The Curfew
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The Curfew

24 Oct The Curfew

Posted at 23:00h in Uncategorized by

 

I had the best sleep of my life last night. In DC for a meeting, I happened to be staying in the same place as a team of teenage soccer players who were preparing to play in a tournament the next day.

After a nice dinner, I had gone back up to my room for the evening and was settled in to bed watching TV and replying to emails. That’s when I heard a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock—10:00 pm. It was late!

I peered out the peephole and asked, “Who is it?” But no one replied. “Those kids…” I thought, shaking my head and feeling exceptionally middle-aged.

A little while later, I heard a knock a second time. Now I began to worry. Slightly more anxious, I inquired as to who was at the door. Still no reply. A third knock occurred a short time after, and this time, before I could ask who was knocking, a voice said, “One hour to curfew.” That’s when I realized the knocker wasn’t the soccer kids messing around, nor was it someone preparing to murder me (a polite murderer who knocks).

Wanting to clarify, I began, “Oh no….but I’m not…” to which the voice of the curfew-enforcer said, “No excuses—we’ve got a big day tomorrow.” There was nothing to do but accept this. Embrace it. And so I did. The knocks came every 15 minutes until midnight…45 minutes….30 minutes…15 minutes…” the voice offered.

At 11:55 I obediently turned off the TV, plugged my phone in, and turned out the light. “Goodnight!” I called out cheerfully as the final knock came at 12:00.