Room 304 Has a View

It was past eleven when Marcos finally reached the hotel. His flight had landed two hours late and the taxi driver had taken the long way through the city. He set his suitcase down on the lobby floor and looked at the woman behind the desk.

Bilo je poslije jedanaest kada je Marcos konačno stigao u hotel. Njegov let je kasnio dva sata, a taksist ga je vozio dugim putem kroz grad. Spustio je kofer na pod u predvorju i pogledao ženu za pultom.

"Reservation under Marcos Soto," he said. He had practiced the sentence on the plane. The woman typed for a moment, then made a small face he could not read.

"Rezervacija na ime Marcos Soto," rekao je. Vježbao je tu rečenicu u avionu. Žena je tipkala nekoliko trenutaka, a zatim napravila grimasu koju nije mogao protumačiti.

"I am sorry," she said. "Your room is no longer available. We had a problem with the booking system. But we have one room left, on the third floor." She paused. "It has a balcony. Same price."

"Žao mi je," rekla je. "Vaša soba više nije dostupna. Imali smo problem s rezervacijskim sustavom. Ali imamo jednu sobu na trećem katu." Zastala je. "Ima balkon. Ista cijena."

Marcos took the key without arguing. The elevator was older than he was. It groaned as it climbed. When he opened the door of 304 and pushed back the curtains, the city spread out below him — rooftops, lit windows, a small square with a fountain still running.

Marcos je uzeo ključ bez prigovora. Dizalo je bilo starije od njega. Škripalo je dok se penjalo. Kada je otvorio vrata sobe 304 i povukao zavjese, grad se raširio ispod njega — krovovi, osvijetljeni prozori, mali trg s fontanom koja je još uvijek radila.

He stepped onto the balcony in his coat and watched two people share a cigarette by the fountain. The wind was cold. He did not move for a long time.

Izašao je na balkon u kaputu i promatrao dvoje ljudi kako dijele cigaretu kod fontane. Vjetar je bio hladan. Dugo se nije micao.