As it was the day before the small place wasn’t all that interesting, however the various people greeted her cheerfully and a few enlisted her in help with simplistic morning chores. By the time the sun was higher in the sky she had learned a few more things about farming then when she had first entered the country, not like such knowledge would be that useful however. Sitting on a sun baked stone wall she was eating the apple from yesterday, not only was its color beautiful but the taste was extremely nice as well. Finishing it and enjoying the sun caress her body she decided she’d have some more later. This led to the young girl purchasing a few apples more for lunch and an extra for later in the day.

Soon night fell and the two went to a relatively cheap restaurant for dinner. The price was fair and the food was wonderful, just as the villagers had promised her. The restaurant didn’t look considerably old but rather new and up to date. A matching look that Kino thought worked very well for the busy place. Dinner was a rather simplistic meal and the waitress cheerfully insisted that the young traveler added some carrots to the meal. Seeing the blank expression on the dark eyed girl’s face the waitress insisted that she needed proper nutrition to grow properly. This was followed up with a suggestion of a glass of milk. The odd behavior made her rather confused but in the end she wound up getting a few uncooked carrots with her meal and found that the orange objects were just as nicely colored and tasteful as the apples from before.

Upon eating enough for dinner it was back to the hotel to sleep. Raising her hand in a wordless greeting to the man at the front desk she realized he was shaking quite a bit and once again twisting his hands about each other. Still finding this behavior rather strange she pushed Hermes into the elevator and soon the two arrived on their floor. For whatever reason most of the lights were out in the hallway and a strange chill settled on the brown haired girl. Holding the motorrad tightly she progressed forward in the dim lighting and soon found her room. Anxious to get out of the dark and cold hallway she placed the key in the lock and turned it, and then she turned the brass knob and pushed the door slightly, only for it not to move in the slightest bit. Pausing for a moment she tried again after checking the room number. After a small bit of force the door opened and the two entered the room. Once the door was closed behind her and locked, she once again placed the key on the table by the door and took note that items for her to wash her clothing in her room were neatly placed by the bed.

In a couple of minutes the dark haired girl had changed into fresh clothing for sleep, washed the clothing she typically wore and hung it to dry in the bathroom. Stretching her arms above her head in a single motion a small yawn escaped the small girl. Walking past her mechanical companion she wished him a good night and climbed into the comforting bed. After a moment’s pause she was wished a good night by Hermes and soon the two were asleep.

Once again Kino awoke to a strange occurrence. As she slept she heard a soothing voice, an older woman’s, and felt a gentle touch on her forehead. For a moment she was silent, listening to the tune the woman cooed as she ran her hand across her forehead and hair, a gesture of comfort. Opening her eyes she looked above her and to her side slightly, and indeed there was an older woman there, with porcelain skin, silver eyes and a cascade of deep colored hair. Silent the young traveler wasn’t sure if she should be nervous and afraid or just wait for the woman to disappear as suddenly as she had appeared. The door was locked and no way a person would climb many stories to go in through a window that was tough to open, so the wonder of how the motherly woman got into her room made her rather curious, and slightly confused. Soon the song concluded and the woman smiled down at the dark eyed girl and pulled her thin hand away from the young girl. Looking up at the woman confused she became quite a bit more confused when the woman leaned over to gently kiss her forehead. The gesture had no real touch to it but it still made the young traveler. Feeling the woman tuck the blankets back around her carefully and gently she once again felt tired and watched the woman carefully as she stood up from her place at Kino’s bed side and once again smiled, “Sweet dreams Kino.” She said in a silky voice and turned to leave the room.

How did the woman know her name?

Soon the strange woman was gone and the young girl turned slightly to face Hermes better. With her voice barely above a whisper she addressed her two-wheeled companion, “Hermes, did you see that?” she inquired.

“Yes I did!” he exclaimed as a quick response, “Who was that woman?”

A slight shake of her head confirmed that the dark haired girl didn’t even really know who the woman was herself. And if Hermes didn’t notice the strange woman’s lack of solidity she wasn’t about to point it out to the easily made nervous motorrad.

However he had noticed and now demanded of his friend an answer, “Was she a post?”

Another odd expression crossed the young girl’s face, a post? The woman looked more like a ghost than a post to her. He probably meant ghost then, meaning there’d be no calming the motorrad down easily. “Probably,” was her soft reply. Closing her eyes once again she added, “Will you be able to sleep okay?”

“No!” was exclaimed a little louder than needed and the dark eyed girl cringed inwardly, why was he so loud? “It might come back to kill me!” He added in a nervous tone.

A small sigh came from the traveler and once again reached out and gently stroked his headlight, “I don’t think any of them intend to kill us, Hermes, they could have done that plenty of times before.”

Following this statement was silence as he no doubt allowed the words to settle before complaining or commenting. Instead of complaining he cheerfully wished her a good night and Kino tucked her arm back under the covers.

“Good night Hermes,” she replied, and for a little longer she remained awake thinking over how his behavior made sense, due to having a haunted hotel guests probably left at rather random intervals in addition to getting extremely mad at him. And with something being haunted it would no doubt gain a reputation among other people and Kino couldn’t think of many people who would enjoy staying in a haunted hotel. So he most likely had little business. It would have been nice, however if the man had warned the young girl about the hotel being haunted. Then things would have made a bit more sense. Sorting these thoughts out in her head at some point she fell asleep once again.

Early morning greeted her once again and she rose to shower and practice with her guns. Just like the day before the bed had been made while Kino showered, maybe room service came into the room while she showered and made the bed? But during the entire stay she hadn’t in fact actually seen anyone fitting such a description. Soon after getting ready for the day the dark haired girl took her leave of the hotel, saying nothing to the man who owned the hotel but continuing out the door. With no real reason to stay the young girl spent a bit of the morning purchasing a few more apples, for the trip, she explained to the woman and her motorrad. Breakfast was a wonderful apple again and yet again she was dragged into morning chores of the people who lived in the country. Around noon time she left, saying a farewell to those who wished her safe travels.

Outside the gate Kino sat a top Hermes once again and drove down the road, not taking the same turn that she had earlier but rather opting for a new road, one she had yet to travel. Silence wasn’t for this journey as the motorrad soon wanted to talk, “Kino,” he started, not whining she noted, “Why do you think that man didn’t tell us about the ghosts?”

For a while she was silent, “I guess he can’t accept that they’re there either.”

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An ending note; Yeah; completed this around the same day I started it. Pardon any spelling errors and grammatical issues. I do my best. I think I over used the word ‘motorrad’… feel free to agree. Thank JagaGirl for inspiring Kida.