Liftophobia

”Damn it. This is not happening to me again” blurted Jeremy, as the elevator inexplicably ground to a halt mid-way. He nervously looked at the elevator buttons and egged it to move on. He cursed himself for choosing the elevator ride over the safety of the stairs. The incident which occurred few years ago, flashed through him.

40-year-old Jeremy was claustrophobic. He fretted on confined spaces. His mind ran in circles whenever this fear confronted him. His wife always chided him and his 4-year-old kid, Mathew, could never understand Jeremy’s despicable state of mind.

Flashback 2 years ago. Jeremy shifted to a new abode; his apartment was situated at 5th floor. Although bit jittery at the time, he never felt uneasy in using the lifts. One evening, as he was sauntering inside the building premises, his 2-year-old son pointed to Jeremy for an elevator ride. Thinking it would be fun and learning experience for Mathew about elevators, he took the joy ride.

He hit the 5th floor button; the elevator moved merrily upwards. As soon, as it was reaching the 4th floor, suddenly, it ground to a jerking halt. Jeremy clutched Mathew, who was gayly enjoying the ride. Jeremy tried to hit the ground floor button, alas, there was no movement of the lift. Jeremy’s face fell. There he was stuck in the lift and not a soul knew about their whereabouts. He had told his wife, that he would be taking his son for a stroll. He had not taken his mobile phone.

As seconds ticked into minutes, the elevator walls seemed to close in on Jeremy. So as to not alarm his son, he kept a nervous smile on his face. After about 5 minutes of no action, the lift jerked into motion. The relief on Jeremy’s face was priceless. Must have been the power outage, he thought. He quickly hit the ground floor button. Mathew clapped thinking his father was playing a game.

As the elevator neared the first floor, it stopped. The screeching sound startled Mathew. The sudden jerk threw Jeremy off-guard and he almost lost his footing. Oh, not the power outage again, he vexed. To his utter horror, the elevator started moving in upward direction, without any provocation. He tried to hit the zero button, but the lift kept moving upwards. As it reached the 4th floor, the elevator stopped for a few seconds, and again started moving downwards.

Trapped in a free flow, a distraught Jeremy, screamed for help. Hearing his father’s hysterical voice, a frightened Mathew, was now spilling tears coupled with an unbearable toddler’s cries. Jeremy stopped screaming, but Mathew cried relentlessly. Mathew’s cries made Jeremy panic even further. He cursed for not bringing his mobile. He cursed himself for taking the elevator. He could not think clearly and was losing hope with each passing minute.

Images of the elevator stories he had heard and read brimmed to the surface. His school mate had met with an accident last year which severely damaged his legs, as the elevator came crashing down from 5th floor. He walked with crutches for over a year. Somewhere he read that a man was stuck in an elevator for 10 hours, before rescuers arrived. Another news flashed across him, wherein the elevator had caught fire due to a short circuit in the shaft, killing 2 people inside. Jeremy was sweating profusely. If only, his wife was aware of their whereabouts. He wished desperately for the elevator to stop and they get home safely.

Meanwhile, the elevator continued riding itself in an infinite loop between 1st and 4th floor, with each time, the jolts increasing in frequency. The passengers inside were being harrowingly tossed around like a baking popcorn. Stunned as he was, Jeremy was concerned about Mathew plight. The poor kid was tired crying with inexorable intensity. Although Jeremy was gutted himself, he tried his best to pacify his son. But the undiluted rhythm of the elevators, was throwing spanner in his works. The screeching was getting louder and Jeremy was bracing himself for a dreadful impact. He was trying to think of how best he could get away with minimal injuries. Would Mathew survive such an impact? He cringed and shivered at the thought.

In the middle of the ensuing chaos, he was counting seconds, to understand the movement of the elevator. In the event, the lift falls and crashes, he would time his jump such that at the point of impact, they could still be in the air and avoid the worst. He was contemplating on the idea, whether he should stand or sit in the event the lift fails and crashers. All the ideas seemed to be theoretical without any notion of being practical. There was also the small matter of Mathew being hungry, with almost an hour passing by bonded in the lift. The impatience in Jeremy was palpable. He hated the fact, that he was completely at the mercy of the mechanical and electrical forces of the elevator.

As he looked deeply and lovingly into his son’s eyes, the lift stopped and suddenly the door was yanked open. The elevator was caught between 2 floors. He could see a number of people on the outside, with his wife, Melba, calmly urging him to climb through the narrow gap. He handed over Mathew to her and doggedly climbed out of the elevator. He hugged Melba with all his might, squeezing Mathew a tad, who himself was snuggling his mother benevolently. As the other building members looked on, the security explained that this is a malfunctioning elevator, which is due for repairs. The serviceman would arrive tomorrow for overhauling. Jeremy could barely register the explanation. He was thanking his lucky stars for coming out alive of the tribulation.

