An entry for a writing contest and it won the staff choice
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A family of four walked up the broad, stone steps leading up to a skyscraper. Some people were sitting on the steps and talking to each other, not paying much attention to those going towards the building behind them. Twin boys with light-blond hair raced to be the first to reach the top while their parents followed at their own pace. The mother was wearing a simple but elegant dress. The father had a black waistcoat over an orange long-sleeve shirt and a black hat on his straw-blond hair. He smiled when one of the twins jumped up and down to celebrate his victory and then looked at his wife. “Look at that, Sarah,” he said to her. “It seems Leonard won.”
“So it seems,” Sarah replied with a smile. “Theodore doesn’t seem to mind though. I think he’s impressed by the building Rob works in, Ben.”
Benjamin was taking his family to meet a friend, an editor for a famous magazine, at his workplace. He gazed up the tall building made of mostly steel and glass, it was obvious the magazine had a good revenue.
“On what floor is his office?” Sarah asked.
“The fourth,” Benjamin replied, to which Sarah nodded to show she heard it.
Once they were together again they entered the building through the automatic glass doors. The central hallway was broad and light, just how Benjamin liked places like this. He walked up to a counter to state the reason for their visit and after the receptionist verified it with a simple phone-call, she nodded to Benjamin and gestured to the elevator. Benjamin nodded as well and beckoned for his family to join him.
“I want to push the button!” Leonard exclaimed as he started running towards the double steel doors.
“No, me!” Theodore said as he ran after his twin brother.
“Boys, boys,” Benjamin said as he smiled at his wife. “There are two buttons to push, one now and one in the elevator. You two decide who presses what button, okay?”
“Yes dad,” the boys said in unity. With a simple game of rock-paper-scissors they determined who could push the first button while their parents were waiting patiently for them to make the important decision.
When the decision was made, because scissors still cut paper, Theodore pushed on the button and watched the small screen above the steel doors where the numbers went down. Moments later a soft ping sounded and the doors glided open. The four of them stepped in the cabin which was large enough to hold eight with ease and after Leonard pushed on the button with the 4 on it the doors closed.
They waited in silence as the elevator ascended smoothly through the building, but it came at an abrupt halt.
“What happened?” one of the boys asked. “Are we there yet? Why aren’t the doors opening if we’re there?”
Benjamin swallowed heavily and looked at the panel, the light around the button was still on, indicating they hadn’t arrived at the floor just yet. He watched how Sarah pushed the button again, but nothing happened. She tried the button to open the doors, but that didn’t do anything either.
“That doesn’t work,” she sighed as she looked at her husband. “Do we wait or do we call for help? I mean, maybe the elevator will continue by itself.”
“I think we should call for help,” Benjamin quickly said. “I… really don’t want to be here right now,” he added in a whisper.
Sarah nodded and pushed the phone-button. When a voice, most likely the receptionist, asked what the problem was she explained how the elevator had stopped somewhere between the third and the fourth floor. The receptionist promised to call the mechanics and asked for them to wait, she explained it was an external service, but they would be here as soon as they could.
After a trembling sigh Benjamin rubbed his face with both hands. He started pacing around in the small room. His eyes moved from left to right, but no matter how often he looked at the walls, the ceiling or the door, there was no way out. His could feel his heart pounding and he moved his fingers restlessly as he continued walking from one side to the other.
“Please, calm down,” Sarah said, holding the two boys close to her. “Help is on the way. You’ll see we’ll get out of here in no-time.”
“How long?” Benjamin asked.
“I don’t know. I think twenty minutes at most, probably shorter.”
Benjamin shook his head as he continued going back and forth. “Too long,” he muttered. “I want out of this elevator. Now. I need to get out now.” He closed his eyes and leaned with his forehead and hands against the cold, steel wall. His breathing went faster and more shallow and his fingers slowly slid over the wall until he had two fists. For a moment he stood there, breathing heavily through his nose. Suddenly he turned to the doors and hit them with both his fists. “Open these doors and let me out!” he called.
The sudden outburst startled the boys, who looked at their father with big eyes and dropped jaws. They held on to arms of their mother and Sarah gave them a quick hug. “It’s alright,” she whispered to them. “Why don’t you two sit down. It won’t be long before they let us out. I promise.” The boys nodded and took a place to sit. As soon as they let go of her arms, Sarah walked up to her husband.
Benjamin hit the doors again with his fist. “Let me out,” he repeated with a begging sound in his voice.
“Ben,” Sarah said with a gentle tone in her voice and she placed her hand on his arm. “Please. Calm down. It will be alright.” She gently pulled on his arm to make him turn around. When her eyes met his, she could see the panic. She put her hand on the side of his face. “Try to be strong for the children. Being stuck in the elevator is frightening enough. To see their father losing it won’t help them.”
Benjamin grabbed the arms of his wife. “Please get me out of here,” he begged her. “I can’t take this. I can’t. You know that.”
“I know,” Sarah whispered with a compassionate look in her eyes. “I know, sweetheart. Trust me, it will be alright.” She could hear his fast breathing and she could see in his eyes how he struggled to keep his panic down. “Please stay calm, okay?”
