Page 21

New York, New York

W hen moving to New York, Hans’ intention was to find his own home. However, to help get him there sooner, Marcy offered to let him stay in her spare bedroom until he was able to find a place of his own. An offer he accepted faster than a speeding bullet.

The apartment complex normally penalized residents for breaking their contracts early, but due to recent events, they understood Hans’ desire to leave.

Ultimately they agreed that if he was willing to forfeit his security deposit, they would allow him to break the rental agreement without penalty.

Everything was going according to plan, and almost felt like they were happening too easily.

Hans kept an open mind, remaining positive and reminding himself that if anything didn’t go the way he wanted, it would work itself out.

When he went to the precinct to pack up his office, Hans was greeted with a going away party.

His soon-to-be former coworkers celebrated that not only did he make it out alive, he was moving onto bigger and better things outside of the small town of Acadia.

Everything was going smoothly, but there was one last thing that he needed to do. ..

Ding-dong.

Hans stepped foot one last time inside The Shake Shack to say goodbye to the one person he could always count on: Delilah.

“Hey, you upgraded from the bell?” Hans sat down in the booth that he had once shared with Frank, the original detective who took an interest in Gretta’s disappearance.

“Yeah, it was time for a change.” Delilah patted him on the shoulder. “And the word on the street is that you agree.”

“Oh, so you’ve heard.” Hans tried to act surprised, but even he knew that Acadia was a small enough town that word got around like a town whore. “Yep, I’m leaving in the morning.”

“What about your things? How are you going to pack up your apartment in time?”

“I’ve hired movers to do the packing and delivery for me. They’ll be bringing my things within the next couple of weeks. I’ll either have a new place for them to take it to, or get a storage unit to hold it all temporarily,” he explained.

“Do you really think you’re going to have your own place?” Delilah winked at Hans.

“It’s too soon,” Hans reasoned. “Sage needs space to figure out who she is and I need space too...” He paused.

“To live out your bachelor lifestyle?”

Hans blushed.

He hadn’t lived with anyone as an adult.

He had lived with his parents until he moved into an apartment just outside the college campus.

Alana was the closest to having someone live with him.

Much like with Marco, she had weekends that she had planned to stay the night and had left her own toiletries for her more extended stays.

“Is that too much to ask?” Hans inquired.

“Of course not, dear.” Delilah smiled and went to grab him a menu and a cup of coffee.

When she came back to the table, Hans skimmed over the menu and then proceeded to order his usual meal. “I know I’d miss your burgers too much if I didn’t order them one last time.”

“I’m sure you’ll find plenty of new favorite burger joints once you get to the big city.”

It was a slow night, which Hans was grateful for as it meant he got to talk with Delilah for longer than just a couple of sentences back and forth. They discussed his move and her plans for what would happen to the diner when she was ready to close it down.

“Honestly Hans, maybe it’s time for me to sell this place and move on myself,” she shared with him.

The thought of it almost broke his heart.

At the same time, she had been pouring her own blood, sweat and tears into the place since she was a teen, so much so that she didn’t have anyone to pass it on to.

Hans finished eating and paid his tab, Delilah grabbed him and gave him the tightest hug he had ever felt. Her eyes started to tear up and Delilah turned her head to hide it from Hans. “Promise me you’ll call and let me know how you’re doing?”

“Of course,” Hans wiped the tears from her waterline. “I’ll call so much you’ll want to retire from me, too.”

Delilah walked Hans to the door and waved him off as he pulled out of the parking lot. Hans kept his eyes on the rearview until he could no longer see her.

After Hans got home, he finished making sure he had packed everything he would need.

It was really just the basics that would get him by, he had made a list of stuff he needed to get after he arrived at Marcy’s.

I can’t believe that in a few hours I’ll be starting my new life.

He crawled into bed, and pulled the covers up over himself, falling asleep to the vision of Sage in his mind.

A few hours later, he was startled when his alarm went off. Five o’clock in the morning . He groaned. It had been a while since he had been up before the sun.

He got up and walked into the kitchen, electing to make a thermos of the hot tea that Sage had given him before they parted ways instead of his usual morning coffee.

He looked in the cabinets until he was able to find his tea pot, filling it up to the brim with water, and twisting the burner dial onto medium heat.

While he waited, he gathered his bags and took them all down to the car, struggling and wrestling with them so he wouldn’t have to make more than one trip.

Once he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he turned around and looked up to his apartment.

And that’s exactly why I’m hiring movers.

Hans played a game of luggage Tetris to get his stuff to fit in his car which proved to be the easiest task of the entire morning so far.

He could hear his teapot screaming from the parking lot, so Hans hurried back to his apartment before someone thought a bomb was about to go off.

He separated some of the water into his travel mug before pouring the rest into the thermos that would become his best friend on his somewhat long adventure.

Making one last lap around the apartment, Hans assured himself that everything was ready and that he, especially, was ready to take these next steps.

He took a sip of the tea that he had made.

Wow, Sage sure knows how to create a tea blend.

Hans took a mental note to suggest that she consider opening a tea shop when she was ready.

He went back to the kitchen to see if she had left any information about what the tea had in it aside from light hints of chocolate and cherry. The Halloween-themed label simply read mors per socolatam .

Well, whatever it is, it’s good.

Hans grabbed the rest of his things for the trip, balancing them in his arms as he shut off the light and locked the door behind him.

Caw. Caw.

He looked to the right to see his raven friend seeing him off. The bird was soon accompanied by several of its friends, all watching him as he made it back down to his car and started to drive off.

As Hans was driving through Acadia, he glanced back through his rearview mirror, watching all the things he once knew and loved trail far behind him.

When he passed the sign that led to Brighton Forest, an ominous feeling came over him. Hans shivered, hoping the feeling would soon pass. Leaving Acadia meant that he would escape the grasp that the forest still had on him, and it was time for the forest to relinquish its control for the last time.