Late Night Adventures

After dinner, feeling cold, tired, and in need of some alone time, I cozied myself into bed to immerse myself in my current novel, The House of Sand and Fog. Living in such close quarters with 13 girls there is little such thing as quiet or privacy. Reading is my way to get to that quiet, isolated place I need occasionally. Zaituni, who sleeps across from me, brought me a hot cup of tea to lessen the biting cold that was numbing my fingers and toes. Appreciative of the warmth to wrap my fingers around and of the heat that filled my chest, I lost myself in the world of foggy Half Moon Bay, the smells of the Pacific, and the contorted, complex lives of fictional characters. Soon, my eyes grew heavy and sleep was just a few relaxed breaths from lulling me into its warm embrace, but the tea too had begun to settle in my bladder. Against my better judgement, I ignored the slight pange of discomfort and let sleep take me.

I awoke in the dark of night, cursing myself for not going to the bathroom when I had the chance. I tried to ignore the sharp pain the constant pressure in my lower abdomen as I listened to the rain fall outside. Just ignore it, go back to sleep, I'm sure it will be day break soon, I tried to convice myself. But it was too much to take. I switched on my phone, the absurdly bright, neon blue light blinding me. 1:36am. It flashed, taunting me. Irritated, I satup knwning full well I'd have to make the long, wet journey through uneven, mud-slicked terrain to the toilet. I had no other choice. I removed my socks, searching blindly for my headlamp, and as soundlessly as possible, slipped my feet into flip flops 3 sizes too small. Keeping my headlamp turned off so as not to further rouse the 7 girls sleeping around me I bumped and bruised my way towards the door. All the while, Zach's voice rolling through my head, reminding me of the bandits who roam the streets and villages at night looking for unsuspecting homes to break into. Just 2 nights ago, a house not more than 50 meters up the road was attacked by 30 masked men demanding radios, cell phones, and money. The last girl to bed each night locks the door from the inside with a key, and places the key on the bookshelf in the bedroom. But as if my hesitation to go outside had made the decision for me, the door of course was locked, and the key was not where it was supposed to be. I couldn't find the key anywhere. Shit. There was no way I could hold my bladder for another 4 hours. Desperate in those last moments before release, when you begin to lose control of holding it any longer, I found a water pitcher and hastily filled it with just an inch of water to lessen the hollow announcement of pee hiting the bottom of a plastic container. The release was euphoric. I held the plastic jug in place, my thumb slipped over the lip, acting as a gauge on the jug's interior wall. The last thing I needed was for the container to overflow. The pee came and came and came. I started to worry that one of the girls would wake and come check on the noise in the front room, only to find me squatting over a water pitcher relieving myself. What a sight that would've been! To shake me from this image, I felt moisture on my thumb, and while I still wasn't finished, the rest could wait until the morning. I pulled up my pants and flipped on my headlamp only to find the jug that I had just peed in surrounded by a large puddle. Either I have bad aim or the container has a leak. Not wanting to risk further reprocusions of the ladder, I swiftly picked up the jug and placed it in an empty bucket nearby. I'd deal with the urine puddle in the morning. I crawled back into bed and sleep didn't come easily, the nervous excitement of what I'd just done still pulsing through me. As I lay there, the bunk above me began to stir, squeeking and creaking with movement. One of the girls climbed down and soon the familiar dribble of urine hitting water sounded. And when she finished, another girl, and then another. I guess they all pee in a bucket in the middle of the night. Silently I laughed at how silly it all seemed.

I made sure to be one of the first one's up in the morning, to clean up the mess I'd made, dispose of the evidence, and thoroughly wash the containers I'd soiled, containers by the way that are used for drinking water! After cleaning up, I headed back into the room, and sure enough just beyond the last bunk there was a designated pee bucket, filled 3/4 full with the collective liquid waste of 7 girls. If I had only known.