redwoods
I crossed over their upturned roots and walked into the arch. I saw it then. A tiny oasis in the midst of wilderness. I narrowed my eyes to read the sign on the decrepit building, the lights above it had died, probably years ago. Hotel Travellore. There are darker sins than a spelling mistake.
I was looking for some place ordinary to spend the night. This was far less than ordinary, but it would have to do. After weeks of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I had a newfound appreciation for basic amenities. I checked into one of the five rooms they had and took my first bath in weeks. Bruised toes howled at the touch of cool water. Every muscle and bone groaned. My decision was reinforced.
I tried to sleep, but raucous music down the hall wouldn’t let me. Who would be partying at this hour in this god-forsaken place? The hallway was mostly dark but for a sliver of light peeking from a room. The room was also the source of the music. I pushed the door open.
Had I just stepped into another world? There were fire-blowers, belly dancers, stilt-walkers, a vintage carousel, and people in costumes! A large hairy hand shoved me in. “Welcome! Come on in!”, his voice boomed. I wasn’t given time to decline. I was as powerless as a bread crumb being sucked into a vacuum cleaner.
The man was burly, but a kind face topped that girth.
“Lemuel Gulliver, pleased to meet you”.
I almost laughed. Not wanting to appear insulting, I replied “I’m Joe”.
“Listen, Gulliver, thanks for bringing me in, but I have to go. Could you maybe turn the music down?”
He paid no attention to me. “Meet Ryan”, he said, pointing to a sharply dressed man in a grey business suit. Ryan had apparently gathered ten million airline miles. We shook hands briefly and he went back to explaining airline miles to two men, one of them with a lance and the other with a sombrero on his head. Perfect Don Quixote and Sancho Panza costumes.
Gulliver waved to a little girl in orange shorts and a pink t shirt. A small grey monkey clambered on her backpack. “She’s the littlest explorer of all”.
“Explorer?” Things around me were getting too surreal for my brain to process.
“Yes, we’re all explorers! Look around!”
“Is that…?”, my eyes widened.
“Spock!”, he mirrored my enthusiasm.
The moment of exhilaration passed as quickly as it came. “None of this is real”, I said aloud, surprising myself.
“It doesn’t matter, Joe. The only thing that does is that we keep traveling. Why did you give up?”
“How did you know I…”
“Don’t do it, Joe. Finish what you set out to do. Imagine the joy you’ll experience when you reach the Bridge of the Gods! Isn’t that why you started in the first place?”
People travel for different reasons. Some do it to run away from life, some do it for cool Facebook updates. I was doing it only to satiate my irrepressible wanderlust. But the PCT was a different ballgame. I couldn’t do it. My body had given up.
Suddenly, I didn’t care how he knew.
“I’m going home tomorrow”, I wasn’t telling him, I was reasserting myself.
“What’s home? Travelers don’t have homes. We’re nomads at heart. We make homes wherever we stop.”
I took a deep swig of punch. I wasn’t getting swayed by a guy in a costume! Sleeping over it was probably a good idea.
“Sir, are you okay?”, a ranger’s baritone brought me back. Sunshine filtered through the trees. My mind couldn’t gather itself fast enough. Why wasn’t I in bed? Why was I standing in a thicket of redwood trees? I stared at the empty space where Hotel Travellore had stood last night. Had I been dreaming?
“Sir?”
I opened my wallet to show him my ID when a crumpled piece of paper fell out.
“Hotel Travel-Lore, Customer Copy”, it said, matter-of-factly.
Strong narration. It grasped me till the end. Loved it!
Thank you, Ira 🙂
Wow! Brilliant write up! Enjoyed the read, explorers or wanderers at heart don’t ever halt. Beautiful 🙂
Thank you!
OMG, Hema this was too fantastic! Honestly, I wanted the tale to continue! Bizarre and brilliant plot! Yeh dil maange more! One doubt, what’s PCT?
Oh thanks, Kala 🙂 I was hoping it wasn’t too vague for readers. So glad you liked it. PCT stands for Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a treacherous and physically demanding trail which goes from Mexico to Canada! Thanks for asking. I should probably add the full form instead of the abbreviation.
Hema, I really enjoyed the post! Your narration being so vivid, transported me to the location, I think that is the mark of a good writer….to get into the head of the reader!
That is so encouraging, Kala. Thank you so much!
That’s a delightful piece of fiction! Loved how you let the story unfold, the pace, the ease of conversation. ..Glad to be here!
Thanks Ilakshee! So glad to have you 🙂
My mind couldn’t gather itself fast either! 🙂 Another Hogwarts! 🙂 Nice fiction!
Hogwarts! Oh wow that is high praise. Thank you very much 🙂
Like breadcrumb being sucked…..that is quite an image…..:)…..
haha that’s my favorite too! Thanks Sunaina 🙂
Very imaginative take on the prompt. My one quibble is using “something ordinary” instead of “some place ordinary.” I think the latter would have been a better choice for setting up the far-from-ordinary place you described.
That makes so much sense. Thanks for pointing that out, Cyn! Changing it right away 🙂
I loved this, Hema! Your opening in particular was fantastic – your descriptions grounded us nicely in reality, and then you pulled the rug out from under our feet. I think it suffered a little from the word count requirement – the ending felt somewhat abrupt – but I think you could work this into a longer piece.
Thank you, Christine! I was in fact, going to ask you for a review. I did feel a bit constrained by the word count requirement. My first draft was 815 words! It was such a monster to edit 🙂
Absorbing!
Thank you, Amitji!
Wow, Hema! What a strangely fantastic tale. I found myself definitely wanting more at the end, but still it sucked me in (like a crumb being sucked into a. vacuum cleaner). Great job!
Thanks, Danielle! I was hoping it wouldn’t be too ‘far out’ for people to understand. So glad you liked it 🙂
I can see how hiking through redwoods would inspire a story like this. They are magical and wise and otherworldly. I loved how you described the party. Very engaging!
Thanks, Nate! There’s something magical about how sunlight plays with the tall redwoods! But I confess that the party scene was inspired by the movie ‘Midnight in Paris’ 🙂
A brilliant plot with Gulliver et all.
Thank you!