Skip to main content

A Room With A View

I was always prone to let myself drown by my own misery. I had mastered the art of self-pity.
And in all those years living like this, I had found joy. It was my secret happy place, even if others would disagree. I had found the place, or rather the state of being, in which I was comfortable with myself. A place I would escape to gather my thoughts and in many ways a place where I felt understood. I was well aware of all my wrongdoings and flaws, and there was no one there to judge me.

I was never a bad person. One might think you have to be a murderer or a bad parent to find in the mold. I had never killed anyone or anything, except for the annoying flies and bloodthirsty mosquitoes. I always thought I was too good or too weak to go for bigger victims, it's up to you to decide. And then again, whatever you think of me, doesn't bother me at night. I sleep well like most of you. Despite the occasional nightmare, I sleep safe and sound.

I had always been able to move in the shadows unseen. It was, for whatever reason, typical for me to choose the most complicated scenarios to live by. It was like if a beginner would jump on the black slope as their first option. And I had, most of the time, been successful. Applauded. Cheered at and praised. But when my journey had to be halted, I switched on the darkness and in my blackness healed my damaged soul.

Until that night, everything went according to my well-designed plan. I pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it counterclockwise to get rid of the lock. I then, turned the key clockwise to open the door. And with my left foot, I pushed the door open.

My eyes scanned the place. It was indeed what I had paid for. I entered the room and with my right foot guided the door to its original place and thought: "Is the destiny of a door to remain closed or to be opened?". I shook my head in disbelief. Who was I to even ask such questions?. Who cared for my opinion in such vain matters?. I knew better than to be questioning things.

Once the door was shut behind me, I let myself sigh. Nobody there to ask me silly questions either. I sighed and it felt good. I felt free. I had tried sighing more than once and I only gave the wrong impression. It was something liberating, something freeing, yet they didn't understand it as I did.  I shrugged and proceeded to bed.

I passed my hand over the bed linens as if I could tell the material it was made of. It was soft and cool as I liked it. I looked up.

The drapes hung in such a sad way. Like tears melting away in a funeral home. They had been placed as if someone wanted all the light away from this room. And they had done a marvelous job. Only enough light shone through, just enough for me to make up the place of the things and furniture in this small hotel room where I was going to seclude myself for the next 13 nights. It had been thirteen years already and I had to celebrate.

I laid my backpack on the bed and walked towards the window. It was 11:59pm. I was tired and drained from my journey. I felt numb and everything was blurry. It was another Friday night and I was ready, despite the ache and the low morale. I walked towards the balcony and with a swift jerk, I opened the door.

I stepped out and it was then when I saw him, across from my hotel, under the moonlight. I had never believed in the devil but after that night, I knew he was real.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It's Not All About You

 It was 8:35pm and I was walking home. It was a normal Friday after work. I had had a good day. It all went smoothly and there was nothing that had disrupted my hard-earned calm and peace of mind. The wind blew gently yet with enough strength to keep the heatwaves of summer away from my sun-ridded skin. I kept a slow pace as I had decided to take it slow. Nobody was waiting for me at home. Except for the cats that were probably angry I wasn't coming home on time for dinner. Their dinner. Not mine. I think even though they showed their affection towards me, they couldn't care less if I ate anything for dinner or not. It was their nature, and I respected it. They were there for me when I was down and blue. They were there for my happy birthdays and for the uneventful dates. In return, I tried to keep their feeding schedule tight. Their water is fresh and their toilets shit-free. I didn't always deliver, as I sometimes would hit the bar near my office for a beer or two before ...

CPR Doesn't Always Work

 I had my first aid workshop today at the office. The trainer stood in the middle of our meeting room and lectured us about the dos and don'ts of a critical situation where someone's life was at stake. We sat quietly and nodded when we deemed prudent.  We learned about the Bystander syndrome and that we should always call the emergency services before we jump into action and try to help the victim. The trainer then showed us a latex mannequin where we would practice CRP and occasionally joke about the material it was made of— plastic resembling human skin. "Strange remarks", I thought, with a grin on my face. According to the law, you cannot ignore an accident, and you are compelled to call an ambulance, the police, or even the firefighters. Otherwise, you could be charged with negligence. Something you don't really want on your record, especially when you are a foreigner in a country that is thousands of miles away from the place you were born. I have never encou...

We Sing The Death Song

The days this week had become unbearable. I had just lost one of my biggest clients, and no one seemed to empathize with my loss. One of my best friends, who was fired from his job in April this year, told me that his psychologist said that losing one's job is equivalent to the feeling you get when you lose someone. Mourning, that's the feeling. Yet, nobody seemed to care about my losing a client. Everyone was like: "Cheer up, everything will be alright." I had also recently lost my dad. We weren't that close, but it was something I did not expect to happen when it did. And this is not me just complaining. I had been a man who had shown quite a bit of resilience, and despite the darkness, I kept pushing forward. But maybe my age had worn me down a bit. I just needed to halt for a bit and be acknowledged, but not so much to look weak. What the hell was happening to me? I didn't know what I was supposed to do and how I was supposed to react to all this shit that...