The Appointment

Dear Ms. Ciderland.

We hope to see you tomorrow at 6 pm for your appointment regarding life pressing issues. Your presence is not just expected but required. The address is the same as the envelope. Please don’t be tardy.

Yours, Audus Bulmer

She placed the letter over the kitchen counter, wondering how could she have forgotten of such an appointment. The address leads to an old downtown building, filled with law offices stuck in the 1960s’, decorated with wallpapers and colorful carpets. Something about grandma’s will. She glances at the letter. Who makes appointments at 6, on a Friday?

The next day, Ulla walks from her job, four blocks from the address on the envelope. Enough time to grab coffee and a muffin! Her appointment was just a block away from there. She glances at her smartwatch to check the time. Better keep moving. She places the second muffin inside her pouch for later, bouncing back into the street.

She looks up at the building in front of her, staring at her reflection from the polished marble walls, adjusting her short black hair and green skirt. She entered the building approaching the front desk.

“Hello. I have an appointment in room 1306, Audus Bulmer.”

“1306?” The guard scratches his head. “We don’t have the 13th floor here, young lady.”

“What?”

“I can’t recall any Bulmer, but the address, well ... maybe a typo?” He glances into a paper list. “On the 14th floor, it’s the office of a Chinese fishery, and on the 12th, an accounting firm. If you give me your ID, I hand you a temporary pass.”

Ulla goes on her way to the elevator hall. She sees her image reflected at the golden polished door. She checks her skirt again, adjusting her small black jacket while tapping at the floor with her Doc’s boots.

Ding! The shiny door opens, letting a custodial man out, pushing a large cart. The elevator looks old but clean, with shiny metal handles, and a slight scent of motor oil lingering in the air. She presses the 12th floor, noticing Kenny G coming from the speakers. What a cheesy elevator. She giggles.

Ding! Ulla is out, walking towards door 1206. The entire floor had a hideous multicolor pattern carpet that almost made her dizzy. She knocks but no response, raising her hand again for a second knock when a stranger interrupts her.

“Hi there.” He said. “Is there anything I can do to help?” He was wearing a maintenance grey vest, carrying a tool belt around his waist. 

“I am looking for Audus Bulmer.”

“Bulmer … , the name sounds familiar. Ah! Yes. He relocated since this building has no 13th floor.”

“Relocated?”

“Yes. Sometimes he calls me for small repairs, but I dare to say I would rather give the task to someone else. He is an odd bird.”

“Did he relocate to a different building?”

“Not exactly. Here, it's easier to show you instead.”

Ulla follows the man, passing an emergency door leading to the stairs. They climb a few steps, stopping near a narrow metal door onto the wall, just short before reaching the 14th floor. The man unlocks the door using one of his special keys, giving the door a good pull, revealing an outside rusty fire escape.

“If you climb up the fire escape, you will see a bridge connecting the two buildings. His place is on the other side.”

“Really? If he is in the next-door building, why not just mention that in the letter?”

“He is a strange bird alright.” He shrugs. “I will leave the door unlocked. Just close it on your way back.” He winks.

She peeps at the fire escape. It looked sturdy despite the neglected appearance. She gives a small jump and now sees herself standing there, looking up at the frail metal bridge connecting the buildings. The bridge was narrow and short, with handrails covered with a white layer of bird poop. Gross! Okay, this can’t be more than twenty feet. She observes her odds, looking down at the vertiginous view.

Ulla slams the bridge hard with her boot, noticing it to be stable. Here comes nothing. She walks with shy steps, making the metal sheets underneath her boots squeak, restraining herself from touching the handrails despite feeling the urge to hold on to something. With a throbbing heart, she reaches the other side noticing the open emergency door. She leans against the brick wall for a second, gasping for air. Holy crap, that was intense.

“Hey!” Barked a short man.

“Ahhhh!” She jumps. “Don’t you get close! I have a taser!”

“A taser?” He smiles under his bushy beard. “Is it something of value?”

“This is a taser, smart ass!” She pulls it out.

“Soooo, it makes sparks?”

“You really don’t know what that is? What kind of weirdo are you?”

“Glad you asked!” He raises his finger. “I am the bridge manager.”

“Really?” Ulla glances at the bridge. “You are doing a poor job. You could at least clean the handrails. They are disgusting.”

“Sorry. I am short of funds for such maintenance.” He was emphatic. “Talking about funds, please pay me for your crossing.”

“I will pay you with my boot into your butt!”

“Hey, don’t be rude!” He pulled a large hunting knife.

“Whoa, man!” Ulla raised her hands. “Okay, you can have my money.”

“Money? Did I ever say anything about money? Ha!” He scratches his greasy hair. “Now, something inside your bag smells good.”

“My muffin?”

“You have a muffin?” He drops the knife.

“Is that what you want?” She lifts the paper bag.

“Yes, please!” He taps his hands together.

“Fine, but before, where is room 1306?”

