58 - Room 101C

By Justin Irabor

06 August 2016

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Everything was going on so well for me that I could hardly believe it. I had to pinch myself intermittently to snap out of whatever this delusion I was basically not even experiencing. It was just a week ago that I was made vice president of Bonjour foods and cosmetics and today my secretary just delivered a parcel that conveyed a letter from the board to me ,I was quite unsure what the content was at this time,what if it was a termination letter? With this thought racing through my mind,my heart began to throb,with sweaty palms I hurriedly tore the parcel open to reveal the letter and raced my eyes through the content, it wasn’t a termination letter but a letter containing details about my first project as vice-president which was a week trip more like a vacation to lagos to meet a few foreign investors & close the deal for our proposed new branch in lagos.I was in this euphoria when i abruptly dived into thoughts on how i stumbled on this job and just gave it a shot some three years ago,well i couldn't explain this feeling,i was apparently too lost in the fumes.

After all my thinking i decided to grab a bottle of drink with my friends so i stepped out.It was a normal regular frisky night as usual,as we had our drinks i blurted out how i got surprised by my company that day & how I'd be leaving on a business trip too,i already was booked in a hotel & an expense-paid flight to Lagos,they all cheered to this until Tunde;a pal on dreadlocks truncated it all by giving me a stern warning of how careful i must be as he's been on some stories which didn't appear so false about a mysterious hotel room 101C that shows up in several hotels in Nigeria,people believe it's just a myth though he added.At this point there was a brief silence which was broken by our uncontrollable laughter 'haba!' Tunde mr unreliable aproko!' Nathan;another pal scoffingly cried out,the laughter aggravated,lasted some minutes then faded away as we nattered & drank into the night.

My journey from Warri to Lagos was a very easy & swift one,in less than 2 hours i already checked in the hotel i was booked,the place was ravishing,if i was on blindfolds all the way down here I'd definitely had thought i was in the castle of the queen.I had a brief talk with the receptionist and before long i was ushered to my room,i was so lost in the fumes that i cared less about whatever was going on until my gaze was casted unconsciously on the room number which was that exact same 101C tagged myth we jokingly laughed about some nights ago,at this point i didn't know whether i should freak out and refuse the room or man up & see it all as a coincidence,i was simply Petrified and was all sweaty in an air-conditioned hallway.The room attendant had to nudge me to snap out of the state which i did,i just shoved the haunting thought outta my mind & cleared my head.

Words could not describe the warmth and beauty that welcomed me as i opened the door,the room was brightly lit by a scottish-designed chandelier,and the walls was decorated with pretty paintings & arts that seemed like antiques,the window panes were covered with indian-blue drapes,Sure this ain't no ordinary room,it's presedential i said & chuckled.I packed up my stuffs,had a shower but then something wasn't feeling right,i felt like i was being watched but decided not to fuss much about it.i slipped my phone outta my pocket to have a selfie as i couldn't just keep the memories of this ravishing place all to myself,i had a few shots and checked them out,while glaring at one of them i observed a humanly figure like a silhouette in the background of the pic,in fright i turned but saw nothing behind me.I took a towel,wiped my face & concluded my mind was just pulling a fast one on me.
I felt giddy and didn't hesitate to pounce on the all-soft bed,i was to begin the first meeting the next day so i really gave in to sleep & i'm a heck of a good sleeper.Noon turned night & at about 12am,i was roused by a disturbing sound of shredding papers & the queer feeling of being watched escalated,i could already feel my head getting heavy.I was not the kind of guy that got spooked that easily but i just couldn't handle the fright issues i was having right now,i mustered up courage & called out 'Anyone there??' it wasn't like i was expecting an answer though.I was just frozen on the bed till 3am when the shredding paper noise finally came to a halt,by this time i was already yawning as much as i was breathing but i didn't care,i couldn't just run outta the room people would think i've lost my mind and suggest i urgently needed an asylum not a hotel,so i just quietly mumbled some words of prayer within me.
I lounged near my bedlamp when suddenly a hideous creature with sunken hypnotic eyes uncoiled from the shadows but i was unable to flee,my heart was racing but my legs refused to,i was so numb! but i scrambled & squirmed on the bed like a woman in labour until i finally slumped onto the bed.
Even in my unconsciousness,i felt steamy hot tears trickling down my eyes.I was again roused by the blaring sound of my alarm clock,it was finally dawn! I helped myself out of the bed but my eyes felt so heavy so i immediately went for the mirror & found on my face giant bags the size of my fist under my eyes.
Days effused and i couldn't endure the daily and nightly terror no more,so i hurriedly did everything i came a long way to do and bade that room goodbye,it wasn't such a myth i saw terror and horror right in my face & i slumped twice.what if you walked in that exact same room today,can you endure just a night?

  • Written by Onyeka Marvel

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