The Gray Dancer

02. A FRIENDLY SURPRISE

HANNA SHUFFLED FOR HER APARTMENT KEYS. She dug through her pockets to find the tiny gold keys she swore she had. Hanna pinched her forehead. She couldn't find her keys, and Hanna needed them to enter the comfort of her home. She didn't need this now.

Hanna crouched. She pressed her lips into a fine line.

"How are you going to get in your apartment, Hanna? Don't tell me you lost your keys again."

Hanna knew she had her keys. She just didn't know where she kept them. She thought she had kept them in her front pockets, but as she searched, her keys seemed to have disappeared. Hanna bit back a sigh. 

Why was it that something always went wrong for her?

Hanna opened her black backpack again. She began to search through the mess within it, scavenging through the papers. Hanna took out paper after paper from her backpack. She uncrumpled each one and stacked them into a neat pile. Over time, Hanna emptied her bag until it seemed like nothing remained.

Hanna couldn't find her keys despite her searching.

Hanna grabbed the ends of her hair, pulling at them. She needed to find her keys. Even if she had left them at work, her office would be closed by the time she made it there. Hanna's nose scrunched. 

She began to ransack her entire bag.

Hanna dumped her bag, shaking it to make sure anything loose fell. She didn't care about the disastrous mess she made, watching as anything remaining in her backpack crashed to the floor. Hanna waited until everything escaped from the shielding of her bag before she scoured the items that fell.

But, no matter what she did, Hanna couldn't find her keys.

Hanna raised her eyebrows. Once again, she lost her keys. Hanna's face tightened with a frown. She gave it one last try. She checked her pockets once more before setting her sight on her backpack. The backpack seemed empty at first glance. All its contents had spilled onto the floor in front of Hanna. Her shoulders slumped once again. There seemed to be nothing that resembled her keys.

Hanna was prepared for failure again.

Until her eyes set on a zipper that blended in with the velvety back insides of the bag.

Her key sat right there, hiding in the tiny zippered pocket in her backpack. It almost seemed as if the key laughed at her. The key mocked Hanna. It looked at her with a sinister grin.

"Pathetic." It said, "How hard was it to find me?"

Hanna bit her lip, averting her stare to her plain wooden door. She didn't spare a glance at her golden key as she held it between her fingers.

Hanna shook her head. Her eyes drifted to the floor, eyeing the enormous heap of items. Hanna placed her keys inside her pocket while she cleaned up the mess she made. She picked up the dozens of papers and the little trinkets, stuffing them into her backpack.

After cleaning everything up, Hanna pulled the key out of her pocket.

She stood up, throwing her backpack over her shoulder as she faced the door. Hanna stuck her key into the keyhole, twisting until a click echoed. The handle sent icy tremors up her fingers as she grabbed it.

Cold gusts swarmed her as she opened the door. Emptiness engulfed her. The air inside her apartment held no warmth. It possessed no love.

Hanna stifled a sigh as she walked into her apartment. She hurled her bag onto the couch on her way in, the crouch creaking at impact.

Hanna's eyebrows raised as she noticed the unusual mess in her apartment. It seemed far worse than yesterday. She took a deep breath in, deciding to ignore the litter piling up. She bit back another sigh. At least it was home.