“Are you fine, my dear?”
“Yes. Of course. But, how did you know we were stuck in the lift?”
“I did not, not first alteast. You guys had been gone for over an hour. Got me worried sick. Checked with the watchman, he said you had gone to the other wing of the society with Mathew. When I came searching, I heard Mathew’s cries coming from the elevator. I immediately alerted the watchman. He helped stop the elevator.”
“Whoa. Thank You. Saved us from an insane roller coaster. The elevator and Mathew were making me go crazy. Let us go home. I’m exhausted with the ordeal. I’m never ever getting into an elevator again, not least when I’m alone.”
“Haha. I bet it will be hard to keep a promise like that.”

True to his words, Jeremy avoided the elevator at all costs. He would take the stairs, whenever he was confronted alone by the lift. Be it at work place or at home or at the shopping centres. No matter how much he had to climb, no matter the amount of luggage he had to carry, stairs seemed a much safer way to reach his destination. The fear surrounding the elevators grew magnanimously inside him. He abhorred himself for chickening out every single time. His friends and peers noticed his discomfort; every time he took the elevator along with them. He would flinch and grimace at every jerk and would be the first one to bolt out of the elevator. This schizophrenia surmounted all possible avenues of escaping Jeremy’s mindset, thereby being ridiculed at whenever he faced an elevator.

After years of self-loathing, he finally took the courage to overcome his fear. He was not going to be derided for all his life, not for such a silly reason. He decided to face his fear with vitality and vigor. One day, after coming from office, he stood face to face with the elevator door and steadied himself with few deep breaths. Without giving himself another chance to chicken out, he pressed the button, calling out the elevator. As he entered the lift, he looked out, self-doubted himself and thought again, if he really needed to put himself through this. Shaking off the iota of doubt, he closed the door and ordered the lift to take him to the 5th floor. As the lift started moving, Jeremy let out a silent prayer.

The dark clouds hovered over Jeremy. He had barely finished his prayers; the lift came to a grinding halt. Jeremy nervously flew into a fit of rage, all directed to himself. He should have avoided getting himself into this situation. He promised himself, once he came out alive from this ordeal, he would never ever get into an elevator again in his life. He cursed its inventors.

As the elevator refused to budge, Jeremy took out his mobile and tried to dial his wife’s number. Agh! His mobile had switched off, he realized that the battery was low in office itself. How callous of him. He should have ticked all the boxes and then ushered into the lift.

He heard a snap. The elevator jerked massively one side. He heard another snap, to his utter horror he believed it to be the elevator cables, as they were snapping one by one. Jeremy gave out a hysterical shriek. Within a few seconds all the cables snapped off, plunging the elevator into a free fall. He closed his eyes, fearing the worst…”

…Jeremy woke up with a loud shriek. Melba came running to the bedroom to check on him with Mathew in tow. Jeremy was sweating profusely. He had just dreamt death.
“What happened dear? You look horrible.” Melba worried with creases on her forehead.
“Nothing, just a bad dream.”
“Hehe. I bet, papa must have dreamt, he got stuck in the lift and the lift crashes. Hahahaha…” mocked Mathew. Jeremy stared at his son steadfastly. Mathew cowered under the gaze and quickly took to his heels. Melba caressed Jeremy’s hair and excused herself to make him a hot coffee. Left alone, Jeremy was feeling embarrassed with the dream. The elevator fear followed him like a shadow even in his dreams.

Few days later, on a lazy Sunday morning, Jeremy was reading a book, while Melba was cooking in the kitchen. Jeremy called Mathew to read, but there was no response. He went to the kitchen and inquired with his wife. She asked him to search around, as Mathew sometimes liked to play hide-and-seek. As Jeremy was about to go the bedroom, he realized the living room door was ajar. He called out to Melba and they both ran out of the house.

To their utter surprise, Mathew was playing in the parking lot of the building with other kids. He had never gone out alone. Melba called Mathew home, who obliged grudgingly. She asked Jeremy to fetch Mathew. Just as he was readying himself to haul Mathew from downstairs, he heard the elevator moving and the doors opened.

Jeremy watched with gaping mouth, as his 4-year-old kid operated the elevator all by himself without a speck of fear and strode right past a shell-shocked Jeremy.