No More Room At The Inn

Jake decided to set up camp after the last 15-mile hike of the day. 29 days down and only one more long and strenuous last day until he would reach Bethlehem, at least that’s what the map said. About 2 days into his solo hike and camp through the desert Jake’s phone went dead. Being an Eagle Scout and having taken numerous orienteering classes he was not phased as to how to get to his destination via map, compass, and the sun. The hard part was not having anyone to share his time with and to talk to.

Like clockwork, Jake went about his nightly routine of setting up the tent, unravelling his sleeping bag, and starting a fire for warmth and to cook dinner. It would be rehydrated Spaghetti Bolognese. Again. But, he wasn’t too phased by the monotony of the food. Jake was simple in that he didn’t need much to survive. He found the spice of life in other ways. He was creative yet content and almost always looked at the brighter side of life. He found peace by taking in the world around him and every new experience that presented itself.

As he sat there stirring the pot round and round methodically he couldn’t help but think about the life he had left before heading out on this solo world trip. He left because he couldn’t deal with the mundanity of it all. His 9 to 5 office job with 10 vacation days and no promise of a promotion anytime soon. What was the point? He thought to himself constantly while living inside that world. He needed to run away and do something that he always wanted to do. See the world. Not in one or two week spurts. Open-ended with almost no agenda. That was truly living. Not knowing what was around the corner; what was going to happen next. Sure, he missed his family and friends. He missed the notion of his ex-girlfriend and the comfort she could provide during lonely times… But, this was bigger than that. It must be.

Jake stopped stirring and took the pot off the fire as the spaghetti smelled like it might be burning. It was time to fill up with as much food as possible in preparation for the long journey ahead the next morning. Whenever he ate a meal that made him full he could not help but think of all the people in the world who didn’t have that luxury. The luxury to have food or clean water on a daily basis. It was something that he would like to do more to help with. Not necessarily ending world hunger, but helping people who actually needed it and didn’t have the means to receive it. He went to bed that night with a full stomach and his usual content attitude hoping for sweet dreams before the big day that lay ahead of him. It would be a very big day indeed.

…

6 am, sunrise, Jake woke from a very pleasant sleep. He did dream but when trying to remember the details they quickly left his mind. He hated when that happened. First was first, the last of the coffee grounds strategically rationed to brew a nice final cup of coffee. It was probably the most important thing he had besides water. His coffee. The sun shone across what he knew was miles and miles of sand dunes. He enjoyed those sunrises but was getting tired of the light brown featureless landscape more and more as the days went on. That was his cue to pack up and ship out. He took one more look back to where he came from when a huge rush of accomplishment came over him. Immediately giving him goosebumps and that not-often-but-familiar shiver down his back. One more day of hiking was nothing. He could do anything he put his mind to.

Jake couldn’t help but slip into a daydream about the first home-cooked meal he would have and the large soft bed he would treat himself to in a decent hotel once he reached the city. Although, content with roughing it for a while, everyone likes to be pampered every now and then. And what a sweet treat that would be after 30 days of strenuous and continuous desert life. So, he thought it over and decided on a massive Shawarma and an endless supply of hummus. That’s what he pictured in all its glory on top of a single square wooden table with a clean white tablecloth draped over the top. His mouth was literally dripping with saliva and his pace was picking up without even realizing it. He would take a single room in a moderately priced hotel. An upgrade from the usual 20 dollar-a-night hostels where he would normally lay his head. It was these small things that would make a world of difference in terms of his mental well-being and physical comfort.

Then, he continued to walk, head down, nervously biting his nails as more and more thoughts of getting back to ‘reality’ crept into his mind. He hadn’t talked to another human being in 30 days! Well, despite the non-English speaking goat herders he crossed paths with a few times on his journey. But, all they did was point him to water or share their own for a small price. He appreciated the sentiments and the transactions didn’t come with the same angst as with having a conversation with someone in a ‘normal’ setting. ‘Reality’ sucked. Why do people put themselves through it? Stop that! He argued with himself. There was no lack of inner speech going on during his travels. Getting back to civilization would level him out. Just keep walking.

And that’s what he did. He trudged along finally finding his zen state. In between not thinking and thinking. Being aware and unaware. On he went for hours until finally shaking it off in order to pull out the map. Coming back to stasis. Using his Boy Scouts skillset he reckoned he had about 2 hours until he would hit the edge of Bethlehem if he kept the same pace. Then it should be about a 40-minute walk to the city centre where he would find the hotel and the meal he’d been waiting for. He folded the map back up, put it back in his pack, took in a full landscaped view, and proceeded on the journey. Head down.

