Elevator Lift (A True Story)

A short short story about an encounter on an elevator while gong to see my mom in the hospital...

We were all here for reasons that we didn’t want to be, but we were here. Waiting in the hospital for an elevator to take us to people that we want to, but are afraid see. Three elevators, only one of them running, the crowd gathers. Three minutes that felt like thirty passed, “It is what it is”, I say to the latest woman who comes and begins to wait. “Same as yesterday” she says, “those two elevators were stuck on 4 and 7, this is the only one working.” My dad is with me pushing the button again and again (as that would help), and we wait… The elevator finally comes down, the door opens, and despite a sign saying “three only” we all pile in, we do not want to wait again… Awkward silence ensues as the elevator stops at every floor, more people coming in than going out. My father inappropriately breaks the silence by telling the woman before him that she has something on her shoulder, “What is it”? she reacts, I quickly tell her that my dad is messing with her and I tell her that he's just pointing at her tattoo. “My Daughter hates tattoos”, he states, as I stand there covered with them… I smile and tell her, “My brother hates them even more, as every inch of his body except for part of his face is covered with them”. A few heads raised and smiled at the silly banter, and then this happened… “I KNOW YOU” the woman who was earlier informing me about the elevator situation spat at my father, “YOUR’E FROM TRANSIT” she excitedly continues… My father stood there all coy and replied, “no”. I looked at the woman, rolled my eyes and replied, “He’s lying, he worked there for 43 years”. Everything suddenly clicks, and they realize they worked together over 20 years ago, they remember their first and last names and the people they once worked with, some lost, some thriving…. A small moment remembrance and joy. Seemingly strangers on an elevator, but not really. Now, every other “stranger” on the elevator was looking towards, and not away from us, and most importantly smiling at this scene. As the elevator door finally opened on our floor, this beautiful woman shouted to my dad, “GOOD HEALTH MR. REYNOLDS!” You could just see the happiness in her face, and hear it in her voice, and it spread through all of us, what a gift, as we went to see who what we wanted and did not want to see…