“Just follow the corridor behind this door. You will see green arrows that will lead to it.” He extended his hands.

She surrendered the bag and could not help but stare at him, devouring the muffin with greed.

“Oh, goodness.” He rolled his eyes. “It has been so long.”

“The coffee shop is just two blocks down from here. You can go there anytime.”

“My lives, my deaths … oh, my twisted ways.” His voice came muffled.

“Wait … where did you hear this?”

“Theodora Brun, child.” He stopped chewing. “The BEST twenty-century romanticist. But you would not know that. Now go! Let me be.”

Ulla follows the dark corridor till the end, where another door with a green arrow displayed the number 1306 pointing up. More stairs. She makes a face and pushes the door. The building looked abandoned, but she kept climbing the two floors until another arrow pointed to a new door.

She sees herself inside another hall filled with office doors with random and out of order numbers. It must be one of those. A new arrow pointed to an elevator. Really? It was old, with a pantograph door that one must push out of the way when it arrives. She presses the old and overused red button and observes the numbers move on the metal panel.

She steps in, struggling with the cranky door. Her finger finds the 13th-floor button, and the elevator moves almost in slow motion as if scratching the surface of the concrete walls around it.

Upon arrival, she looks around in dismay. The entire floor was abandoned, with metal buckets collecting water droplets falling from the ceiling, as the wall lights would not work properly, flickering. What a dump. She frowns, noticing a green arrow pointing to door 1306. 

The numbers were rusty and crooked. The door looked cheap, with a dirty beige color. There was no bell, so she knocked twice. No response. She hit two more times, this time with more vigor. Still no response. She looked around to make sure she did not get the wrong door when she noticed a squeaky noise. Someone opened the door ajar.

“Yes?” Said a woman.

“Oh, hello. I am Ulla Ciderland. I am here for the appointment.”

“Appointment? With whom?”

“Mr. Audus Bulmer.”

The door slammed shut at once, leaving Ulla confused and irritated. She knocks again.

“What do you want?” The woman yelled.

“I am here for the appointment, and you just closed the door in my face!”

The woman opens the door, this time fully. She was tall, heavy, with a short Italian cut, tightly curled black hair. It made her resemble an older Elizabeth Taylor. She did not smile under her bright red lips.

“Have a seat. Mr. Bulmer is busy at the moment.” She returns to her desk on short steps, having her thick legs squeezed by the grey business skirt.

The room was a typical reception area, with a large coffee table, a couple of lamps, a ceiling fan, and two other doors behind the woman’s desk. One must be his office. Ulla thought, noticing the woman typing on an old Hamilton typewriter. Her strokes were loud, angry, slamming the rail after each paragraph.

“So … I see you don’t have a computer.” Ulla tries for small talk. “Hamilton is a good brand.”

“Do you have your letter?”

“Uh, yes.” Ulla gives it to her.

The woman looked at it carefully, while retrieving a lighter. She turned the flame close to the paper, which made Ulla uneasy but quickly moved it away to a cigarette, putting the letter down, puffing some smoke.

“Do you have a water fountain here? I am thirsty.”

“You came all the way here to drink water?” The woman blows more smoke.

“That’s a strange question.” Ulla raises an eyebrow.

“There is a water fountain if you go through the left door, but I can’t guarantee Mr. Bulmer will be here when you return.”

Ulla stands up definitely and opens the door. It led to a long corridor with blue arrows pointing to the water fountain. Oh crap! Forget it. She shuts the door back.

“It’s fine. I wait.”

“In that case.” The woman stands up. “I am going to get myself a drink.”

“Really? You are going to drink water? Can you at least let Mr. Bulmer know that I am here?”

“He knows you are here, besides, I never said water for a drink, girl. I have set upon the setting sun, but never, never wanted water once. Oh no. Never!”

She leaves the room, slamming the door behind herself. Another Theodora Brun reference? Weird. Ulla rushed to catch up with her, but she was already gone. What? How could she move so fast on her super tight skirt? She closes the door slowly, looking around the office, retrieving her letter back.

Her smartwatch was dead, and the square and dull wall clock was stuck on a perpetual 11:11, considering the amount of dust sitting on it. She takes back her seat, staring at the other door, where possibly Mr. Bulmer would be. She patiently waits for a while, when a custodial woman bursts into the room. The woman is thin but muscular, with dark tanned skin and long brown hair in a ponytail. She walks around with her bucket filled with water and a dry mop, wearing an old apron.

“Don’t mind me. I am just checking on things.”

The woman goes about flipping over some papers, opening the desk drawers where she finds some candy and old cigarettes, which she quickly places into her pockets.

“So, you have an appointment with Audus.”

“Yes, I do!”

“Good for you! What do you do?”

“Uh … I am a telemarketer. You know, selling stuff over the phone.”

“Selling over the phone?” She giggles. “And how do people pay you?”

“Uh, well. They pay via credit card.”