It wasn’t long before he started seeing life again. And a road. The main road, from the looks of it, that led into town. He saw only one plain-clothed person walking in the distance, a few cars that drove past him from the city, and a few more military vehicles going every which way, which wasn’t uncommon for where he was in the world. But, a lot less activity than he expected leading up to a major city. After a while, he started seeing signs of a cityscape. Shops, restaurants, multilevel buildings with eloquent facades. But, no people anywhere outside. Where was everyone? Maybe it’s Shabbat or Ramadan? He finally saw a woman about to close her large glass shop doors and crossed the street to see if he could get an answer for the lack of activity in the city. As soon as he crossed the centre line on the road they made eye contact. She quickly stepped inside fumbling with the lock when Jake approached and she began waving her finger at him. “Excuse me miss?” Jake hurriedly asked as he stepped up onto the curb. She stepped back with the door now locked and waved her finger saying, “no, no, no…”

“Slicha,” he said in his best Hebrew. Not even knowing if that was the right thing to say. “No, no, no…,” She said again while waving her finger as she backed up out of view. Perplexed, Jake walked further into the heart of the city dying to find a hotel and take a rest. The sun would set any minute now. He must have picked the wrong day to arrive because it was like a ghost town. There were only a few cars on the road as the day quickly ascended into darkness and not a soul roamed the streets. Am I missing something here?

He finally strolled up to the Diamond Hotel where he figured he would ask for his first price so he could compare the area. Nothing higher than $50 he decided for his one night stay. He grabbed the large brass handle and yanked expecting the door to swing open. When it didn’t, he pushed. And when that didn’t work he looked for a doorbell, pressed it, and peered through the small pane of glass on the door. A woman appeared in plain clothes from a side-door and gave a concerned look when she spotted his face. She stopped about a foot from the door and said, “go away” in a worried tone probably deducing that he spoke English. He responded, “why?” now very unsure as to why everyone was treating him like he was a leper. She motioned him back and Jake complied, backing down the steps to the sidewalk. The woman unlocked the door and only opened it enough to stick her head out. “What are you doing here? All foreigners must go,” she said in a hushed tone.

“I need a room for the night. I’ve been hiking and camping around the desert for a month. What do you mean all foreigners must go?” He was truly puzzled by this whole situation. He hadn’t had an ounce of conflict in over a month and walked into this. It was frustrating.

“You do not know what is happening?” The woman said very surprisedly and again concerned.

“Happening?” He said. Jake was very lost and the woman now understood.

“Oh my… There is a virus, the Corona Virus, that has spread around the world infecting many and killing many others. Bethlehem is on full lockdown. The world is on lockdown. You must go. I can’t help you.” She quickly closed and bolted the door before running back through the side door.

Jake ran up and feverishly rang the doorbell over and over but no one came back. He sat down on the top of the front steps, crossed his arms, and tried to piece together what he had just heard. “What the fuck?” He sighed under his breath to himself. He began to breathe heavily as thoughts, every thought, began to run through his mind. He didn’t know where to begin and these thoughts raced for just a moment. He then remembered to breathe, to think clearly again. And to plan his next move. He shot straight up and peered around for any sign of a police station. Get to a police station. He picked a direction and began to walk briskly.

Only a few feet away Jake heard that now familiar woman’s voice once more. He turned around as she yelled from the small crack in the door, “Get to Tel Aviv, it’s the only way home!” And she quickly shut the door again. Why Tel Aviv? Jake had to get back to his original plan. Find a police station. As the darkest hours of the night crept closer Jake felt his hopes fleeting. He had walked past 3 police stations. All closed with yellow signs on the doors referring to the virus. This was real. This was serious. He had been through many stressful situations before but this seemed out of his control. Out of control. He was getting increasingly worried but then couldn’t help but think of the irony of that day. He showed up in Bethlehem as a weary traveller, looking for a room at the ‘Inn’, but was refused everywhere he went. Haha. Was his old friend upstairs trying to tell him something?

Next steps. He tried to blank his mind once again and focus on the task at hand. He opened up his map while sitting under a lone street lamp. He might as well take the only advice that was given to him. Get to Tel Aviv. For what reason, he had no idea. But, it might be better than where he currently sat out of options. Looking at the map Jake deduced that it would take him about 15 hours walking. Being extremely tired he came up with the plan to walk as long as he could and set up camp somewhere along the main road when he couldn’t walk anymore. To give himself enough energy for the rest of the journey after his rest. He had enough water but he ate his last bit of food at lunch. It didn’t matter. He just wanted to get there. To get some answers.

