet aside from the humming of the roof above them as the wire slid through the hook at the top, guiding them towards their destination. Hiromi was quiet. She simply stared down at her hands in her lap until she finally spoke. "So why did you want this job?" Rosie wasn't quite sure herself at this point. She traced back her memories to the point at which she first met Jules on the train. She still didn't know. Based on what Jules said, it just seemed like the logical thing to do, she definitely wouldn't have thought of it herself.
"I met a man on the train here. He said I should get a job." Rosie was honest.
"That seems a bit rude."
"How so?"
"Seems like he was talking down to you, 'you should get a darn job you,' sort of thing." Rosie wondered. The man had seemed so nice, she very much doubted that he was talking down to her.
"I think he was trying to help. I sort of came here on a whim, I didn't really have a plan, I still don't, but he recommended that I get a job. He also recommended one 'Cloudridge Inn'. Is that where we're going?" The woman stared and then smiled.
"So you can read then."
"You assumed I couldn't?" Rosie was insulted.
"We'll look at you," as the woman gestured towards Rosie. "Your clothes aren't exactly normal. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're not from around here." Were her clothes really that out of the ordinary? Hmm. I suppose this is a completely different world after all, she thought.
"Wait, why does that mean I might not be able to read?" The woman didn't speak. Her smile was gone and she looked towards the floor.
"Well…" She looked up. "You're from outside aren't you? Shouldn't you know?" The cable car jolted and the humming from the roof stopped. Moments later, the sound of pressure releasing once more as the doors slid open once again. "We're here…" Hiromi stood and walked silently towards the door. The echo of her previous words still resonating through Rosie's mind. The release of pressure again as Rosie realised that the doors would soon close once more so she raced through after Hiromi, heading the doors click shut behind her moments after she stepped out.
In front of her, a path lay, paved with cobblestone and lined with wooden lamp posts, an upwards slope. From each of these lampposts, a golden flickering candle box hung, each one lit by hand. Beyond this path there were trees as far as the eye could see, though Rosie couldn't really see them due to the lack of light but she could tell that they were there. Hiromi was already ahead, strolling up the path in her professional and delicate manner. Rosie ran along quickly once again to keep up with her. It was starting to feel as though Hiromi was leaving her behind on purpose. The road was quiet. Now that they’d left the city and the humming of the cable car was behind them, Rosie, for the first time in a long time, found herself in almost complete silence. Only the sounds of the crickets in the surrounding grass could be heard, drowned out by the swaying of the trees in the wind. Soon, the trees spread out, becoming more and more sparse as the path went on until Rosie and Hiromi came upon a clearing. In front of her lay a wooden wall, a light beige colour. It stretched far along but Rosie eventually spotted that it had an edge and in the centre of the wall, there was a gate. Tall, guarded from rain by a shelter, curved slabs paving the tops, again stretching along the entire wall. Above this fence there was a sign, ‘Cloudridge Inn’. Hiromi stepped forwards and reached into her kimono. That thing has pockets? She pulled out a large ring of keys. Did she have those the whole time? No noise? Impressive. Hiromi selected one of the older looking keys and slid it into the lock. The key turned and Rosie heard a click as the gate opened. Hiromi walked in and Rosie was quick to follow.
Through the gate Rosie, for the first time, set eyes on Cloudridge Inn. A tall and traditional Japanese-style hot springs resort. Rosie could tell. She was a fanatic for Japanese culture back home and this type of building was a staple of said culture. Also she’d seen enough anime to know what a hot springs resort looked like. The famous ‘hot springs’ scenes being a dream of hers. Will I be able to do that?? She wondered. The courtyard was large and was paved with a multitude of white pebbles and lit by a series of lamps around the edge of the wall and on the path directing whoever was walking around. A tree to Rosie’s right as she entered, a bench to her left and through the middle of the courtyard was a stream of water, a simple wooden bridge connecting the two sides. Rosie was so distracted by the scenery that she didn’t even notice that Hiromi was already crossing the bridge. Rosie followed on quick and hurried over the bridge. Up the arch and then down it. When she arrived at the other side she raced over towards Hiromi who was unlocking the door to the actual hotel. Another click and Rosie heard the subtle sound of the sliding door as Hiromi slid the thing to the right and walked inside. Rosie followed.
