There was little to greet her but the moonlight and the clip-clop of Spot's hooves for miles as the pair finished the final leg of their journey. By the time they reached the wrought iron gate Orin was bent and the mare's head hung low with weariness. Orin hardly even held on to the reigns by now, the horse just followed her blindly so it didn't have to think about where it was going. When she reached the gate her tiny hands worked the old latch easily, her muscles automatically remembering the thing that had once been second nature. She used to live here, she used to cross in and out of this gate daily; it was nice to do it again.
The hinges squeaked in protest with the movement, the cold night tightening the metal, yet the fence swung free with little more protest. Orin walked the mare inside, let go of the tether, and closed the gate before noticing anyone on the porch. At first the person was just a shape in her bleary eyes, washed out by moonlight, but Orin blinked and eventually Ayita came into focus. She started to walk across the yard toward the structure, but the mare seemed to sense that they had reached their destination and no longer followed. Orin left her to rest now that she was safely within the walls that surrounded the Hotel.
“Ayita?” she asked, certain that it was either her old friend or else she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. “I didn't think anyone would be up this late. How are you?”
As she moved up the porch it was like a second wind came... or maybe it was a third or a fourth... and the overwhelming fatigue was starting to be replaced with some meager bit of energy. “I'm so happy to see you! It's been months.” She reached the top of the porch in a single bound and held her arms open for a hug. As she smiled at the woman she could only remember the time they had met by the stables in the rain, Ayita's brother Zafier looming close enough to be considered with them that night but far enough to be a bit of a creep. She held such a fond place in her heart for both of them.
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