Midnight at the Spectral Motel

THE CALLER

The phone made a loud noise that broke the silence Jimmy had left behind.

Silas let go of Mayas hand. He told her to stay where she was. Then Silas walked towards the lobby. He walked fast and he knew exactly where he was going.

The silence in Room 7 now felt like people were watching. Maya put the demo tape in her pocket. Followed Maya did not like the feeling of the silence, in Room 7 so Maya put the demo tape in her pocket and followed.

She walked into the room. Saw Silas standing really still behind the front desk. His hand was right, over the phone that was ringing really loudly. "Why are you not picking up the phone?"

The man looked at the thing in front of him. Said "When someone is calling to visit a guest a light comes on above the guests door." He did not look away from it. "This is something different. This is someone breaking in where they do not belong this is an intrusion, into the guests room."

The phone finally stopped ringing. Now the silence was even worse.

Then, one sharp, commanding ring.

Silas grabbed the phone. He listened to the person on the end of the line and his face got really mad. Silas said "Understood". Then he slammed the phone down.

“Who was it?”

There is a man and his name is Leo. He says he is a historian. Leo has booked Room 8. He will be staying there for a week. Leo is moving into Room 8 starting tomorrow.

“A living person? But with guests here…”

Silas cut in his voice was sharp. We have to do this he said. If we say no it will bring the kind of attention to us. It will make Leo Vance and his people notice us. Silas quickly wrote the booking down in the ledger. He wrote Leo Vance, Room 8. The brass plaque on the door, to Room 8 looked shiny like it had just been polished.

Silas said that the man who called on the phone is the one who talked about your mother. The man from the phone is trying to see how we react. Silas thinks that the man, from the phone is testing us to find out what we will do.

Before Maya could say anything, a soft ding sounded. Above Room 3 a light on the wall started to glow. It was an gentle light that kept getting a little brighter and then a little dimmer, over and over again.

Silas said that this person is a guest. He changed the subject. Started to focus on something else. The work will keep going Silas said, the work continues.

The door, to Room 3 was really old. Made of oak. It had a stained-glass picture of a lily on it. Maya held the key to Room 3 in her hand. It felt warm.

Inside this room was a parlor from the 1920s. It looked like a big library was superimposed over it like you could see through to the books. There was a chair with a high back and a woman with beautiful silver hair was sitting in it. She was crying,. You could not hear her. She was crying into a book that had no writing in it. The woman was really elegant even though she was sad. The 1920s parlor was still visible with the library image, over it making it look very strange.

Eleanor Silas said in a voice. He thought of her as the person who's always sad. Eleanor is someone who feels sad. Eleanor does not know why Eleanor feels this way.

Maya got down on her knees in front of her. "Eleanor what is Eleanor reading?"

The woman did not give any sign that she heard the woman.

Maya saw something that caught her eye. It was a horned phonograph. She thought about the person who used to own it. Maya wanted to know what they liked. Did they love listening to music?. Was it hearing stories that they really enjoyed?

Eleanor took a deep breath and it caught in her chest. Then her eyes slowly moved towards the phonograph.

Maya looked for it. She found it. Behind its leg Maya saw a picture that was curled up. The picture was of an Eleanor. She was. Standing with a good looking man in front of a library door. On the picture it said: For my Eleanor the person who takes care of the keys. This was from Lawrence. It was from the year 1921. Maya saw that the picture was really old. The picture was of Eleanor and the man. They were standing together. The library door was, behind them. Maya thought about Eleanor, the Keeper of the Keys.

Maya looked at the picture and said "I want to know about Lawrence". She was holding the photo in her hand. Maya asked again "What was Lawrence, like?"

Eleanor looked closely. Her hand was. It went up. She said my key.

“Your key to what?”

He is locked in. I have the key to let him out.. I lost the key. She felt so bad now that she was really thinking about it. Her eyes were filled with sadness. I just cannot remember where I put the key to let him out.

“The key. What was it?”

She said it was a story. Our story. This was the story we ever read. I made it into a key. She touched the book. The story is here, in this book.. The words of our story are gone.

A story was made into a key. What was this story about then? The story is what I am really curious, about. What did the story say, I wonder? The story is the thing that I want to know more about.

Eleanor closed her eyes tight. "I am thinking of a garden. There is a nightingale, in this garden. The nightingale hurt its heart. The nightingale hurt its heart on a thorn."

The Nightingale and the Rose. Oscar Wilde.

Maya was completely sure of what she had to do. She got a piece of paper and a pen from the desk. Put them on the empty book. She said to Eleanor "You are the Keeper, Eleanor. Now it is time for you to write something in the book. You need to write the line, for Lawrence."

Eleanors hand was shaking badly. She used a lot of effort to put the pen down. Then she wrote five words: "She said that she would dance…" Eleanors hand was still shaking as she thought about the words "she said that she would dance" and what they really meant to Eleanor. The words "she said that she would dance" kept going through her mind.

Ink spread over the empty pages and filled them up with words. The title showed up. It said The Nightingale and the Rose. Then a key made of light appeared in Eleanors hand. It was really. Looked beautiful. The Nightingale and the Rose was written in letters, at the top of the page. Eleanors hand was still holding the shining key of light.

A loud noise sounded from away. It was a CLUNK that you could feel. The door to the library became real again. You could see a glow coming from the keyhole, in the library door. The library door was really solid now.

Eleanor stood up holding the book tightly. The key was shining. She was smiling even though she was crying. "Thank you " she said. "The book has been waiting for him for a long time and now the book is finally going to be, with him."

The woman walked into the library. She took out the key. Put it into the lock. Then she turned the key. Stepped inside. The library was filled with a bright light. The woman was gone from sight. The library was empty again. The woman who walked into the library was nowhere to be found.

The light on the sconce, above the door stopped working. The sconce light is not turning on anymore.

Maya sank onto the settee. She was really tired. She felt great, about what she had done. Maya was totally triumphant.

Silas looked at her. He had a new kind of respect for her in his eyes. He said "You are not just hearing what I am saying. You are really getting what the music is, about you are understanding the music."

The front door bell made a ringing sound when it jingled.

A happy voice called out from the lobby. "Hello is anyone at the desk? I am a bit early for my reservation, at the hotel I have a reservation."

Maya and Silas just stopped moving. This was the middle of the night when everything is really quiet. Maya and Silas were not doing anything. It was very dark outside. Maya and Silas were standing there.

Leo was here. And he was early.