The reception was dark and Rosie waited by the door as Hiromi strode inside to light the lamps. To Rosie’s surprise, the lights inside the hotel were electric. One simple flip of a switch by the far desk and the lights in the reception all switched on. Rosie saw a dark brown room, lined with various paintings and other furnishings, a bench, an armchair. Commenting on the walls,
“Oak wood most likely,” at least, that’s what she told herself trying to sound like an intellectual.
“Actually, it’s pine.” Hiromi’s response defeated all of Rosie’s intentions as did just about everything she said. Rosie began walking forwards. She was currently walking on stone and took a step up onto the wooden platform but stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Hiromi was suddenly right in front of her. When did she get there? There were no footsteps, it was as though she’d just appeared. “Shoes off first.” Rosie’s mind cracked from embarrassment. She was an anime fan! A connoisseur of Japanese culture! How could she forget a basic detail such as this??? Shoes off first!
“......of course.” She didn’t argue, she just took a step back and slipped her trainers off. She carried them under her arm as she stepped up to the wooden platform, this time, Hiromi allowing her to pass. “So where now?”
“I said I’d let you stay the night. Most of the rooms are out of use and cold because it’s off season so you can have one of those.”
“I’m charmed.” Rosie spoke sarcastically.
“Would you rather be on the streets because I could take you back to the city if you wanted?” A sudden smile on Rosie’s face
“I’m grateful with whatever!” She closed her eyes, overexaggerating her smile.
“Wonderful. This way.” Hiromi guided Rosie to the left. She saw a door which led to a corridor, a sign above it reading ‘Guest Wing.’ Rosie followed Hiromi who was already disappearing through the door as Rosie looked down from the sign. She followed after.
Inside the guest wing were neat corridors, the wooden aesthetic carrying through. The wooden floor was lined with a carpet in the middle which Rosie and Hiromi kept to. They both walked until they reached the end of the corridor. There, Hiromi stopped and Rosie stopped behind her and watched as Hiromi pulled out a second set of keys, about fifteen keys in total, each one with a tag and a room number on them. She selected the key for room five (Rosie’s room for the night) slid it into the lock, turned it and after hearing a slight ‘click,’ she slid the door to the right and guided Rosie inside.
After a small entrance corridor, Rosie came upon the room. It was divided into two sections split by another wall and a sliding door, currently wide open. The walls were a lighter cream colour and the floors were lined with tatami mats. Rosie had never seen one of these rooms beyond internet videos and anime so she was breath taken by the immaculate beauty in the simplicity of it. In the first section was a low table for dining, the padded tacking chair on which one would sit cross-legged as they ate. Rosie assumed that no such fine dining would make it to her as a guest who was staying for free. The walls were lined with windows and occasional paintings which seemed to depict the mountains surrounding the town and one seemed to depict the inn itself. Through to the next room, the floor was no longer lined with tatami mats but instead hardwood on which a much higher set of tables and chairs stood.
Hiromi walked forwards and started to move the chairs from the table. As Rosie stood and watched, Hiromi suddenly stopped a turned and said,
“Well help me then?” Rosie didn’t know what to say.
“They can’t be that heavy.” Another witty response as she crossed her arms with a cunning smile.
