A Curious Visitor

The sunflower-laden table cloth began to glow a brighter shade of yellow as the early-morning sunlight streamed in. The shiny, hardwood floors glistened as the beams of light bounced through the windows and coated Charlotte's apartment in a shimmery, iridescent glow. 

Charlotte stumbled down the hallway, steaming cup of coffee in hand and squinted her blue/gray eyes as those pesky light beams speared her irises like tiny, glowing swords. Despite the sunny appearance of her fifteenth-floor apartment, Charlotte felt quite the opposite. Dread coated her insides and when her mind drifted to the 9:00 am zoom meeting with her publishing team, she nearly tripped over her own feet as anxiety took over her groggy mind. 

A cool spring breeze seemed to swirl around the room, bringing in that almost sweet, post-rain smell that fills the senses with flowers. The yellow curtains swayed and billowed with the rhythmic flow of the gusts of air. Floor to ceiling windows created long, mysterious shadows that danced up and down the floors of the spacious apartment. 

With loud, thumping footfalls, Charlotte marched over to the gaping window and slammed it closed with one fluid movement. The curtain fell angrily flat, only picking up its jaunty dance for a moment as Charlotte walked away, leaving a gale of wind in her wake. 

The conference call begins and Charlotte’s sunny editors are ready, as always to review the next manuscript and get to work. Charlotte plastered on a smile and threw in a fake laugh or two to appear on the same level as her giddy counterparts. Her coffee finally began to work its lucrative magic and as the bitter taste of the black coffee hit Charlotte’s taste buds, her mind cleared, leaving her acrimonious mood in the morning. 

A knock against the window jolted Charlotte out of her coffee-induced blissful awakening and she padded over to see who was there, paying no regard to the meeting going on at her kitchen table. She cautiously peered out of the glowing window, wondering who would be able to get up to her apartment to knock. And why? Looking out with wide eyes, Charlotte saw nothing but a clear blue sky and the neighboring building. Until her gaze shifted down. 

At first, she could not see anything, due to how high up she was, but when her eyes fully focused, a dark blob came into view on the sidewalk below. Curiosity got the best of her, as it almost always does, and Charlotte rushed over to the door, not bothering to put shoes on her bare feet as she raced down the bleak, windowless, carpeted hallway. A painful contrast to her bright and cheerful home. 

She slammed the “down” arrow on the elevator, without a second thought, and waited for what felt like an eternity for the clunky machine to arrive at her floor. She typically takes the stairs, but when speed is a necessity, the nightmarish elevator will do. Stepping onto the elevator tentatively and suddenly embarrassed by her shoe-less feet and makeup-less face, she surveyed her surroundings and her eyes raked up and down the metal box, ensuring that she was, in fact, alone. 

The elevator landed in the lobby with a blood-curdling shudder and Charlotte quickly stepped off, not wanting to spend another second in the dreadful apparatus. She pushed through the rotating glass doors with determination and marched up the sidewalk until she stands directly below her window. On the ground lay a bird. A pigeon. 

Peering down with confusion, Charlotte studied the scene at her feet, forgetting herself for a moment. She knelt down to get a closer look at the obviously injured bird. She had never had a positive experience with pets before, what, with dying goldfish and a mean family cat, the idea of pets never once crossed Charlotte’s mind when she started living alone. The strict animal ban in her apartment did not help either. But this rendered flightless bird commanded her attention. 

The bird’s feather shimmered with green iridescence as the light touched its feathers one-by-one. Charlotte admired the bird with wide eyes, realizing that she wanted to help this poor creature. She reached out and gingerly touched the bird, and to her surprise, it let her. She poked the unexpecting bird, once, twice and when it let her, she wrapped her hands around it and lifted it to her eye-level, completely oblivious to the pedestrians walking about. 

A rustling sound from the sidewalk causes Charlotte’s attention to shift and on the ground below is a folded piece of paper, torn from a notebook. A single line of text was printed on the sheet, hastily written in scratchy black pen. 

318 King Street.

“Did you have something to do with this?” Charlotte whispered to the bird, suddenly well-aware of how strange she must look barefoot and talking to a pigeon. The bird cocked its head as if it had something to tell Charlotte, which caused her to let out a slight giggle, a sweet sound, as light as the fluffy clouds above. As she threw her head back in laughter, a silvery piece on the bird’s foot caught her eye. A bracelet? 

Looking down at the paper in her hand, the pieces fell into place. Charlotte pondered for a moment, wondering if messenger pigeons even still existed, or if this was just a cruel joke being played on her by a neighbor or an old friend. But alas, Charlotte’s inquisitive, curious nature was relentless. 

Saying a silent thank you to her past self for remembering to grab her phone, Charlotte plugged the address in and began the 17-minute walk to 318 King Street, unconcerned with the blisters that were sure to be forming on her bare feet. A sudden sense of urgency filled the air and Charlotte hastened her leisurely pace to a slow jog, pigeon still in hand, her feet echoing against the pavement for the entire world to hear. 

Your destination is on the left. Charlotte scanned her surroundings, wishing she had paid more attention to where this strange bird had led her. Turning her head to the left, she noticed a rickety spiral staircase, leading to a windowless brick building that Charlotte had never seen before. With a deep, shaky breath, and a look down at the bird in her hands, Charlotte ascended the staircase two steps at a time. When she reached the top, a steel door swung open. With the sensation that she was being pulled by a magnet, Charlotte entered the building and the door slammed shut behind her. She surveyed the room in front of her and let out a nearly inaudible gasp at what was before her.