No One Followed

The curtains had been closed since the first morning.

The hotel room had the feel of a place occupied too long without being lived in. Stale air. Cooling food. A man sitting in the same spot for hours at a time. Three polystyrene cups stood on the table, each at a different level of empty, each one cold. The food tray from the night before sat on the floor by the door, not thrown out, because thro