I arrived at my hostel in Rome after an interesting ordeal getting there but even though I was the first one in the room, I didn’t have the first choice for bunks. One bunk was reserved for a particular guest. (PS: I didnāt mind this)
She arrived moments later, slender and tall with long grey hair and a duffel bag. She appeared to be in her late thirties. I said hello, she smiled back and then we began to chat a little. She asked where I was from and what I was doing in Rome. I replied and then asked her the same.
āIām from Romeā she said, and as if she had read my mind, she added ‘I don’t have a house here. I just move from hostel to hostel. This one is my favorite’
Hmm, interestingā¦
She began to unpack the contents of her bag unto the bed and I couldnāt help but notice the numerous rolls of thin wires. It seemed they were the only things inside the bag. I wasnāt bothered by this, in fact I didnāt think anything of it.
I didnāt think anything of it until she said ‘I don’t want you to be scared because of the wires’
āWhy would I be scared?ā I think to myself? Just as soon as I thought that, I began to see why I should indeed be scared!
What if the wires were meant for strangling people? What if she had some kind of arrangement with this hostel for an endless supply of tourist, you know, like Sweeney Todd and the Baker? Maybe thatās why this was her favorite hostelā¦
I did my best to hide my apprehension. āWhat are they for?ā I asked
āI use them to make jewelriesā
Was she a Jeweler like Sweeney Todd was a barber?
I might have changed hostels if I hadn’t been stranded, of course, now I realize that I could have. Anyway, I decided the next best thing to do was to keep awake all night in order to save guard my life. That plan turned out to be fruitless as I slept soundly until the next morning.
I awoke at 6 am to find her bed empty. She was gone and her wires too.