Shadow of darkness

ลำดับตอนที่ #2 : Chapter 2 : Feeling Lonely..

 

Chapter 2 
Feeling Lonely

 

In her room, Lisa put her suitcase carefully down on the bed. She shivered. The room was cold and damp. In spite of the satin-striped wallpaper and gilded mirror, the place had a sad air of neglect and decry. There were cobwebs in the corner of the ceiling and a dark stain of mould underneath the window.

 

Outside, the wind whistled though the tree, moaning like an animal in pain. Lisa turned the radiator up as high as it would go. She went to the window to draw the curtains. Below her was a desert of white snow. Everything was covered. Huge flakes snaked downwards through the rays of the lamp.

 

Her car, parked by front door, was already a shapeless hump if white. The footprints she had made, by hurrying through the blizzard towards the entrance, had completely disappeared. It was almost as if she had never arrived.

 

She had been surprised to here the hotel had another guest. Anyone with any sense would be at home by the fire in weather like this. Lisa shivered again the bitterness of the night. She turned on the television. Perhaps the sound of another human voice would make her feel better.

 

As Lisa began to unpack her suitcase, the hotel telephone suddenly shrilled. The sound made her jump. There was something about this place that was making her very nervous.

 

It was silly, any refuge on such a wintry night should have made her feel safe and secure. Instead, she felt jittery but she did not know why. Surely nothing could harm her in this place so many miles from anywhere? After all, no one even knew she was here. There was more to be scared of in a city full of people than in a lonely hotel in the middle of nowhere.

 

"Dinner will be served at eight thirty, madam," said the voice at the end of the telephone when she picked it up.

 

"Thanks," said Lisa. "That will be fine." At least a good meal will warm me up, she said to herself, with a sigh. And a bath and a change of clothes will freshen me up.

 

Lisa laid some of her things out on the dressing table. Her hairbrush, cosmetic bag, soap powder. She took off the clothes she had travelled in. They felt creased and dirty. She went to the bathroom, filled the basin with hot water and put them in the soak. Then she took a quick bath, put on clean jeans and blouse and brushed her hair in the mirror.

 

Lisa stared at herself. Clean and fresh, she felt ready to face anything. It was as if she had washed away the cares of the day. She sat on the bed to watch the television news for a few minutes, before going down to dinner