“That’s true but soon you’ll be clearing rooms like this without my help so it’s important to know that you can do it. You wouldn’t want me sacking you for refusing to work before you even had the job now would you?” Rosie feared. Her eyes widened at the threats and cruel suggestions of this overpowering woman whose cold expression didn’t falter for a second as she spoke. Rosie simply did as she was told and hurried over to help with the table and chairs, dropping her shoes from under her arm without even thinking along the way. Rosie grabbed the second chair and headed to the side of the room after Hiromi. Turns out that there was a large cupboard which Rosie had missed entirely built into one of the walls of the room. Inside was a large space for storing the tables and chairs on the top half and underneath was what appeared to be a rolled up futon and duvet. This is what Rosie would be sleeping on for tonight.
After the chairs were taken care of and after a struggle to carry the table to the cupboard between them, including many insults from Hiromi about Rosie’s lack of strength and the fact that she’d been carrying these things alone for years, the setup of the futon was almost complete. Rosie has decided to sit this one out and paid close attention to how Hiromi set up the futon for future reference (she knew that she’d be doing this a lot). When things were ready, the futon finally set up, Hiromi stood back on one side of the futon and stared towards Rosie on the other. She didn’t smile, she didn’t seem to emote at all. Simply a contemplative stare towards her. After a while of pause,
“Who are you?” Hiromi simply questioned. Rosie didn’t really know. Who was she meant to be in this new world? Was she a hero? Was that why she was summoned? But then why was the summoner not there to greet her? Who was the summoner? All these questions spilled over in Rosie’s mind until she’d almost forgotten what Hiromi had asked her in the first place.
“I don’t really know.” She thought back, “I suppose I never really knew but what matters is that I’m here. And I think that I’m here to stay.” Now it was Hiromi’s turn to puzzle over a reply.
“You’re so strange.”
“Is that a complaint?”
“No… Just a statement.” She didn’t know what to say. Hiromi turned and headed towards the door. She stopped before heading out. “Do you have anything to sleep in?”
“Huh? Oh! Uh, no, what you see is all I have.” Rosie forced another smile. Hiromi stood still.
“Ok…” Then she finally moved and headed through the door. “I won’t bother locking it, there’s no one in the hotel bsides us anyway. Try not to burn the place down.” And with that, the door slid shut and she was gone.
Rosie sat down on the futon, a lot comfier than she expected. She took her jacket off and put it down next to her. Next she took off her skirt and tights and decided that she’d be fine like this. She put the clothes in a bundle next to her futon and walked over to the wall to flip the light switch off. She returned to the futon and crawled underneath the thick sheets and began to drift into a deep sleep. Many questions poured over her mind as she slept. Why was she here? What was she expected to do? Was she to spend the rest of her life in this strange world? An intolerable loneliness suddenly fell upon Rosie as she remembered all that had been left behind, her family, her friends. She would probably never see them again would she? No, stop. This is what you wanted. IT sucked back there, you wanted out didn’t you? You wanted this so stop complaining! The voice in the back of Rosie’s mind seemed to yell at her as she almost began to weep, surrounded in a dreamscape of bright lights, colours and faces, all of which seemed to remind her of the past, her brother’s faces appeared in the colours, her mother’s too. For the first time, she’d considered what she was leaving behind. No! I don’t care! She told herself.
‘Knock!’
The door. Rosie was suddenly lifted from the dreamscape back into the waking world. She was cold and uncomfortable, especially in her legs. She hadn’t even remembered to take her bra off before going to sleep. Of course she didn’t.
Dumb as they come.
She rose, weary and headed towards the door from whence the knock came. She slid the door open. There was no one outside. The corridor was dark as the lights were off. It didn’t seem like there had been any disturbance. She was about to slide the door shut again and pass the knock off as her tired brain playing tricks on her but then looked down to see something. It wasn’t part of the carpet and it wasn’t part of the floor. It was like a strange blob in front of the door. Was it a cat? No, it didn’t move. Rosie bent down and touched the thing. It was soft, silk. She cupped the thing under her arm and returned into her room with it. She threw it onto the futon and stumbled about to find the lightswitch. Eventually, she flicked it and looked over to see a navy blue silk pyjama set waiting for her, the blob. Rosie smiled and thought to herself,
maybe this won’t be so bad after all.