With some direction, Jake began his familiar head down one foot in front of the other march but now on his way to Tel Aviv. He tried to block the culmination of thoughts as he went along and couldn’t help but feel completely alone. 5 hours past in an instant as tiredness quickly came upon him. Through him. Jake picked a random spot on the side of the road, went through the motions, and crawled into his sleeping bag within his tent. As sleep took a firm grasp on Jake that night, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, he couldn’t help but dream of the warm embrace of his ex-girlfriend, Jane.

…

Jake woke to the sound of trucks, big trucks, zooming by. He jumped out of his tent and ran to the road to watch a convoy of military vehicles speed past him picking up sand creating a small dust storm directly all around him. He waved his hands and jumped up screaming for someone to stop. Either they didn’t see him, didn’t hear him, or had no intention of stopping because they quickly passed without a change in speed or direction. It was 6 am and Jake knew he could make it to Tel Aviv by at least 4 pm if he hustled. He quickly gathered his things and began to walk once again.

Almost 5 hours in and Jake couldn’t help but wish his phone was working. He didn’t know if it was broken or just needed a charge. But, either way, it would be really helpful at that exact point in time. The original intent was to prove to himself that he could do it all without technology. He could still live his life. After all, it was a refreshing feeling in the beginning. But, like any good survivalist, he should have prepped for the worst-case scenario. Even though he thought this didn’t count as a worst-case scenario, he was alive; having his phone working could prevent a further worst-case scenario. As he beat himself up over the next few minutes he could start to hear the sound of an engine in the distance behind him. He turned around and could make out what looked like a commuter vehicle and started to jump, and yell, and wave his hands once more. This time the vehicle stopped. Thank God.

Jake ran up to the open passenger window out of breath and just blurted out, “Tel Aviv?” The moustachioed man with a huge smile on his face and a big thumbs up cleared off the passenger seat with one fell swoop and replied, “Tel Aviv,” in an affirming manner. Jake, acting as if this was a normal every-day event jumped in the front seat, threw his backpack in the back and said, “thanks man, you have no idea how much you are helping me out. What’s going on with this virus?” The man replied again with an ear-to-ear grin on his face, “Tel Aviv!” Jake, quickly understanding the situation looked over at the man, gave him a big thumbs up and smiled and replied, “Tel Aviv,” assuringly. They spent the next 40 minutes unable to communicate while Palestinian music blasted on the radio, a warm breeze coming through the open windows, as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

They pulled up to a border checkpoint which would’ve taken him upwards of 5 hours had he continued to walk. The driver tapped him on the shoulder pointed towards the armed guards and said, “Tel Aviv.” Taking the hint, Jake exited the vehicle and gave the man a handshake and smile saying “Thank you” which he hoped he understood. The man pulled a U-turn and headed back in the direction they came from. He wasn’t even going to Tel Aviv. He was just being a really nice guy. His faith in humanity was once more restored. Jake walked up to the check-point finally finding someone who spoke enough English to let him in on what was happening in the world. It was worse than he had envisioned. This Coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China spread across the world and the number of cases and death tolls had risen steadily in the past month to incite a global lockdown. It was as real as a heart attack. After a lot of questioning and apprehension, the border patrol let him through and said that he would need to repatriate back to the United States within 24 hours. He was to contact the U.S. Embassy via phone in order to organize his departure.

Walking into town Jake finally came across a guesthouse that was willing to let him stay. It was in a bustling, mostly African, neighbourhood near the central train station. It was like no one there had any idea or didn’t care what was going on in the world around them. The only reason he chose that area was that it was close to the train station so he could eventually get to the airport and it was the first place to not close their doors on him.

Jake got up to his room and immediately collapsed on the hard, most likely unwashed, bed. He didn’t mind. He was spent. He was anxious. He was sure to plug his phone in. The battery symbol popped up, immediately indicating that the phone wasn’t broken after all. Just out of battery. He laid there rhythmically watching the blades of the ceiling fan swing around and around. Trying to keep his eye on one and then quickly losing it until his eyes picked it up again. His eyelids started to get heavier and heavier. A loud ping came from his phone indicating it was on and also bringing him back to life. What seemed like hundreds of notifications started popping up on his phone. He scrolled through dozens of texts from mom and dad and sister and brother. Some friends it looked like. All probably worried sick. He scrolled until he came across the one name that really tugged at his heartstrings. Jane. He took a deep breath and turned on his side, clutching his phone in the fetal position. He clicked open the message and read five of the most meaningful words he had read in a long time. I need you right now. He was filled with emotion. Excitement, sadness, and relief all at the same time. Forgetting about everyone else who was trying to get in touch with him, forgetting about contacting the U.S. Embassy, and forgetting about the global pandemic happening all around him Jake, realizing he couldn’t get through this messed up world by himself any longer, responded back to Jane saying, I need you too. He stared longingly as three dots appeared on his screen.