After a few minutes we arrived. I had closed my eyes again, but I heard the garage door opening and the rain fading away. 

"We're there," Carl said needlessly. 

He stepped out of the car. I tried my door, but there was a lock on the inside. I wondered if Carl had kids, or if the lock was meant for me. 

Carl opened my door and made some room for me to come out. "You can keep the blanket," he said, "I don't want you to get cold tonight."

I followed him through the door and we came into a hall. The floor was dark green and soft and there were many doors, made out of goldish-coloured wood. Carl walked to the eighth door on the right and opened it for me. When I looked inside, I saw a simple bedroom. There was a bed, a wardrobe and a closet full of books, a desk and on the left there was a window. There were curtains in front of it, but I saw a little light from the street lanterns coming through. And this room was not how I knew it. 

"Surprised?" Carl asked.
I nodded. "It was not how I expected it."
"The original interior was stolen," he explained, "it was worth quite a lot. But the rest is as you'll know it."
"That I found out already," I mumbled.
Carl didn't pay attention to that. "This will be your room," he said.
Suddenly I realized something. "For how long?" I asked.
"Why worry? You won't complain, I'll take good care of you."
"I'm an artist," I said, "I have shows to play. Uh oh..."

I had totally forgotten the show back in the Netherlands tomorrow night. I missed the plane! Why didn't I remember that? I had planned dinner so early to be in time! 

Carl noticed my inner panic and it probably wasn't what he wanted. He started staring into my eyes for a long while. Doesn't that guy ever need to blink? I thought.

"Esther," he said slowly, "I want you to relax. Forget about the shows. You must not worry about them." 

I felt a flash of disorientation. I closed my eyes and shook my head a little. When I looked back at Carl again, he was still looking at me. But was that a sparkle of pity in his eyes?

"You look tired," he said.
"It's near midnight, and I can't have slept more than 15 minutes," I said, "I'm exhausted."
"How do you know it's near midnight?" Carl asked.
"There was a clock on your dashboard," I said, and only then realized that my watch was missing. Now that was bad. I couldn't contact anyone!
Carl turned around and pointed at the seventh left door. "That's the bathroom," he said, "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Esther."
"Goodnight, Carl," I said, while he started walking away, "if that's even your real name."
Carl turned around and smiled amusedly. He said: "Just call me Master. That's always correct."