The Apartment : A Short Story

By Simon, Claude

Book Id: WPLBN0003437314
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.4 MB
Reproduction Date: 13/03/2014

Title:	The Apartment : A Short Story
Author:	Simon, Claude
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Fiction, Drama and Literature, Science Fiction
Collections:	Authors Community, Short Stories
Historic Publication Date:	2014
Publisher:	FeedARead

Member Page:	Claude SIMON
Citation APA MLA Chicago Simon, B. C. (2014). The Apartment : A Short Story. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Have you ever been caught up in a warped space-time situation ? If you have, this will wake up forgotten memories. If you have not, you will be better armed to handle the experience. But if you try to deal with irrational situations using your rational thinking, you may go through a hard time.

Excerpt
When he reached the building, there was no one yet waiting. The afternoon sun was blazing the street, but fortunately the entrance was on the shady side. He heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the cool stone steps. He knew he was meeting someone here but the heat and his walk through the busy dusty streets had muddled up his mind and memory. He hoped that some rest in the shade would bring him back to his full senses. He was still daydreaming about his condition when he heard her voice close to him. - Hi, my name is Deborah Highbridge, glad you could make it. - Hi, no problem. Pleased to meet you, Miss Highbridge. - You can call me Deborah. - OK, then you can call me Anthony. He got up to shake her hand. He was startled but pleased to see a young energetic woman, when he had expected to meet some typically dull fat elderly real estate dealer. Yet he disliked the touch of her hand on his. It was cold and rough, such a contrast with her appearance, as if it belonged to another person. Especially in the midst of summer. She was elegant but not flashy, with hazelnut eyes and auburn hair. A very melodious and unusual combination, he thought. As he was pondering on his first conflicting impressions, an odd and troubling word came to his mind : “ reptilian ”. He thought it was ridiculous to judge someone from her appearance at first sight. She might well have some blood condition or skin problem, after all. Then a spark of memory made him remember speaking to a man on the phone, that man he expected to see. Did they deliberately send her instead of that man to meet him ? But to what purpose ? No doubt, it was more pleasant to be with her than with a grim old businessman. But what was she supposed to get out of him ? Should he be wary of her ? Could he trust his first intuitive reaction ? But why would they do this ? She dialled the digit code to open the front door and they entered. The action put an instant end to his drifting thoughts. The lobby was huge, like the entrance of a theatre, but empty. A long reception desk stood on the left and a wide staircase covered with a burgundy carpet runner on the right led to the upper floors. He was struck by the bright light flooding the lobby. He’d seen many such old lobbies before, and he remembered them as being always dull and dark. This one was bright and colourful. He looked up to see where the lights were, but there was none. The light came from what looked like a stained-glass dome, at least three hundred feet above ground. The colourful flow of light pouring into the lobby gave it a flamboyant and joyful atmosphere. It made him feel almost at home. He noticed there was no elevator. He thought this was unusual for a building that size. He had not counted the floors when he was outside, but it looked like five or six. There was no one at the reception desk, but Deborah seemed to know her way around. She went straight for the stairs and walked up. He followed her for three, or four or maybe five storeys. He was still under the admiration of the wonderful lobby. Every ten steps or so, a long single pane window was shining some cold white light through its frosted glass. There were no lights in the stairway, and none on the landings he briefly walked through. Perhaps there were lights behind the frosted glass in the stairway. This building was definitely quite original. Deborah had the key to the apartment. She opened the door and he followed her into the dark hallway. He had known a girl called Deborah, a long time ago. They were about the same age. He did not remember her full name, but she could have been the same Deborah. Or else why would she have invited him to call her by her first name ? How did she know ? Had she looked into his life before she offered to show him the apartment ? (…)