Hostel Witness
At the pansyon, it was a menàge á huit every night - A one-minute story
The youth hostel near the waterfront was just a large sunny room with eight narrow beds, a sink, and one decent shower. It was a disorderly menàge á huit every night, strangers all sleeping together, listening to each others’ night noises.
He dreamed of breakfasts of sesame bread, cheese and olives and bitter coffee, thick and dark. He dreamed of crooked stairways and dim, winding alleys. He dreamed of brief, but intense, sexual encounters.
He was twenty-one years old, on the loose with only a backpack, and he was ready for just about anything.
Sounds about right for 21 if you’re in for an adventure. As long as you don’t marry at that age have a baby and instead of a backpack have a diaper bag.
And brief sexual encounters in that eight-bed room can be really interesting. Talk about night noises!