I recall being forced to write compositions on accounts of being trapped in a lift back in Primary School. Be it a continuation story, a story based on pictures, or just a set-titled composition, we’ve all written about it during those front-teethless years, even if we’ve never had that experience. For 22 years in my life, I have never been stuck in that claustrophobic environment.
In fact, lifts, other than images conjured up by horror flicks like The Eye, have always been the creator of sweet (or bittersweet) memories for me. But that’s not the topic for today.
So today I can actually write a true account of how it was like being stuck in the lift, and compensate for all those primary school years when I couldn’t choose that topic or simply couldn’t come up with an accurate account. But since I’m staying away from writing (other than necessary essays) because of a growing phobia, I’ll just leave it to your imagination, haha.
Keywords: 3 girls, 30 minutes, 7 rescuers, dying ventilation, the lift kept going up and down, but the door just wouldn’t open
No pregnant lady with a burst water bag, no plunging elevator, or any other drama involved. We were happily crapping away to lighten the mood while the lift went up and down, like talking about how the leftover from lunch that we packed would last us for one night, but that we didn’t have enough water. The creepiest part was probably how the lift went to floor zero (there is no button for this), and when the rescuers shut the power without warning in order to stop the lift from moving to get us out. Pitch darkness for 3 minutes, and then the ray of light burst into relief of 7 faces staring at us holding our cellphones above our heads for light.
I suppose it’s quite amusing for those on the outside to find that the lift they called for took so long to arrive and then when it finally does, hear girls shouting through the thick door for help. Someone even said “are you stuck inside? Oh, have fun!”
Other than that one optimistic student, I thank the kind souls who helped us call the relevant personnel to get us out.
To date, I’ve been stuck in a lift, experienced two blackouts, and four five six seven evacuations because of fire alarms, all within this short stint at UBC. Exciting stuff, huh.
