All credits to whoever owns them.
The name of the game is discovery - when did you find out?
It was about 11 hours of continuous driving that had drained me completely. It was a long and dark road, through an inhospitable desert and I knew that I needed rest soon. Yet, the bike had never felt so good below me and the cool wind in my hair made me feel alive and free.
I looked around. There was nothing to see into the night but for the bushes of colitas that grew along the road. They formed that hazy grey area of my sight when the light from my headlight merged into the dark of the night. I sat upright and took a deep breath. The sweet smell seemed to rise through the air and into my mind. It felt as though it was mildly intoxicating for I seemed to see a light shimmering in the distance.
As it neared, it strengthened itself into a image. It was a large building of some sort. A decaying signboard announced in unclear letters - hotel something. My head drooped, heavy with burden of hours not slept.My groggy eyes seemed to dim my sight. I had to stop for the night to rest.
I slowed down into the parking lot. I then locked the bike and walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Tring, Tring the bell went. It was an odd tinny noise that seemed to go in right to the marrow in my bones and make me shiver all over. The door opened silently and this apparition seemed to step out.
She hit me like a pile driver into the soft earth. Hard and deep. This woman was just perfect. She asked me to step in and I was wondering how lucky could I get ? Ominously as I stepped inside, the lights dimmed and then abruptly went out. In the pitch darkness a bell began to ring. "The mission bell - it's just a grid failure" she said. "Happens all the time," she remarked with a heart stopping smile. And I was thinking to myself that perhaps the Gods were playing tricks on me. Such perfection can be found only the joy of Heaven or the torment of Hell, mere mortals not being worthy of such luxuries. I blinked, and the situation did not change. So, I assumed I was on Earth and I had gotten lucky, very very lucky.
She lit up a candle and she led me to my room - the master chambers. "Nice place you have here." I said. "How come there's no need to reserve a room ?" I asked, just making conversation to delay her from leaving. "There's always plenty of room at this hotel any time of the year," she said with a wan smile.
She began to set the sheets on the king sized bed in order and walked around the room generally tidying up. I sat on a nearby chair and watched her move around the room. She had the feel of a smooth car, the bends all structured and sleek. Not a Ferarri or something loud, something like a Mercedes understated and elegant. She finished and walked out with any further comment.
I sat back. Tired in body and soul. The power came back on almost immediately and I ran a bath and refreshed myself. Washed the dirt and grime off myself. I then relaxed for some time. Feeling much better I decided to see what I could do for dinner. Walking into the sweet summer night I could hear the strains of some old plaintive 60's number.I walked out into the courtyard to see her singing and dancing with some small children. Angelic little children, all of whom looked like they were a choir group singing haunting Christmas carols. I beckoned to her and she walked over. "My friends," she said with a drop of sweat trickling down her face. "They dance to remember while I dance to forget", she whispered. I would have easily killed for that peace on her face, for that moment of happiness in her eyes. A man sees pure happiness but rarely in life and he must snatch it when he does, for it is invaluable.
A hundred questions whirled though my mind. What was she trying to forget, who were those children, who was she and most vitally why was all this so familiar? As usual, before I could get to anything important, she led me into the diner and away from that magical moment. She said she'd come back to my table later and walked away.
Inviting and cosy, the diner had a man at the bar mixing fruit cocktails. "Hello,"he said "I'm the cook, waiter, night man and the captain. What would you want ?". I don't drink hard liquor so I asked him if he had any wine for me. He seemed to give me a look to size me up and said "There hasn't been a spirit in here since the summer of '69." The words seemed to make no sense but I refused to be drawn into anything and just mildly asked him for a mixed fruit cocktail.
People began to drift into the diner. Nursing my drink I ordered my dinner and sat back to watch the rest of the diner. Conversations had an odd quality in this place. They seemed mellow and smooth and just out of hearing range. Something like in a dream when voices are from far away; dreams that wake you up in the middle of the night and then you don't seem to hear anything anymore. This place seemed to have a life of it's own and the people seemed to be living it up. They looked at me with smiles of easy recognition as if I had known them for ages. It seemed like they knew that on this day at this time I would be here. It gave me an odd feeling, it made my hair stand up on end. There seemed to be this deja vu feeling running through my head like all this has happened before and it seemed to unnerve me.
The captain brought me my order. I looked up at him and nearly screamed. I hadn't noticed till then, but the ceiling had these distorted mirrors on them that seemed to congeal images of the people in the diner. They seemed to flow into each other with this odd creepy effect of lengthening and stretching limbs. It seemed like the people in the diner were all part of one being and I as the sole other occupant was surrounded on all sides by this gooey mass of human flesh.
She had returned and she followed my glance up and smiled. "Aren't we all imprisoned in our own way ?" she asked "just limited to ourselves." She seemed wistful as she said "Even that is of our choice and by our own device." Even before I could sputter out some form of coherent response to those statements, she turned (with that o so smooth silky grace) and walked away. In doing so my hand inexplicably lost control of my drink and the pink champagne and it's ice were all over my table.
Something unnerved me that moment. I finished my dinner as quickly as I could and crashed onto my bed. I was dead tired, but today somehow I could not sleep. I tossed and turned and tired all my insomnia solutions. Nothing worked. I opened all the window and let the moonlight in. No change at all. Finally,I attributed it to the drive and just lay down quietly. The still of the night was deafening. My imagination seemed to invent sounds for me. I could hear people speak, I could hear the ghouls of the night.
It grew on me. I seemed to hear almost every sound that was being produced in the entire hotel. I could hear people breathe, doors hinges groan, stairs creak, the wind rustle thorough the leaves of the plants - I could hear my fear feeding on itself. Just when it seemed like it couldn't get worse, those children silently trooped into the master chamber - my room. How I don't know, I didn't see any doors opening but the next thing I know is that they were there.
They seemed to have gathered for a feast. All carried with them knives steely and gleaming shining in the bright light of the moon. When she entered and smiled at me asking me if I was ready, I knew no one had been fooled by my pretensions of sleep. Neither I hoped were they fooled that I was going to agree for any of their ideas. Whatever it was, I wasn't ready to listen to them or let them take me without a fight.
The last thing I can coherently remember is running out of the door and to my bike. I looked up at the sign and the aging faded letters read "Hotel California". Now, it all made sense - the Eagles, the desert, the courtyard. Now I knew what the deja vu was all about. My mind desperately tried to race to the end of the song to figure out what was going to happen. I did not need it. The night man appeared with an evil smile and a knife and sang out