Sunday, October 13, 2019

Prisoner of the Mind

I was a little flustered when I checked into my new airbnb this afternoon. To begin with, the instructions were extremely complicated, involving an electronic directory, a lockbox, and a key fob. When at last I had made it into the building, I headed through the lobby and rounded a corner to the elevator.

Boarding the single car by myself, I turned to face the door and pushed the button for the second floor. A moment later, I heard the ding, but the doors did not open. I punched the button again, and heard a faint sliding somewhere, but the stainless in front of me stayed shut tight. Am I really stuck in this elevator? I thought, and problem-solving, I tried the button for the third floor.

The elevator rose, but the same thing happened: ding, a quiet swish, and me looking at immovable doors. I pushed 2 again, and accepting that I was really trapped, I tapped the red SOS button. A recording asked me to state my concern. "I'm stuck in an elevator!" I answered with irritation, and after a pause, a phone, who knows where, began to ring.

Wondering how long I was going to be trapped, I sighed and turned to lean on the wall to my left. It was then I noticed the second set of doors behind me... wide open. "Hello?" a tinny voice hailed me from the speaker on the wall, but I was already halfway down the hall, and on my way out? I took the stairs.

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