Benjamin’s mouth opened and closed a few times, without any words coming out. Eventually he nodded a few times with quick movements of his head and he looked at the corner where the two boys were sitting, holding on to each other. He rubbed his face and tried his best to calm himself, telling himself this was only temporarily and soon the doors would open again to let him out, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of feeling trapped. He wanted to leave the elevator, more than anything else. It felt like they were here for hours already, even if he knew that wasn’t the case. He tried to take deep breaths in an attempt conquer the fear, but one look at the closed doors made him clench his fists. “I can’t…” he whispered. “I…” Without finishing the sentence he moved to the wall and stood against it with his back. He rubbed his hands, his arms, his face. He shook his head behind his hands and looked up at the ceiling, trying to stay calm. Shutting his eyes, he slowly sank to the floor and pulled up his legs. He wrapped his arms around his legs and put his head against his knees. He couldn’t deal with it and he hoped not seeing how small the elevator really was would help him wait it out.
It wasn’t long before he felt two pair of small hands on his arms. Slowly he looked up and he saw his sons.
“Daddy, are you all right?” Leonard asked.
“Are you scared?” Theodore asked in turn.
Benjamin didn’t answer the first question, but he nodded to Theodore.
“Why?” Leonard asked.
“I’m… claustrophobic,” Benjamin admitted.
“What is that, caustophrobric?” Theodore asked.
“That is a fear of being trapped,” Benjamin whispered. “If I’m stuck somewhere, I get really afraid.”
“So you are afraid because we can’t get out of the elevator?” Leonard asked.
Benjamin nodded and buried his face back in his arms, being reminded he was stuck here didn’t help him at all. He knew he should stay strong for his boys, but he couldn’t. He was at the verge of a panic attack, one he could barely control. He trembled as his fingers dug into his arms, desperately trying to stay calm.
“It’s okay, daddy,” Leonard said. “Grown-ups can be afraid too you know. You came to sit with us with that storm. We can sit with you now.”
Slowly Benjamin looked up and he looked at his boys, he saw Theodore nod to show he agreed with his brother. Without a word he wrapped his arms around the boys and hugged them. He felt their arms around his waist. “Thank you,” he whispered to them.
Sarah watched it with tears in her eyes.
The family waited together until the elevator suddenly moved again. As soon as he felt that, Benjamin got back on his feet. The moving could only mean they would be out soon. Only seconds later it reached the fourth floor and the doors slid open. Benjamin rushed outside and went straight for the windows. His eyes moved over the glass and the wall, but he couldn’t see a handle anywhere. “I need fresh air,” he muttered. “I’m going outside.” With that he turned around and went straight for the stairs.
“Wait for us!” Theodore said as he ran after his father, closely followed by his brother.
Sarah smiled as she saw that and turned to the man that had joined them. “Hello Rob,” she greeted him. “We’ll come back when Ben had his fresh air.”
“Yeah, sure,” Rob said. “Tell him I’ll have some camomile tea ready for him when he comes back.” He glanced at the elevator. “I think he can use that.”
Sarah nodded to that and waved briefly before she too went to the stairs to go after her family.
As soon as Benjamin left the building he took in a deep breath of fresh air. He needed this, a moment to catch his breath without any walls around him. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, just breathing and looking at the city in front of him, when he felt two small hands taking his own. He smiled as he looked down at his sons.
“Are you feeling better again, daddy?” Leonard ask.
“I am.”
“Are we going home now?” Theodore asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“No, no, of course not. I promised both Rob and you two we would visit him. And we will, I just needed a breath of fresh air. But I’m fine now. I am.” He said that mostly to reassure the boys and partly to convince himself. Truthfully, the experience was still in his mind and body. Even thinking about going back into the building gave him a feeling of uneasiness. But he wouldn’t let that stop him from going back inside. He turned around and noticed Sarah waiting for them at the door. He smiled at her as she smiled at him. “Let’s go to see Rob for real this time,” he said.
“And we’re taking the stairs this time, right dad?” Theodore asked with a childlike enthusiasm, one that only grew when he saw the affirmative nod. “I bet I’ll get to the fourth floor first!”
“No you won’t!” Leonard shouted as he let go of his father to get a head start.
“Oh yes I will!” Theodore promised as he too let go of his father to run to the stairs.
Before they could even enter the building they were stopped by their mother. “No running up the stairs,” she told them. “You’ll be exhausted before we’re half-way, which will make it more likely for you to trip and fall.”
Benjamin chuckled as he too walked to the building. With those two it was easier to let the awful experience drift to the back of his mind and knowing he wouldn’t have to take the elevator for a second time that day made it easier to go back inside too. While he knew his boys liked going with the elevator, any child enjoys pushing buttons after all, they didn’t seem to mind taking the stairs at all. And that was something he was grateful for, he needed the support of his family more then anything and his boys were surprisingly supportive of this new-learned fear of their father. A fear his wife knew about ever since they started dating and one she had always taken seriously. It was one of the many reasons he loved her so much.
In the end they had a great time with Rob, who showed the twins what work he did while Benjamin drank the tea his friend has made for him. He knew he would be taking the stairs for a while, but he wouldn’t allow his claustrophobia to get the better of him. In time he would work towards feeling comfortable with using elevators again. Taking those was something he had conquered once in the past and he was confident he could do so again. He wasn’t sure how long it would take this time, but he promised himself he would get to that point again.
*** © Mariska Bekker ***