The elevator started to descend, but suddenly, it stopped abruptly, which made me freeze in place. My heart began to race, and a wave of heat washed over me. I looked around, and the small space seemed to shrink more and more. The walls, which had once seemed so harmless, now seemed to press against my chest, as if they wanted to swallow me.
There I was, in the same place as so many nightmares. I could still hear the echo of my panting breath, and memories began to flood my mind like a whirlwind. Childhood… the dark… the feeling of being alone, locked in a room, not knowing what was happening, with no one to help me. I remembered being a fragile, lost child, without a voice, without anyone to protect me.
The sound of my heart pounding in my chest was deafening. I was in that elevator, but in my mind, I was back in that dark room, locked up, unable to get out. The walls were closing in, and the air seemed to grow thicker. I tried to breathe, but all I felt was the panic growing inside me.
“Hey… are you okay?” The male voice came as an intervention in the midst of the chaos, and I could barely register what was happening. The man was beside me, trying to help, but my vision was blurry, the air too thick for me to focus. He didn't understand what was happening to me, and I couldn't understand it either. Panic was taking over every cell in my body.
“I… I don’t know…” my voice trembled, and I could barely form words. “I can’t breathe… everything is closing in…”
He seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and moved a little closer, trying to calm me. “Breathe slowly. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get out of this, okay?”
I tried to follow his guidance, but the feeling of being swallowed by that small, inescapable space was consuming me. My body was tense, and I just wanted to get out of there. I wanted to run, to hide, but I didn't know where to go. It was as if pain and fear were everywhere, surrounding me, taking up my space.
“Look,” he said, his voice softer, as if trying to find a connection with me. “Let’s try to distract ourselves a bit. It might be easier if you think about something else.”
I looked at him, not knowing what to say. The panic still consumed me, but he continued.
“What do you like to do?” he asked, trying to pull me into a calmer space, as if it were possible to find some kind of normality in that stuck elevator.
“I… I like to read,” I replied almost without thinking, my voice still faltering. “But I can’t think of anything right now…”
He smiled faintly, as if he had found something to keep the conversation flowing. “I like to read too. What’s your favorite type of book?”
I forced a smile, trying to hold on to the moment. “I like mystery stories. Something that makes me think. But… I can’t think about anything right now.”
“Mystery, huh? Maybe that’s good for us. What do you think about pondering a mystery? Something we could solve right now. Like, for example… what happened to the elevator?” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
I laughed nervously, not believing I was managing to laugh amidst the panic, but he made me feel a little lighter. The conversation didn’t erase the fear, but for a moment, it pulled me out of that tight space that seemed to be suffocating me.
“Are you always like this?” I asked, trying to distract myself. “Serious and, at the same time, so easygoing?”
He chuckled lightly. “I guess I try, at least. Life is complicated, isn’t it? Sometimes, we need to try not to take everything so seriously. Do you think we’ll be stuck here long?”
“I hope not…” I said, looking at the elevator doors, as if wishing they would open right then. The panic was still there, but at least I wasn’t alone.
He looked at me more attentively. “Don’t worry. I’m good at handling these situations. I’ve been stuck in an elevator before, only I was alone. I knew I’d get out soon, but… I was in there for a while.”
I looked at him, trying to process his words. “And how did you deal with it?”
He shrugged, as if it were no big deal. “I was more patient. Took deep breaths. And I did what I could to stay calm. Believe me, it’s better to go through this without freaking out.”
I took a deep breath, trying to follow his example, trying to stay steady. The memories of my childhood were starting to lose their hold, but the fear was still there, whispering in the back of my mind.
“How do you manage to be so calm?” I asked, curious, trying to understand his tranquility amidst all the tension.
He looked at me, thinking before he answered. “I’m not calm all the time, you know? But when something like this happens, there’s not much you can do. The best thing is to accept the situation and wait for the right moment. Sometimes, the only thing we can control is how we react.”
His words helped me focus a little more, and I tried to follow his advice. I was silent for a while, feeling the calm he was trying to impart to me. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but when the elevator finally moved again, I felt immense relief.
He smiled, seeing my expression change. “You’re doing well, Eleonor. Very well.”
I looked at him, surprised. “How do you know my name?”
He smiled a little more, a bit sheepishly. “Oh, I saw you at the reception once. And, well, you have a way of… always being so focused. It’s easy to remember.”
I smiled back, feeling a lightness in the air. “Thank you. I… I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”
He nodded, as if it were natural. “You’re welcome. I’m happy I could help.”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Dante,” he smiled.
The elevator started to move again. The doors opened, and I stepped out, my heart still racing.
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