WHO: Annie Wheaton and Randall Flagg WHAT: A meeting between the innocent and the condemned. WHEN: Mid-afternoon WHERE: The garden of the Hyperion Hotel RATING: TBD STATUS: In Progress
Sister was gone. Away from this place, back home again to be with Steven. Back where she was happy, where she was safe. It hurt, being alone again, but Annie wasn't as upset as she might have been otherwise. Not when she knew that Sister was better off there and Annie... well, Annie had found a place in the world at long last. She didn't want to leave it, and she didn't think Sister would want her to, either.
Still, coping was loss was never easy for even the most emotionally sound, and was doubly so for a child suffering from mental defect. So in order to overcome her sense of sadness at the loss of the one person who had loved her when no one else had, Annie had opted to spend some time alone in her garden.
No one had tried to stop her, on her way outside. No one had told her no, or stepped in her path. No one had tried to follow, either, and if Annie had her way (which she usually did), no one would be able to now that she was settled. The doors were shut, sealed with her own power, and staying that way until she was ready to either let someone from the Hyperion approach her or she went back inside. Either way, for the time being she was alone with her flowers and the serenity that the place offered.
Humming softly to herself as she colored upon a piece of paper, Annie had what could almost pass for a smile on her face. The fountain behind her was once again running fresh water through it, the soft sound of it splashing against the sides soothing. When it sputtered a moment later, she stopped humming and glanced over her shoulder with a frown. The fountain began again with a muffled grunt from her.
Then she turned her attention calmly ahead of her, to the gate that led out of the garden and to the back side of the hotel. Her head tilted a bit to the side at the figure approaching, her smile turning into a quizzitive look as she waited for the newcomer to finally show themselves.