How to write a ghost story (7)
Why did I change the setting in my last part and talk about another place so far away? Why did I describe the little hut surrounded by snow?
Now I come back to Norwich.
After showing me the rooms, the young woman introduced other parts of the hotel to me, like introducing some important movie stars. The dining room was like an aristocrat-turned-actress. There was something very theatrical in the chandelier. I felt I was in a ship, a vintage ship like the one I took twenty years ago from Japan to the then USSR. The rose-red carpet was of the same tone, with a depth that is no longer fashionable. Now the most talked about rose is the blue rose grown by the Japanese.
The young woman showed me the menu, one of the first items was hamburger.
Next to the dining room was the bar.
This is the second oldest bar in town, and this is the original reception. You see, the letter box is still here, the young woman said.
The handmade copper box did not have the idleness or laziness so often found in obsolete items. Now e-mails, not letters, are stored on the Internet, a space that is at the same time inside and outside of the hotel. If I stay there, I would call my university friend in Hong Kong to send me a letter, perhaps with stamps tailor-made for this purpose, I thought. In Hong Kong, one can pay to have your own usable stamps. I was thrilled when I first saw this service. Twenty years ago, when I was staying in Eastern Europe, I wrote to my friends and sent them letters with lovely stamps.
What will I write to her if I stay in this hotel?
Dear Friend,
How are you? It has been a long time since I sent letters to you. We have turned to e-mails, to text messages, to long-distance calls....
