Thump, thump, the door went, waking Joseph up from his sleep. He laid on his bed and rubbed his eyes groggily. It's 2:17 a.m., who in the world would that be? Joseph was deciding on whether to get up and go to the door. It was rather terrifying to be alone in a foreign country and have someone knocking on your door this late at night.
"Sorry!" a man's voice yelled from outside. It was then followed by loud giggles that clearly seemed to be coming from two people. The other voice appearing to be female. Probably just drunks stumbling around in the hallway, Joseph thought as he laid back down in bed.
The door to his neighbouring room slammed shut. Then it was followed by more laughter. They probably thought their voices could not be heard because of the walls but unfortunately, it was not thick enough. Or maybe they just don't care if they were making so much noise.
A few more minutes of muffled chatting and more laughter made it difficult for Joseph to sleep. Then after a while, it finally got silent. "Thank god." He blurted and drifted off into a deep sleep. Finally being able to properly rest after the long journey.
The sleep was dreamless, it was pure rest. He woke up the next morning feeling amazing. It was the best sleep he had ever had in a very long while. His brain just felt like it was rebooted and ready to function at full capacity the moment he woke up. It was only the first day and he was already feeling incredible.
Without wasting any time at all, Joseph immediately got out of bed and pushed aside the thick drapes that blocked out sunlight coming from outside with both his hands. Morning light came pouring in and basking his face with its warmth. This is going to be an amazing vacation.
Showering and grooming never felt so fun. Joseph took his time in the shower while his mind raced with ideas on where to go. It should be something relaxing first. A little bit of strolling around the city would be a nice start, Joseph decided. He got dressed in a casual T-shirt and a pair of khakis for maximum comfort. Wallet, phone and room cardkey? Check. Ready to go have some local breakfast.
Just as he was exiting the room, his neighbour walked out as well. It was a woman, standing around 5'6" and above. She looked Caucasian and she had shiny blonde hair. Joseph saw gorgeous blue eyes as she turned from locking her door.
"Hi, there." She smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth.
"Good morning, ma'am." Joseph replied casually and as politely as he was raised to be around women.
"I am terribly sorry for bumping into your door last night." She suddenly started, "Did we wake you?"
"Oh, no. It's fine." He answered. Still smiling and brushing last night aside like it did not bother him at all because he didn't want to offend the girl, "I barely heard it."
"Emma." She introduced herself as she held out her hands to shake his. Joseph shook her soft hands and told her his name in return.
She asked where he was going and he answered truthfully that he wanted to go down to the café at the lobby for breakfast.
Naturally at this hour in the morning, everyone was going for breakfast. So, she told him that it was where she was headed too and Joseph awkwardly walked with the girl to the elevator. They made small talk along the way.
Joseph knew he heard two people last night, this made him decide that he didn't want to get too friendly with the girl. Only answering with simple replies and asking short questions to keep the conversation going. When they reached the café they said their goodbyes and parted ways.
The food at the breakfast buffet all looked so delectable. If he could, he would want to eat everything right away. Joseph started out with a bowl of jok. A savoury Thai rice porridge that smelled so good his mouth salivated instantly.As he was drawing a spoonful of jok, Emma came to the table.
"Would you mind if I sit here?" she immediately asked, "I'm so sorry if I am annoying you. I feel awkward eating alone."
"I don't mind at all," Joseph replied, "Please, be my guest."
She thanked him and complimented on how he was being such a gentleman.
They chatted all through breakfast. She asked him the simple questions like, why go vacationing in Thailand, has he been here before, how long would he be staying here and all those kinds things to make breakfast more comfortable for the both of them.
Emma was so good at making conversations that Joseph also tried his best to keep it going with those kinds of questions. It seemed like minimal effort but he was genuinely not very good at making small talk with people or even socializing in general. It was probably due to his preference of being solitary a lot of the time but then it's times like these that he wished he was better at it.
"If I may ask," he looked at Emma as she was downing a sip of hot tea, to see whether she was okay with him continuing with his question. Her eyes waited in anticipation, so Joseph just accepted it as a green light, "why are you eating alone though? I thought you were with someone here."
As soon as the question left his mouth, he felt like he was overstepping it and immediately apologized, telling Emma not to answer if she felt uncomfortable. She burst into a laugh.
"No worries. Don't sweat it." She replied with a big grin. "I met the guy at a bar last night. He left afterwards. So…" Emma shrugged.
In a way, Joseph was glad he asked that question because now he felt more loosen up around Emma once he realised how cool a person she was. The rest of the breakfast went on better than it did before. Both of them were feeling more and more comfortable with each other as the conversation continued.
They talked and talked to each other, truly enjoying each other's company. Then from nowhere, on of the waiters came to inform them that the breakfast buffet will be closing in 30 minutes. It was only then Joseph realised they had been talking for two hours straight, it passed by so quickly that he felt like time got jealous and ignored them.
He didn't want it to end, so Joseph invited her along to walk around the city with him. Much to his glee, she agreed to tag along the whole day. This has been, without a doubt, the best vacation he has ever taken.