The following morning, the nameless man woke up before Seraphine and left the inn alone.
He didn't go far. When she came downstairs for breakfast, she found him sitting on a bench across the street, watching workers stack crates onto a wagon bound for the harbor. His small bag was fastened to his waist, but he wasn't holding the seashell.
"How long have you been here?" Seraphine asked as she approached.
"About twenty minutes," he replied, standing up. "I wanted to watch the city wake up."
"And?"
"It's noisy."
Seraphine looked at two wagons passing almost simultaneously, a shopkeeper opening his windows, and three fishermen arguing near the corner.
"That's true."
"But I liked it."
