Smoke.
It is 3am. The world outside is sleeping quietly. The soft hum of the heating was the only sound that disrupted the silence of room 1018 of our hotel. The room was softly lit in the soothing glow of the nightlights filtering through the block out curtains, casting a pale, ethereal light over the space. I am being embraced by the soft sheets around me, the pillow caressing softly my head, blissfully unaware of the chaos that was about to unfold. I am calm. I am asleep.
In the midst of deep slumber, where dreams danced in the realm of subconsciousness, I was suddenly wrenched from my peaceful reverie by the shrill wail of a siren, a continuous non rhythmic high-pitched, piercing tone, coming from the ceiling above me. My senses jolted awake, heart pounding with an adrenaline surge, as the sound penetrated the tranquillity of the night. It was a rude awakening, shattering the silence with its urgent, piercing call, leaving me totally disoriented with my mind racing to comprehend the source of the disturbance. I lay there, a mix of confusion and heightened awareness, pondering the fleeting intersection of the dream world and the stark reality of an unforeseen disturbance. Was it a dream?
No, it is not a dream. It was quite real. Marc dives out of bed, drawn to the source above him as the wailing sound of the smoke alarm screams. He tries to stop it, to turn it off but it will not stop! It is so deafening. We hear people outside our door, and I am thinking that our bedroom alarm has gone off and the neighbouring sleepers are not happy, and I mentally prepared myself for the unhappy bangs on the door to “turn off that siren”. But no, they didn’t stop at our door. More footsteps, many more. Stairwells clatter beside us. Marc opens the door slightly to view the surroundings and informs me that we need to evacuate now. He could hear ALL the hotel room alarms going off.
In the chaotic urgency of this unexpected emergency, I was so disorientated. I had taken two melatonin the night before to ensure good sleep after our four day rail trail ride, but was now paying the price since I was still drugged.
We both realised that we had to get out of the hotel quickly. I am normally an organised person and know what to do in an emergency. But this was our first night in an unfamiliar hotel room in a different country. Nothing was familiar. And I was drugged and disorientated!
But all good.
Well, no, not quite!
For those that know me up close and personal, you will know what I sleep in, or more to the point what I do not sleep in. So can you imagine my mental and physical chaos when disturbed from a deep slumber and stumbling around an unknown room trying to find my pants. Not my underwear but my black tights to take me outside the room. I threw a top on that was lying beside the bed, but do you think I could find my pants! Being the first day after our rail trail trip, our clothes were lying everywhere, and it had literally rained clothes on the floor! But not good when you cannot find that important item to cover your nether regions before flying out the door. Even if it wasn’t for the outside temperature being only 3 degrees, my modesty would not bare (pun intended) having my nether regions exposed for all to see!
Marc is racing around being ever so practical, grabbing my backpack with the passports and wallets, jackets for the cold and, since time allowed computers, phones and power packs! Me, I am still rummaging through that pile of clothes on the floor looking for something to put on my bum before going! I just couldn’t find them!
Marc is urging me outside. What do I do? It is definitely time to leave the hotel room to join the growing fellow guests outside. In that sense of urgency, I am so flustered – standing there in a T-shirt, my winter jacket, socks and shoes but nothing else! Funny picture I know … but so true.
So- what happened?
Yes, I eventually found them. Not where they were supposed to be in that assortment of mess on the floor, but on the other side of the hotel room near the lounge. Why they were there who knows? I don’t even remember placing them there. Some fairy must have grabbed them through the night to remind me to be a little more organised while away ?
Yes … I put them on.
Yes … I got out of the hotel room
Yes … it was extremely cold … at 3am in the morning
No….we have no idea what the emergency / evacuation was about …
But my bum was now covered!