L’Éternité Hôtel

   This is a short story I wrote for a quarterly 24 hour writing contest. I have not gotten the results yet. The contests are held here: http://www.writersweekly.com/misc/contest.php

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   Enide had never considered herself a very important piece of L'Éternité Hôtel; quite the opposite. Her daily routine was not very out of the ordinary; waking at a quarter to six, dressing in her usual black frock and cap, starting the fires in a few of the grand guest rooms, then returning to the lowest level of the hotel, often referred to as ‘L'Obscurité’, The Darkness, by the hotel staff, until she would be summoned to perform her evening tasks. Enide was not required to remain in ‘L'Obscurité’; some afternoons when she was feeling more sociable she would venture up into the lounge and plunk out a few tunes on the grand piano in the corner. Everyone was always quite impressed with her songs, and applauded graciously after each one came to an end. Enide was not terribly modest, and would swell with pride every time people would stand by the bench watching the ivory keys move with grace and passion. The visitors were always the most awed when Enide would perform a requested song, especially if it was very old tune.

 Enide had a great love for L'Éternité Hôtel. Erected in the early 1900’s and said to be haunted, its grand construction delighted each of its visitors thoroughly. Guests were treated with utmost care by the large team of employees, all striving to provide a quality experience for the company they received daily. Though the visitors never really saw the people working behind the scenes, they raved about the excellent service that was provided.

   Every so often an employee on the lower level would hear a soft thump, and a pot of fresh, white flowers would be discovered on the stoop of the hotel’s backdoor, with a room number printed on the small card attached to the stem. The staff member who found the pot was in charge of delivering it to the specified room along with the evening tray. Guests were delighted to find that a small pot of flowers had appeared on their nightstand with a tall glass of water and a small sleeping tablet, and were put at ease, knowing the hotel was thinking of them individually, which it certainly was. They would relax for a time, perhaps reading a poem from a deteriorating book on the large shelves lining the walls of each of the three-hundred ancient rooms, or seating themselves on the velvet cushions of the inviting chairs positioned around the fireplace. When their eyelids began to droop, they would wander over to the bedside, gently wash down the provided sleeping tablet with a gulp of cool water, and drift off into the deepest sleep they had ever experienced.

   Enide had discovered several pots of flowers over the many years she had served L'Éternité Hôtel. Each discovery caused her soul to leap with excitement. She enjoyed delivering the flowers very much and she looked forward to conversing with the hotel guests, for when they woke in the morning the first thing they would see was Enide smiling, welcoming them to a brand new start.

   L'Éternité Hôtel was very particular in the selection of its employees. There was but one requirement for employment, so while working there might seem like a privilege to some, most people who knew may not have the same view. The addition of a worker to the staff at L'Éternité Hôtel was very rare, for this reason the arrival of a new pot of white flowers was a cause for great excitement among the staff who had each received one prior to their employment.

   The downfall to employment at L'Éternité Hôtel was that once employed, they would never again step foot outside of the hotel. Enide often found herself longing to feel the warm sunlight against her skin, to take deep breaths of the crisp air and watch the world move around her. Now, she was only able to watch the world change by the visitors who stayed the night at her hotel. Enide was fascinated by the ever-changing fashions, and she kept a close eye on items that came back frequently, and was thrilled by the styles that never faded.

   Enide knew every corner of L'Éternité Hôtel. She had stepped on every floorboard, extinguished every light, and opened every window in the place. But there was one room that Enide was not allowed in, the Living Room. This room was completely off-limits to Enide and the rest of the employees of the hotel. Quite often a staff member would linger outside the door to the room and imagine the mysterious wonders that must lie beyond the solid wooden door. They longed always to enter the Living Room, but could not, for the employees of L'Éternité Hôtel were far from living.