Stephen King Hotel

As Fiorella and Husband trod the Dallas hotel hall, searching for their appointed room, they could not help but overhear people through the paper-thin walls arguing with their stockbrokers, discussing plans for the following day, and placating their children. Once inside their room, they could hear every door up and down the hall open and close, every elevator ding, and every joyful group that passed. Soundproofing was not the name of the game.

That all changed an hour later when Fio tried to descend to the lobby to register for the writing conference. Another woman was already in the elevator and kindly tapped Fio's button for her, then got off a floor earlier,

Fio stepped out of the cab alone, not at the lobby, but on floor one. The place stunk to high heaven. Now, ever since reading The Shining, Fio has been somewhat leery of hotel halls, and this was definitely a Stephen King sort of passageway. Yes, Fio was all, all alone in a long,dark, deserted hallway that had just been painted and was illuminated only by big spotlights focused here and there on the ceiling. Tarps and painting supplies littered the carpet and the place was utterly, utterly silent.

"Hellooooo, helloooo?" Fiorella called, much as she does in Home Depot when trying to attract a sales clerk.

A bit of an echo, but no answer.

Fio, being a practical, semi-level-headed kind of gal, punched the "lobby" button. No response. Then she tried every other button. The elevator was dead. Fio was stuck on floor one.

Surely there was some escape. She tried walking down the hall to see if there was another elevator at the end of it. But the paint fumes were making her sick and the dark tunnel seemed to go on forever.

She retreated back to the elevator cab and tried all the buttons again, then spotted one labeled "alarm." Fio was saved! The fire department would come roaring in and Fio would be terribly embarrassed, but she would be saved!

Except that, even though she rang the buzzer repeatedly, no one responded.

By then Fio was wondering about that helpful woman who had pushed the fateful button that had sent her down to floor one. Who was that woman, really? And did this floor actually exist for everyone, or just for Fiorella? Would Husband search high and low, never knowing what had become of her until some hotel janitor finally stumbled upon her dessicated corpse?

Husband! Fiorella could contact him by cellphone! She punched in his number and hastily explained her plight. At least he'd know where to search for the body.

He suggested she open doors, looking for another way out, which Fio had been loath to do, somewhat afraid of what might lurk behind them. But bravely she emerged from her elevator cave and tried a door at the end of a little side hall, half-convinced that if she opened it and stepped inside, it would slam shut and lock her in forever.

Stairs! It was the door to a stairwell! Fio started walking up,up up. On the second landing was a door labeled "lobby." She was saved!

That night Fiorella couldn't sleep because of all the noise in the hall--for which she was very, very grateful. Silence isn't all it's cracked up to be.