Good Evening, Ester (Evening, Day 11)

I wasn't wrong, Ester. I had been right to worry. I'd sensed it all along. Nothing ever goes this smoothly. I had a feeling something would go wrong eventually. But I must confess, even I had not been expecting this much. A huge surprise, a thrill, a hope reborn… Yes, someone tonight made my nightmare come true. I'm talking about the nightmare I keep having, the one that takes place in the theatre. There I go again, losing my train of thought. I need to calm down. Calm down and relate everything that happened to me this evening one by one.

I'd eaten dinner in the hotel. I'd come down a little late, I think because I can no longer stand people. By this time, only three tables in the restaurant were occupied. I found a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant and ate my fill. A pleasant breeze was drifting in from the half-open window next to me. After dinner, I decided on taking a stroll, to get some fresh air, stretch my legs and enjoy the rather delightful autumn evening. I did not plan on going too far, just past the American Consulate, up to the 6th Municipality Headquarters and from there on to the square by the tramway tunnel, and perhaps stop to have a nice cup of coffee in one of the cafés there… That was the plan but alas, it was not to be.

Initially, when I stepped outside, I noticed nothing unusual but as I was walking past the Kroker Hotel, I had this awful feeling that I was being watched so I stopped and pretended to examine the displays in the windows of the Kroker Hotel before turning around to see if I was being followed. There was nobody there. Just a car in front of the Pera Palace with its headlights on, which was quite normal as dozens of cars stopped by the hotel entrance every day. In short, there was nothing on the street that could be considered suspicious. Perhaps it was because of my bad memories of the Kroker Hotel that I felt I was being followed, of the effect of those seven unspeakable days I spent in its bloody, mouldy basement.