Fiction

The Elevator

Always use the one on the right

art by author

The agent told Nate there had once been a bank in the red brick building on the corner of 8th and Hempstead. First National Bank survived from its founding in 1901 until the Great Depression, when the company went broke. The space was occupied by a series of short-lived banking operations in later years but ended up vacant, and stayed that way for quite some time. Eventually, a developer bought the property, rehabbed the interior to a degree, and rented the space as short-term rental lofts for travelers and tourists, and apartments to longer-term tenants. Through a connection with a friend, Nate had been able to rent one of the lofts for six months while he got settled in town.

He arrived with a truck full of belongings and spent much of a sunny Saturday moving in. His sister had loaned him a two-wheel dolly to move boxes, and luckily, there was a loading ramp outside the building that led to the sidewalk, which led to the lobby, which led to the elevator, and there weren’t any steps. It was important to him, because he had a medical condition that affected his mobility, and he couldn’t hang with stairs for more than a flight or two.

Unfortunately, the elevators were extremely old and did not appear to be in good shape.