Log 54: The Disappearing Act
Tonight is my third night with a room to myself at Hakuna Matata. My roommate, Hanna, has vacated the premises. For the first two weeks of our stay, I thought she and I might get along. You know, in the kind of way that too really different people that wouldn’t be friends under any other circumstances end up being buddies for some span of time. During those first two weeks, our dynamic seemed to offer possibilities. But sometime around week 2, Hanna’s behavior changed abruptly.
She has told me many times that she has “health issues” or “digestive problems,” - I don’t know exactly what they are, and I’m not convinced that she has either. What I do know is that for ten days straight, she was vomiting around the clock and only got out of bed to shower. In the beginning, I repeatedly asked her what was wrong, how I could help, and encouraged her to see a doctor. However, soon she didn’t seem interested in communicating with me much at all. She stopped working, despite being the only work-stay girl currently on staff, and didn’t communicate what was going on to Daniel and Dominique (her employers) either.
The only time Hanna really spoke to or contacted me was to ask for… nonessential things. Beer, weed, fishing line, and a full list of groceries, all of which I declined to get her. Before she was sick, I had already done her quite a few favors, but she never paid me back or did anything for me in return, so I stopped. Perhaps if Hanna and I had a different relationship, I would’ve been a bit more receptive to her (many) requests. However, we didn’t, and I felt like giving her the things she asked for would be unfair to me and would not do her much good in the long run.
Sometime during the last week of March, I woke up groggily in the middle of the night, hearing someone shuffling around in the room. It was Hanna, obviously, but whatever she was doing was beyond me. I squinted at her in the dark for a few moments. She definitely could see me, but she didn’t say anything. So, I went back to sleep. In the morning, Hanna was asleep when I got ready to leave for work and I poked around to see what was going on. It was hard to miss one of Hanna’s suitcases standing upright on the floor. Is she… packing? Packing for what? Hanna signed on for a 3 month commitment at Hakuna Matata. Given that she arrived the same day as me, she still has two more months left here. Honestly, I was only half curious about her plans, so I grabbed my stuff and headed to the Hyatt.
When I got home, Hanna was gone. Her clothes weren’t in her dresser, her food was no longer in the fridge, and her bed had been stripped. She just left! I started laughing a little bit standing in my half empty room. All I could think was: I am so happy for the both of us. Happy for Hanna that she could be home with her family and deal with whatever mental and physical issues she’s grappling with, and happy for me to sleep through the night without gagging sounds for white noise.
Highlight: private room, two dressers, two beds, extra fridge space… you get the picture.
