Writing prompt 9

 

This was a little ground hog day -ish.


[WP] No matter where you fall asleep when you wake up you are home in bed. by fisch09 in WritingPrompts

1 point 6 days ago 

I sat up and looked around at the familiar surroundings. My shoulders slumped. “This is getting ridiculous.” I swung my legs out of bed and slid on my old slippers. The new ones were with the rest of my luggage half way around the world. My second best dressing gown felt a little loose since last I wore it so I tugged the belt tighter. In the kitchen I look for milk and bread but I am not supposed to be here for another week so I don’t even know why I look. I make do with the non-perishables in the pantry. A bowl of porridge with some coconut blossom sugar and a dab of butter, not exactly the haute cuisine I had been enjoying only yesterday. Four hours later I am on another plane to Europe with a cheap replacement phone and my second best suit with temporary cards, a priority replacement passport and a huge hole in my savings. I actively avoid falling asleep on the long flight. I watch back to back movies and hum to myself, snack on foods and drink copious amounts of water from little plastic cups. We land at last and I take the taxi to my hotel. The concierge greets me and a porter assists me with my smaller suitcase. In my room I change to my best suit and head out to the conference with a stomach full of caffeine and stimulants. I have all of my important documents in my pockets this time, along with both phones switched to silent and both wallets. I push exquisite food around my plate, take a few sips of a delightful foreign wine and force my eyelids to stay open. My table companions gaze with rapt attention toward the speaker but my mind begins to wander and I feel my head tilting toward my plate. I open my eyes and groan. The wrinkles in my best suit will cost me at the dry cleaners. I pat down the pockets and pull out all my papers. I call the hotel and have them send my belongings home with the earliest international courier. I call work and tell them I am home early, they sound as puzzled as I feel. I wander around the house in my second best dressing gown and call all the services to let them know I am back. I hook up the old PC to go online and it is as ancient and slow as I remember, I order groceries and hope my laptop survives the return trip. I rummage in the cupboards for a can of soup and bemoan the fate of the delicacies I left on my plate. I was really looking forward to the food over there. I was looking forward to exploring the world. Someday I may figure this out but for now I know I can never go anywhere overnight. Just like my parents always insisted. My horizons shrink.