“Credit card? It must be a European thing. They are so sophisticated. You know, Audus is a good man. I am glad you are here.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Oh, I better not. Not for me to say.”

“Listen, I have some cool make up in my bag, made in China. Tell me what you know, and will give it to you!”

“Imported from China? My dear Lord! You must be rich. I don’t think I should.”

“C’mon!”

“Okay, but can I ask you a little favor? I have a bad back, and I am supposed to clean this tile floor. Can you give me a hand?”

“Consider it done!” Ulla grabs the mop.

“My name is Dorothy, but you can call me Doris. Can I see the makeup?”

“I am Ulla. Here it is!”

“Oh, WOW! So many colors and the brush is so soft! Let me go get a bigger mirror. I will be back in a minute!”

“You are coming back, right?”

“Honey, I need to account for the bucket and the mop by the end of the day. Those are expensive. Go ahead and start moping.”

She dashes out of the room, leaving Ulla behind with a small mission, which she quickly puts into action by lifting the chairs out of the way, and pushing the coffee table to a corner. The

mop hits the water inside the bucket, quickly covering the dirty tiles.

After twenty minutes and a little sweat, Ulla was confident the room was clean until she realized that Dorothy never came back. What a scam! She stands there angry, holding the mop. Suddenly a noise from the back door brought her back to the moment.

“Where is my appointment?” Said an older man.

“I am your appointment.” Ulla tossed the mop into the bucket.

“Why are you cleaning my office?” He adjusted his glasses.

“Dorothy asked me.”

“Dorothy? Never hear of her. Did you see my secretary?”

“She left to grab a drink, a strong one I guess.”

“Oh, she never told me you are here. Come in.”

His office was ample, luxurious. It resembled a museum room filled with strange artifacts. Near the wall covered with books, there was an oversized Atlas globe over a Persian rug. Ulla could smell the refined wood from his ornate furniture, mixed with the scent of cigars.

Audus was probably in his sixties, and had an austere sense of fashion, with a black jacket tied to his neck with a purple butterfly tie. He was slightly bald, and his hair was sparsely white. He jumps back into his large chair, while Ulla sits across from him in a chair that seems too big for her frame.

“So …”

“Just a moment, please.” He looks down at a large book, flipping the pages. “Any birthmarks?”

“What is this?”

“For me to reveal the reason for this appointment, I need to know.”

“I have a red round mark in my left thigh. Do you need to see it as well?”

“Not necessary.” He looks at her. “I knew your grandmother.”

“Oh, I figured that. Listen, I already spoke with her lawyers. Why am I here?”

“No-no. I have nothing to do with these clowns. My purpose here is much higher, Ms. Cinderland. You have a gift, just like your grandmother. So, she made sure to leave behind a special thing for you.”

“I am sorry but I have no gifts, Mr. Bulmer. I am just a city girl trying to pay my bills, hustling like everybody else.”

“I know, and it is so sad to see you wasting your talent behind a crummy desk. Your grandmother knew that too, but you never lost it, despite your dull life.”

“Hey! I have an honest job.”

“I know, Ulla. I know. But you can do better, my dear.”

“Why you? Why she left this thing in your care?”

“She trusted me. I have known her since she was young, still uncertain about her talents. I did show her the possibilities ahead, and she was a quick learner. I believe you are too.” 

“No offense, Mr. Bulmer, but when she died, she was 98 years old. That should make you what? Around 120 by now?”

“No taken, young lady. I am actually older than that, but age is just a number. Right?” He smiles and walks across the room. “Here it is.” He shows her a small wooden box ornate in golden flowers. “Inside this box, you will find two things. A revelation and a recollection. Both will make you remember your gift, Ms. Ciderland.”

“It is beautiful, but it’s locked.”

“I know, and please, forgive me.”

He bends over his desk, facing a small silver plate while having convulsions. The type cats have when trying to spit out a hairball. Audus struggled at least four times before producing a slimy tiny key that fell onto the plate. He gently grabs the key and methodically cleans it with an alcohol solution under Ulla’s disgusted stare.

“There! Like new.” He handles it to her. “But do not open it yet, take it to the privacy of your house. I have other appointments to attend, nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!”

“Before I go, may I ask why it is so complicated to find your office?”

“Oh, well. That is what you do when you rent a space in a building without a 13th floor when you MUST be on the 13th. One must improvise. Now, I will escort you to the door and show you a shortcut. Just watch your step when crossing.”

Ulla opens a door, falling at the other side of the metal bridge. She glances back, looking for the strange short man, but it was all clear. She reached the narrow metal door and locked it with some hesitation. Once at home, she turned the key into the box, opening it carefully as if it was made of glass. A glow inundated the entire room, and on her shaking hands, a short note.

My sweet Ulla

If you are reading this, I am no longer in this world. Life is more than appears to be. Open your heart and your mind for the possibilities ahead. Listen to Audus. He is old and strange, but wise.

All my love. From your grandmother,

Theodora Brun