"The Tell-Tale Heart"

Peru

Once I stepped off the ship, I felt so different. I had become accustomed to the feeling of swaying back and forth. Now I was on land. I took about five to 15 minutes just to catch my balance. The world kept spinning and spinning with flashbacks of that night.

I went to an inn. It was old and musty. The innkeeper was bald and ugly, but his children were as lovely as the first budding roses in the spring. He gave me a room that was worse than the inn itself. It was as filthy as a hog’s pen. Its bed was unmade and hard. The flooring was dusty. The room itself creaked. The smell of animals filled the room. There was a certain howling outside the window. The dining hall was worse. It had insects and forbidden things. It was filthy with dirty dishes and broken chairs. Its tables leaned. There were holes everywhere. I decided to eat some of the preserves I had brought from the house. The restroom was gross. The stench would likely make you nauseated. It was not cleaned. I decided not to use this bathroom. I bathed in public wading pools where peasants bathed and washed clothes.

I walked the floor all night. The man’s face engraved in my thought. His heartbeat was still singing. The hollering of his hollow voice still pierced at my ears. There was no way I was going to get peace, not in this inn.