Nishu has been incredibly busy with office work for the past few days. On top of that, the director has decided that Nishu will represent the company at this year’s international conference in Germany. So, Nishu is also running around to get a visa and passport. All in all, it seems like they don’t even have time to breathe.
This will be their fourth trip to Germany. As always, the same hotel in Frankfurt, Hotel Adler, has been booked for them. And this time, her colleague Kanta is going with her. This makes her a little less anxious.
Nishu lives with her elderly mother in their Uttara home. She works as the Deputy General Manager at Hohenstein Textile Testing Institution. In the office, her position is second only to the MD. So, in the MD’s absence, she has to bear the brunt of the office work. Sometimes, she has to stay up late at night after office hours to prepare reports. She single-handedly manages all the big conferences in their office. Seeing her sense of responsibility and dedication to work, the MD feels very reassured. So, sometimes, instead of going to international conferences himself, he sends Nishu to represent him. And since Nishu has no family troubles, she does this work happily. So far, she has traveled to many countries, including England, America, and Canada. Hong Kong and Thailand are now like shopping malls for her. But when she remembers the first experience of her German trip, she still gets scared. The celluloid film of memory floats in front of her: after a 17-hour journey from Bangladesh, Nishu reached Frankfurt airport at around 8 pm. After completing the airport formalities, she came to the lounge and saw an elderly gentleman standing with a placard with her name written on it. As Nishu approached, he informed her that he had been sent from the office to take her to the hotel.
As soon as she got into the car, Nishu was filled with an indescribable joy. Leaving the city behind, the car sped onto the highway. Overwhelmed by the well-maintained roads and the surrounding natural beauty of Germany, Nishu was captivated. Miles upon miles passed as they traversed the varied landscape of mountains and plains. Especially when passing through the mountain valleys with their vast fields of crops, well-ordered houses, and industrial complexes, the gentleman tried to describe the places. He was speaking a mix of German and English, which made it difficult for Nishu to keep up. She didn’t understand much German. She realized how much she would struggle because she didn’t know German. Most people here didn’t understand English either. As they continued to admire the scenery and lost themselves in thought, almost two hours passed before the car stopped at the Adler Hotel.
As soon as she got out of the car, the gentleman handed her a package. Nishu asked what was inside, and he replied that it was food. This was because no food was available at the hotel on Saturdays and Sundays. Luckily, Nishu had arrived on a Sunday night. Carrying the box, she tried to open the door according to the hotel’s instructions. But the door code wasn’t working at all. As she looked towards the street, she saw the gentleman who had dropped her off getting out of his car. Nishu felt a little reassured. He also tried to open the door but failed. With no other option, she called the hotel reception. She spoke in German and learned how to open the door. With his help, Nishu was finally able to enter the room. After such a long journey, she was extremely tired. So, when she entered the room, she couldn’t even look at the adjacent rooms. Therefore, as soon as she reached the room, she put down her luggage bag and went straight to the washroom. After freshening up, she went straight to the bed. But within a few moments, she discovered that a window in the room was open, and a cold breeze was blowing in from outside. Despite trying hard, she couldn’t close it.
But since there was no phone in the room, he couldn’t even use the intercom. So, he was forced to come out of the room. But since there were no lights in any of the rooms in the entire hotel and he couldn’t find the reception, he felt very sad and returned to his room. He spent the night huddled under the blanket. In the morning, his sleep was disturbed by a call from a colleague. As soon as Nishu told his colleague about the ordeal of the night, he said, “You were alone in this hotel last night. There were no guests in any of the rooms. On Saturdays and Sundays, their reception, dining, everything is closed.” Hearing this, Nishu was so shocked. He somehow asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” His colleague very simply admitted, “If I had given you this information, you wouldn’t have come on this trip. Now, don’t feel bad and get ready, I’m coming to show you around the city.
Nishu says ok and hangs up the phone.
Scarborough, Canada
