A Knowing

(Creative writing with the sole purpose of making you wonder. The following story was first presented as a dream.)

            A man and a woman finish working in their cubicles past the end of the workday and start walking towards the elevator together. They know each other and have been talking about spending some time with each other after work. They work on the top floor for a prestigious banking firm. The man carries a briefcase and the woman has a purse.

            Both walk into the elevator, look at each other and smile as the door closes. They had made plans to meet at the park for a picnic.

            As they descend down in the metal machine, they hear a loud screech and the elevator bounces to a stop. The couple looks at each other with bewilderment in their eyes, not believing what just happened actually happened. They can see that they are at the bottom floor according to the elevator screen. They are where they need to be, they just need to get the doors to open. Unfortunately, both had been working late that day, so there was no one in the building, not even the night staff because it was a holiday weekend. 

            They shout for help, they press the emergency button, they try to pull the doors apart. Nothing is working. The man and woman exhaust themselves after a few hours of putting physical and emotional effort into the situation. The woman gives up and curls up in farthest left corner of the elevator. She has lost all hope and is accepting the fact that they may be stuck in the elevator for the weekend.

            The man turns around to see that she has given up and takes a moment to take in the situation as well. He begins to reach for his briefcase and open it. In it he has food, flowers, and one large picnic blanket. He begins setting up for a picnic inside the elevator. 

            The woman looks at the man in disbelief. She begins thinking to herself that he has gone mad. 

            The man sits down opposite to the woman after placing the last of the flowers in a small vase. He says, “I just want to make you happy.”

            Sudden realization sweeps over the woman. The sudden feeling of knowing brings her to an outburst of tears. She understands now. She is crying heavily with gratitude. The universe has brought her this situation for her to realize that she has found her soul-mate. She was unsure before and kept asking the universe for help. She is certain now; she knows he is the one and there is no question about it. As she realizes this, the elevator doors ding open. She cries harder.