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It was my life goal to backpack across Europe before I died.Time was running out quickly.I was only in my late forties, but a sixty year old man can hardly backpack across Europe.I had been saving for this though.Finally I had enough for a plane ticket from New York City to Paris and some spending money, so I don’t get stranded and die.I was planning to backpack from Paris to Rome.Its was going to be an adventure.

We landed in Paris late that evening. I had 500 dollars in my pocket.I looked for the cheapest hotel I could find. I spent 10 dollars on a room for the night.Early the next mourning, I headed out.I filled my backpack with fifty dollars worth of bottled water, beef jerky, trail mix, and a change of clothes.I walked for a few good hours before I finally got a ride.The person that picked me up spoke broken English.“I am headed to Rome,” I said slowly.“I give you ride for few hours,” he said with a heavy French accent.I rode with him for a couple hours till he told me, “I go other way now. Sorry.”“It is no problem.Thank you for the ride.”I started walking again.I walked for the next six hours until it started to get dark.A sign said there was a town about five miles ahead. I hurried the last five miles, not wanting to be out at night in unfamiliar territory.

The town was a quaint one.It had maybe twenty houses, a market, and two places with neon signs.One of them was a pub.I could smell the beer from where I stood in the street.The other was a hotel.I knew this, not because I spoke French, for I knew “Qui” and that was about it, but because the sign said “Hotel” on it in English.I thought to myself, “Good an English friendly hotel.”An elderly lady was sitting at the receptionist desk.The hotel reminded me of a house, then I thought, it was probably the lady’s house that she was renting out to travelers.She said something to me in French, but she might as well had been speaking to the wall.“I am sorry. I only speak English,” I enunciated slowly. “Good, good,” she said.“I speak fluent English.Welcome to my hotel. The room will only cost you five dollars.”“That’s good.I’ll take one then,” I said.

I walked over to the desk and checked in.I noticed that only one other person had checked in about a year ago, and had not checked out.But, I thought nothing of it.She gave me a key and told me my room was at the end of the hallway on the left.I passed three sets of doors on my way down the hall.

I got to my room, threw my stuff down and went to explore my new quarters.It had a dresser, a twin-sized bed, and a closet.No bathroom.I yelled down the hall at the lady.“My room doesn’t have a bathroom.”“The bathroom is directly across the hallway from your room.”I traversed across the hall and opened the door directly across from mine, and as expected, there was the bathroom.“I’m gonna take a shower now,” I yelled at her again.“The towels are in your closet.”I opened my closet and immediately found the towels.I also saw large amounts of stuffing, like the kind you would use to stuff teddy bears or dolls or something like that.“That would be an interesting hobby,” I thought.

I walked into the bathroom, turned the hot water on, and hopped in the shower.The hot water felt good on my tired body.The first day of hiking really wore me out.I got out of the shower after a good thirty minutes.I redressed and headed out to the lobby, where the TV was on.

“Would you like me to get you a cold beer?” she asked.“No thank you. I don’t drink.”“How about some coffee or tea?”Some hot coffee sounded wonderful.“I’ll take some coffee if you don’t mind.”“It’s no problem at all,” she said with a smile.Five minutes later, she emerged from her kitchen with two steamy cups.She set them both down on the coffee table.

“Cream and sugar?” she asked.“No, I drink it black.”She kept the the tea and handed me the coffee.I sipped it slowly as we watched TV.There was nothing on.I finished my coffee.“would you like more coffee?”“no thank you.”I thought her coffee tasted faintly of bitter almonds.

“I don’t feel well; I think I’ll head to bed. Thank you for the coffee.”“It was my pleasure,” she said with the same sweet smile.

“Wow,” I thought.“That hike wore me out more than I realized.”My stomach hurt and my head was fuzzy.I stumbled to the bathroom so I could throw up.I opened the door, but it wasn’t the bathroom. It was a dark room, but I thought I saw the silhouette of a naked man lying on the bed.

“That’s funny” I thought as I passed out on the floor.

*Cyanide is a poison that has a faint taste of bitter almonds.