In Our Words Canadians Reading Together

The Elevator Encounter

JOYCE BAKER

I am alone in an elevator with a man when suddenly the elevator gets stuck! I realize immediately that this person is getting uncomfortable: he is starting to sweat and fidget. It is very quiet. I ask him if he is OK and he looks at me suspiciously, as if I am to blame for the elevator stopping. So before he can reply I say it will be all right, someone will fix the elevator and we will be out soon. I tell him to calm down and try to breathe slow and easy. He lashes out at me saying, “Why did you cause the elevator to stop? Start it up right now or you will be sorry.” I can tell he is getting agitated and may become aggressive. He is bigger and stronger than I am. Will he try to choke me or hit me? I try and show him I am not afraid. I look him straight in the eye and say, “It’s OK, just calm down. I will not hurt you. I will help us both to get out of here. Now let’s think of how we’re going to do that.”

I see a panel of some kind and there is a screw in the centre. “Look, what’s this? Perhaps this will help us to escape!” I can see he is focussing on something besides wanting to kill me, a good sign, I think to myself. I find a nail file in my purse and ask him to use it to remove the panel. There is a phone inside so I say yes, “Great! We can call 911 for help!” I pick up the receiver and discover it’s dead. I think Oh no! What do I do? If I say the phone is dead, he might panic again. I pretend to call and start to say, “We are stuck in an elevator-”, when suddenly he grabs the phone from me and yanks it from the wall. If it wasn’t broken before, it sure is now. “Now look at what you’ve done.” I say angrily “Maybe you are the reason we are stuck here after all. Who are you and what do you want?” I am surprised when he suddenly looks very sad, like a little child. “I’m sorry” he apologizes, “I didn’t mean to break the phone. I just panicked.”