He boarded the wrong plane. His mistake might have been discovered had the seat belonged to someone else, but the plane was nearly empty and he fell asleep before it took off. He slept through the beverage service, he slept through the light snack. In fact, he slept until awoken by a flight attendant who only said the plane had landed, failing to mention where it had landed.
He walked through an airport never seen before, which gave no clue he was eight states away from where he was supposed to be. His carry-on did away with the need to wait while the claim carousel spun luggage. He left through the nearest exit.
It was warmer than he expected, but his next chance of discovery came at the cabstand. He climbed into a taxi and asked for Hotel Savigny. The driver nodded and pulled away, neither of them knowing nine cities across the country contained a Hotel Savigny, including the one he was in, as well as the one where he was supposed to be.
He paid the driver and entered the hotel, which seemed nicer than the one he booked, but not nice enough to cause concern. He approached the receptionist and she greeted him warmly: “Do you have a reservation?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered, and gave his name.
When the receptionist could not find his name, she simply said the reservation seemed to have been misplaced, but not to worry because plenty of rooms were available, and she gave him a key.
In his room, he called his wife to let her know he had arrived, that the trip passed without incident, that he was resting and would eat dinner soon and sleep soon after that.
“You forgot your toothbrush,” she said. "Absentminded as ever.”
He shook his head.
“What's it like?” she asked.
“Just a city, like all the others.”
He stretched across the mattress and thought about when he had wandered away from his mother in the grocery store. She found him finally, but he never knew he had been lost. It puzzled him why such a memory would present itself. He called the front desk and asked for a newspaper.
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A version of this was published in Eunoia Review.
nicely done.
I remember reading and loving this one the first time around, Fos. My response has not changed. *
I remember it, too. Your stories have staying power. *
I love this!
Heh heh heh *
Space-time displacement. Well done.
A good telling. Nice work.
Oh, this is so perfect and hilarious, excellent timing, the detail of forgetting the toothbrush and then the memory. Outstanding piece of writing. Ending with the newspaper punctuates wonderfully. Fave*
Yep, I always enjoy imagining this guy's reaction to the newspaper. Sometimes he freaks, most of the time he wanders back to his room, happy enough :)
I fear this is something could happen to me.*
Nice work. Hits me a little close to home but that's OK. Enjoyed.*
Love this. I enjoy the way you play with symmetry in your pieces. And you had me laughing at the end. *
I like this a lot, both earlier and now. If the story kept going, he would probably start walking around in Kafka's Castle. *
Excellent! This feels like both a start to something much longer and a perfectly contained piece in itself, in that way that great flash pieces can.
* I agree with Jane. There is a much larger story here that you tell completely in 380 words
* I agree with Jane. There is a much larger story here that you tell completely in 380 words
I guess I agreed doubly.
I travel enough for work to understand this is completely plausible, and wonder if this hasn't actually happened to me several times. Well made and very amusing.
Good read. What I appreciate most is how well it was written. Tight. Fat free.
Just read your "eight states away"- that will teach us to never fall asleep on a plane. Especially if it makes more than one stop.
Happy holiday Foster
I imagining him getting a national newspaper, like that American hotel standby, USA Today.
*Love the way he rolls with it. Also, love the mystery of the character. I think it works in short form but would be curious to see how the character emerges in a longer piece.
How fantastic, Foster. Cautionary tale for the daydreamers out there. Ha!
*
That didn't occur to me. USA Today or The Times. This could go on for awhile longer. But the tension at the end is great.
Oh this is lovely! It's funny and yet so much more than that - almost presents an existential question!
I love the way the tension builds up on this one, like a cocoon. Makes me wonder how he's gonna break out of it! *