Hostel

  I enter the room
  It's dimly lit and heavy with moisture.
  It's hot
  There is a fan sitting on the floor pointing into the room
  It's not doing much good

  You can hear the rain pouring outside of the open windows
  The smell of green peppers is overpowering the scent of the rain
  The night is young in Florida

  I wonder how I came to be here of all places
  sitting side by side with strangers
  and people that I hardly know
  How could I still feel so safe and comfortable?
  And yet I know that no harm will come to me

  The mountain man, young and strong, is sitting in the corner
  the saggy beanbag chair he's resting in makes him look short
  I know him. He likes to laugh
  
  Next to me on the beaten couch
  sits The Frenchman with his Heineken
  I wonder if the twenty-something is drunk
  watching him take big gulps of his alcohol
  then he laughs at the Hulk on the giant screen
  yet when we discuss our commander and chief
  he seems perfectly sober and ready for the attack
  "Maybe not all American's are bad" he says
  "You don't like him, either"

  I have few thoughts on this subject
  For despite my age I am still learning
  I still do not fully understand the way the world works
  I mainly sit and watch him and the mountain man talk
  They laugh
  I sit
  I sweat

  The humidity is getting to me
  Even though my watch reads fifteen till twelve
  the rain is making the room like a sauna
  I watch the Frenchman pick up a stuffed bear and hold it close
  like he misses the place he came from
  
  The movie is over now
  It's time for me to take my leave
  tomorrow will be a busy day
  It was a strange encounter running into that boy
  No adults were around
  It was just us young adults enjoying each others company
  Is this what the world could be about?
  No worries, just good times
  We don't need to hate, we just need to lay back and relax

  The light from the glass fridge makes me squint as a round the corner
  I give a friendly nod back at the Frenchman and his empty liqour bottle
  He smiles and curls up on the old couch, ready to watch another DVD
  I depart from the old building and head back across the lawn to my room
  the rain is falling on my head
  the pepper scent is so strong it's burning my nose
  I feel warm, cozy, satisfied, light hearted...

  I'll never forget that night at the hostel.