Revolve Her

Before stepping into revolving doors that filtered the lobby
entrance of the office, Tyler looked up at the imposing steel tower and
on to the soup that was the sky. She then looked back over both
shoulders like a cat checking her tail. Muddy rain had splashed up the
back of her long Burberry coat, she would have to deal with that sooner
rather than later. Her forthcoming interview was in fifteen minutes and
she was nervous. Working late in her current job, combined with the
preparation for this morning had left her tired nervous and vulnerable.
Still if she managed to pull this off she'd be made, certainly until
the challenge runs out. In the car on the way she remembered her
brother's words from the previous evening.

"Life is like going to an interview. The night before and the next
morning you're sweating, you get a bad belly, you forget stuff and
you'll either be too late or too early. Why? Fear of the unknown. What
will it be like? Will the interviewer be a bastard and will they like
me? And then you get there and it's nothing like you imagined. Parking
was easy. The receptionist smiles nicely at you on the way in and makes
you coffee. The offices are plush and modern and occasionally a few
fanciable faces walk by and also smile. You never expected this, what
were you worried about? It's time for your appointment and a pleasant
girl in her twenties escorts you through the office as you hold your
head high and stride positively behind her. Get the picture? Things
never turn out the way you expect, because life is chaos, take each
thing on it's own merit. And then as you step into the office, you look
up and to your horror you discover that your interviewer is an
ex-boyfriend and you know you might as well get your coat."

Tyler pressed the elevator button and waited as a man in a dark
raincoat lined up next to her. As the doors opened, the man gestured
with an open palm for her to enter first which she did.
"Which floor please?" The voice-activated elevator asked them.
"Twentieth."
"Twenty First" the man responded and the lift moved off.
Tyler looked away from the glass view of the city the elevator afforded
them. She was uncomfortable with heights as she was with confined
spaces, so she looked at her feet and massaged the perspiration in her
palms with her fingers. She looked up at the digital display that
tracked their progress up the building. 10?11?12.
"Excuse me, do you have the time?" Tyler inquired.
Awkwardly manoeuvring a large portfolio under his arm the man pulled
back the sleeve of his coat to reveal a plain wristwatch.
"Almost eleven twenty."
Tyler nodded in appreciation, and looked puzzled at the same
time.
"Something the matter?"
"Don't you feel it, we've stopped."
"It's an elevator, they do stop now and again."
"Between floors?" Tyler pointed at the digital display. It was not
showing that they were on a floor and they had definitely
stopped.
"Let's give it a few minutes," The man gestured reassuringly, "These
modern elevators are probably programmed to do this for some reason we
don't know about."
Tyler was unconvinced and began to pace the three steps that the space
would allow her. Soon her breathing quickened and she seemed ignorant
of the man who stood calmly in the corner trying to give her as much
room as possible. Tyler repeatedly pushed the alarm button and yelled
for attention at the digital unit. Eventually, feeling helpless, she
dropped her shoulders and began to cry into the corner of the
elevator.
"Umm yes hello. Could you put me through to the Wagner Building in
Chicago? Thank you." A long pause as Tyler's crying seemed to peak. Yes
hello, I'm in one of your elevators between I think, the twelfth and
the thirteenth floor and it appears to be stalled. Can you help us, I'm
here with a lady who seems quite distressed? Thank you, can I give you
my number so that you can call if you need to speak to me? And what is
your direct number?
The man gave his number and took the other as Tyler sobbing seemed to
die down as she realised that help was on it's way.
"Hello," the man gently put his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Hello, would
you like me to call someone for you?"
Tyler turned round slowly looking at her feet and sniffed loudly. "Do
you mind if I call my brother?"
"Not at all." The man handed over the cell phone and Tyler left a
message for her brother asking him to call her prospective employers
with the news that she would be late. Hopefully he would pick the
message up soon. He got out of bed around this time.
"Thank you, you're very kind." Tyler half smiled a she returned the
phone and turned and glanced out at the city. This panicked her again
and she began to shake her head from side to side. She could feel
herself losing focus. Why was this happening to her?

