I am staying in a horse and carriage themed hotel. It's a grand, historical property and the horse and carriage thing is something they stuck with that helped them stand out in modern times. They are very well known for their exquisite carriages and well bred horses, and people from around the country bring their own horses as well to ride on the property. I am there with my husband and we walk past a desk where people sign up for the carriage rides. The lady behind the counter asks if we are interested in taking a ride. She says that it costs $2400 for two people. I gasp in shock at the extreme price tag and before I can even respond, my husband chimes in "$2600 for four people and you've got a deal!" She immediately agrees. I am shocked at this exchange, and even more shocked when I realize it's $26,000 instead of $2600. I feel like I've been duped, and I can't understand why we're doing this or how we're going to pay for it.
After signing up for our carriage ride, we are walking the grounds checking out all the areas of the sprawling resort. We walk up a wide, tall ramp and see people sitting on their horses at a bar. We realize that it's unsafe because of Covid and we leave the bar as quickly as possible. Suddenly, someone shouts "FIRE" and we realize that the hotel is ablaze. We are in the main building and it is full of people. I am concerned about not getting burnt, but also trying to social distance from the other fleeing patrons. We are moving along together towards the exit and we walk across the balcony of a giant theater. This room has already been scorched and we are all marveling at how different and surreal it looks with so many of the ornate carvings, curtains, and upholstery now singed on the edges. It's then that I realize that we are not really fleeing, we are looking at all the damage like tourists.
As people exit the hotel, they have their arms full of hotel items. I realize that everyone has grabbed the historical items to save them from the fire. Everyone brings their items to a big street that has been cleared off for people fleeing the fire. People set their items in their area and seem to guard them. I realize that people are intending to keep their items. In their opinion, keeping the items is the payment for saving them from the fire. I guess that sounds reasonable, as long as the historical items are preserved, their ownership isn't super important.
Things get weird. A man on the street is complaining about being hot. I take a big squirt bottle and spray up into the air and let the water fall on him. He actually doesn't like that. He makes a comment about squirt bottles not being historically appropriate for my outfit. I look down at myself and see that I'm dressed in a Robinhood-esque outfit. I have on green tights with very short, very puffy shorts, a medieval looking jacket, and pointy toed shoes made of leather with short hairs attached. I'm trying to think of a dirty joke I could make about squirting, but I can't think of one. I see that I have a female acquaintance with me who is dressed in a feminine medieval costume. I elbow her and say to the man, "I'll let you know about the historical appropriateness of squirting later!" He doesn't hear me, but she does. She's so shocked that she's not even sure she heard what she thought she heard. I say, "Don't worry, he didn't hear me, and I didn't mean it."
I am walking down this crowded street which has now become a market. I'm disappointed that most of the sellers have new stuff instead of antiques. I'm with an acquaintance, LP, who also likes antiques. He is looking for antique sewing patterns and I am just browsing. We walk past a bouncy castle full of kids. It looks like a Covid incubator and I say, "I wouldn't go in there for all the antiques in the state!" He looks at me skeptically and I say, "Okay, maybe I would, but still, yuck!"
I am walking down the street alone now and I come across the group of alternative school boys I taught last year who terrorized me so. I try to pass them and get away, but they immediately start verbally harassing me. I am suddenly in a car and one of the boys, CW, gets in the car with me and won't get out. He is actually in the driver's seat. I am screaming at him to get out of the car, but he stays in. He is kind of in control of the car, but not exactly driving. He seems to be just sitting still in it. I am screaming at people we slowly drive past to help me, but nobody listens. I'm wearing a mask and I wonder if they can't see the terror on my face. Finally, as CW pulls us into a parking garage, the parking attendant realizes I'm being kidnapped and helps me. He and his coworker pull CW out of the car and take him off to jail. I tell them that he is a former student. They say, "Well, don't say he's a student or we can't arrest him." They are security for a college campus and they aren't allowed to arrest students.
An unrelated ending - I am at my grandmother's house standing in the living room. I see her walker standing there by itself and I wonder where she is. She opens the door and walks in carrying a dozen doughnuts. She can barely walk and I grab the box right before she's about to drop it. I hadn't even realized she was gone. I know someone in the family has driven her, and I can't understand why someone allowed her to put herself at risk. I am in the kitchen feeling really stressed about my grandmother's safety when my granddad appears in the doorway. He isn't alive and I know this is a ghostly apparition. He doesn't say anything but just smiles at me to let me know he's around and cares about my feelings. He disappears as my cousin EvS walks in the room. I want to tell her about the apparition, but I don't think she'll believe me. I decide to take a shower, but I'm afraid to do it because I don't want a ghost to appear while I'm trying to shower or appear any other time when I'm alone or in the dark and startle me.
Comments