The Untold

Chapter 3

"Finally," I said as the lights came back on.

I glanced around the magnificent lobby of the New Majestic Inn. I saw a few hotel staff members running about. I looked at my watch; it was almost midnight.

'Only a few of them are working at this time,' my heart whispered.

I could feel the tension building in my back.

"I need some rest!" I told myself. I got up from the comfortable sofa in the main lobby area and headed to the elevator.

"Have a good night, Ms. Rosa," I heard a voice greet me from behind.

"Good night," I replied without even bothering to see who it was.

I pressed the number 3 button as soon as I entered the elevator.

"Tap tap tap," the sound of my Nike shoes on the hallway carpet echoed. I was only a few meters away from my room door when my footsteps suddenly stopped as I saw my door wide open. I stared in horror.

'Someone is entering my room!'

I almost turned back, but then I saw a figure just exiting my room.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked cautiously. I looked him up and down. He was wearing a black uniform— the security officer's uniform.

"Oh, Ms. Rosa, you're back. Sorry, I was instructed to check your room for the source of the electrical surge. We had a power outage a few minutes ago," he explained.

"Oh... did you find anything?" I asked again.

"Apparently not. Everything seems okay. I'll check the other rooms now. Have a pleasant night, Ms. Rosa." He then left and walked down the hallway.

I was still standing outside my room, completely puzzled by what had just happened. My mind was too scrambled to process any lingering doubts. I entered my room and looked around for a few minutes, trying to see if anything had been moved or changed. Everything seemed untouched, just as I had left it.

As soon as I hit my bed, I fell asleep almost immediately. The New Majestic Inn's pillows were one of a kind—so soft and comfy. As soon as your head landed on them, it felt like sinking into clouds.

'Kreeng, kreeng,' the alarm on my mobile phone buzzed. I grabbed my Huawei phone from the bedside table and slid off the snooze button. I tried to pull myself up from the bed covers, but I didn't feel like getting out of bed. The ache in my back was still there. I stared up at the white, abstract cornice ceiling of my room.

'Okay, what should I do today?' I wondered, frowning as my mind suddenly remembered something.

"Yes, call the office. What else?

"Call Harry? Call Shakira?" My mind couldn't seem to decide.

"I need breakfast. Let's call room service," I told myself.

I picked up the telephone on the bedside table and pressed the zero button for reception. A female voice answered on the other end.

"Hello, good morning, Ms. Rosa. May I help you?"

"Ah, yes. Can I have my breakfast delivered to my room, please?" I said, my voice cracking slightly.

"Oh, sure, Ms. Rosa. Anything else?" she asked.

"And... please bring today's newspaper as well. That's all," I added.

"Alright, your breakfast will be ready in 20 minutes. Have a nice day!"

I hung up and then pulled open the top drawer of the bedside table on my left. I took out the HD flat-screen TV remote control and turned on the TV. The BBC news channel appeared on the screen. The reporter was covering torrential rain in Kagoshima, Japan. Over one million people in southwestern Japan needed to be evacuated. A top view of buildings surrounded by floodwaters appeared on the screen, showing footage from a helicopter.