Invitation in hand, the young man approached the door. On the other side, it was the banquet to which he was invited. But as he neared the door, his expectations steadily dropped, until the moment that he pulled back on the handle, and upon crossing from the sunlit expanse to the florescent illumination of the liminal space, all speculation came to an end.

It was surreal. An expanse of tables. Empty tables. No food, no chairs, and no people at all in the noiseless hall. Not so much as the murmuring of a hypothetical event staff in another room, or the stirring of busy caterers. Just silence, and, eerily enough, not so much as a scent, save for the lingering scent of the surfactants used in the building’s maintenance.

The young man’s attention turned again to the flier in his hand, specifically, the date and time thereon. He then confirmed with his watch that he was there at the right time, and the right date. And the location was correct, this rural hall with only the subtlest signs that anyone had recently been there.

The young man’s attention was drawn towards the only movement in the room, the fans hanging from beams on the high ceiling, a scarce circuitous movement on the lowest setting.

The young man was very aware of the sound of his own footsteps as he turned back towards the door, for to peek his head outside. As it was upon his arrival, his was the only vehicle in the parking lot. Complete silence told him that there were no other vehicles around that might have been approaching.

Back inside again, the young man’s gaze rested on an empty table. He knew that it was a meaningless exercise to remain for a few minutes more, save for to cynically claim that he did. His mind drifted to the time that it took him to get to that very event. Precious time. Time he would not get back.

In another world, this might have been where the people were. Connections would be made, and the courses of lives would change. But there was none of that here.

He had no idea how he knew that he would be the only human being who would set foot in that building for the duration of the event, but somehow, he was certain of it. The young man had his hopes. But no one else cared, not even those who organized the event. Not even they bothered to come, or so much as set out some donuts or coffee.

This was no ordinary disappointment. The young man knew that he would remember this event for a long time.

He turned his attention to the invitation in his hand. It was printed on a single thin sheet of eight-by-eleven office paper. And it wasn’t worth that much.

So, he set the invitation on one of the many empty tables, turned around, and went right back out the door, to leave as he entered, completely alone. And as he did so, he made a determination.

If he wasn’t going to find what he was looking for there, he would go to those who have it.