On my third night, I once again returned to the hostel past 1AM—and once again, I found my bunk occupied. Without so much as setting down my bags, I returned downstairs to reception to inform them, expecting to find that my bed assignment had been unexpectedly changed once more.
However, to our mutual bewilderment, my bed assignment was still 13.
“We can’t go into the women’s room,” the men at the reception desk explained to me. “But if you could ask the girl her name, or which bed she’s supposed to be in, we can figure things out.”
I returned to the room and touched the girl’s shoulder.
“Excuse me. What’s your name?”
She gave me a sleepy smile and a confused hum. I repeated my question.
“Anne,” she mumbled.
“Do you know which bed you’re supposed to be in?” I asked.
Her response was not in a language I understood, but it sounded Slavic. I had the sense that she was telling me that she didn’t speak English. I left her to go back to sleep and returned downstairs to inform them that her name was Anne. Unfortunately, they did not seem to have an Anne listed. They decided that I would sleep in bed 12.
I returned upstairs with one of the men from the reception desk, who came with a new set of sheets. He stood in the doorway as I checked bed 12, but there was a person here, as well.
“Is there any empty bed?” he asked me.
I walked through the room, and though there were a few beds without occupants, only one of those was also without sheets. That bed was bed 7. I asked if I could take bed 7.
“But bed 7 is supposed to be occupied,” he said. “See, there’s a pile of sheets there.”
Indeed there was, and with a few personal clothing items beside.
We returned downstairs and after some deliberation, it was decided that I would take bed 7 for the night after all.
I placed the clothing onto the made-but-unoccupied lower bunk, made the bed in the dark and lay down. I couldn’t sleep. I was convinced that the moment I drifted off, the bed’s rightful occupant would come along and wake me.
The sun was beginning to dawn by the time I finally managed to sleep.