When she came round Tyler found herself sat on the tiled floor on the
elevator. Her shoes had been removed and were beside her bag.
"I tried to make you comfortable, you blacked out." The man spoke in a
gentle quiet tone.
"How long?" Tyler murmured.
"Only for a few minutes, you didn't miss much."
Tyler made to get up and the man reacted quickly.
"You stay down there, it's cooler and you're very tired, Ok. I'm going
to make a phone call and find out what's happening. What I want you to
do is clear your mind and concentrate on your breathing."
After a few minutes Tyler heard the man say, "I see. Looks like we'll
have to wait then."
"Apparently this may take a while, so here's?"
"What do you mean a while?" Tyler interrupted, "How long is a while
exactly?" and she made to get up again.
"Sssh, sssh, sssh?" The man motioned for her to stay down and she
complied, "What's your name?"
"Tyler, and yours?"
"David. Now Tyler In a minute I'm going to tell you what I want you to
do, so that you will feel better and before you know it this whole
thing will be over. Like I said before, stay where you are on the
floor, concentrate on your breathing, close your eyes, relax and don't
say a word."
Tyler reluctantly complied. A minute passed.
"Just nod if you are relaxed."
Tyler nodded gently.
"Ok. Imagine you are in the countryside. It's a warm day, not too warm
though and there is an occasional breeze on your cheek. Imagine you are
leaning against a giant oak tree at the top of a hill. You can feel the
knots and its rough bark on your back you can feel the small acorns in
your fingers as you run them through the grass. Nod if you can imagine
that Tyler."
She could. She was seventeen again in her yellow cotton dress; a copy
of Wuthering Heights lay beside her shoes. A soft smile spread across
her face.
"From here you can see for miles, it's the clearest, most perfect day
of them all. You can hear the birds singing and the sometimes there is
the call of the cricket. You see a butterfly in the distance, the
elegant wind brings it closer and closer until it's right before your
eyes and you hold out your hand. It's a large Red Admiral and you can
see colours in its wings you'll never forget, deep reds and russets,
colours of the countryside. Delicately just for a second, it settles
itself on your open hand and rocks in the breeze. Its feet faintly
tickle and as you laugh it flies up again and away from you. The
butterfly beckons and you hurriedly pick up your book and shoes and
begin the crazy butterfly chase down the grassy hill towards the bottom
of the field. Your long hair bleeds out behind you and you bound on
carelessly down the slope. Before you know it you are at the gate and
the butterfly has disappeared down the lane. Over the turnstile by the
gate and you are out onto the lane, a lane banked with primroses and
wild garlic. Perfumes you can't buy. The trickle of the stream that
runs beside the lane alerts you to its coolness and you wet your face
with your hands and taste it on your lips."
The man paused only to catch his breath but Tyler with her eyes still
shut gestured with her hand that he should go on.
"The lane is shadowed by the trees that line it and sunlight breaks
through gaps in the canopy as you walk towards the brighter light at
the end. The village stretches out before you. It could be the
best-kept village in England. This feels like home. Thatched cottages
and sweet roses and honeysuckle. Bumble bees swerve and dive headlong
into flower heads like they were sponges. The sounds of applause ripple
some distance away and you can see from the middle of the village that
you can look down across the local school that is hosting a small fete.
You see a bicycle leaning up against the picket fence of a nearby
cottage. Nobody will mind if you borrow it. The kindness of this place
tells you that, so you hop on and freewheel down through the village,
past the small church and the row of small shops waving at villagers
and dodging cats and dogs along the way. Back out into the country now
and as you pass under the pylons on the road into the village you hear
that they buzz warmly. The sun is now hot on your face, but the road is
flat and the ride is comfortable and easy on the sticky tarmac.
Downhill once more, a big one this time and you don't care that you may
have to push all the way back up it. Crouching down over the
handlebars, you make like a hawk with your elbows, so to improve your
speed and position against the oncoming wind. An unexpected dip at the
bottom of the descent makes your stomach feel hollow as you ride on
through it and up and over the next shallow hill."
Tyler had felt herself hanging on to the bicycle for dear life, she
hadn't been on one for years and she felt her nails digging into her
palms with excitement.
"You are at the very edge of the city, the suburbs and the smell of cut
grass and the sun reflecting off the polished cars gets in your eyes.
Children play football in the leafy streets and you slalom round them
effortlessly. The frame of the city is alive this afternoon as you
continue to whizz through its backstreets and parks and onto the bustle
of the city centre itself. Street performers tumble and roll for small
crowds as toddlers sit astride their father's shoulders and clap
energetically. A flower stall on a street corner returns the familiar
smell of the countryside to your nostrils and you look back over your
shoulder longingly towards it. You turn to face the way you are
travelling to find that the road has come to end and you dismount
leaving the bicycle against a newspaper stand. Looking up at the
beautiful silver tower before, there is not a cloud in the sky above it
and as you make to enter, your Red Admiral is once again there before
you. Holding out your hand it settles once final time in your palm
tickling your skin which makes you smile to yourself before it
magically soars up and up taunting the building. Through the revolving
doors and into the marble lobby, you wait for the elevator. As the
elevator rises you watch from the glass cage at the city below. It
shines and teems with life like a pond in summer and you feel happy to
be here. You arrive at your floor and the doors open."
Tyler awoke with a start, groggy but relaxed. She could hear
voices.
"Is she OK?"
"Are you OK lady?"
She looked around her. Where was the man? The elevator door was open
and there was a growing crowd of people at the doors. She looked up at
the digital display. Floor 20. Christ this was her floor, her
interviewer was probably looking at her right now.
"What's the time please? Can someone tell me the time?"
"It's 11:20 exactly."