A Relaxing Spa Day

Ami looked doubtfully at the metal contraption that rested on the tile floor and swiveled her head to gaze at the attendant. “It looks like a coffin.”

She could have chosen the term spaceship instead. The hatch wheel certainly gave that impression, though the clunky box was less than aerodynamic. Or perhaps a refrigerator from the nineties, repurposed for spa use. The metal box was an odd shade of pearlescent eggshell, most popular with government buildings across the world. This contraption and the plain tile room didn’t fit with the spa’s luxury offerings, soothing paintings, and beautiful floral arrangements.

“I don’t know…” Her editor Lisa had sold her on the idea, after hearing about a man who’d written a book in a day after spending a few hours in a sensory deprivation tank. Lisa, who was probably already a pile of blissful mush from a full-body massage two rooms away, and didn’t have to climb into a metal coffin and seal the door behind her to relax.

The woman whose nametag proclaimed she was Skylar laughed and pushed brown curls off her forehead. They bobbed back into place immediately. “I promise you, our sensory deprivation tanks are safe. Like I said earlier, we recommend people test it for an hour first before working their way up, but after that? Quite relaxing once you get used to the lack of stimuli.”

“They’re supposed to have good health benefits.”

“Massive amounts of magnesium salts make you float and give you a nice mood boost.” Skylar’s curls bobbed again. “A lot of people report peacefulness.”

Ami sucked in a breath, feeling her lips pull back in trepidation. Claustrophobia hadn’t been a problem she’d had to deal with before. “Oxygen flow on that end?”

Skylar nodded. “Some people prefer their heads by the door, others want a bit of obvious air flow. I’ve done this plenty of times and find the air currents disruptive.”

Ami didn’t think she’d mind oxygen in her metal coffin. Seemed preferable to the alternative. “I see.”

Skylar walked over to the hatch and rested her hand on the wheel. “If you decide you prefer the door open, just spin so the latch stays out.”

Ami sucked in a deep breath again, so hard it made an odd sound. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Skylar gave her a sympathetic wink. “Spas should be fun. If this is popular enough, the owner will invest in a modern version, but I promise, the water’s sanitized and warm. All you have to do is float.”

She shoved her shoulders back and jutted her jaw in the air with a confidence she’d lost years ago. “Change over there?”

“You’ll love it,” Skylar gushed, pointing to the corner Ami had indicated. “I promise.”

The door shut and locked behind the attendant as Ami took her jacket off. “I’d better,” she muttered. “Can’t believe I’m doing this voluntarily.”

She studied the hatch wheel a few moments later, barefoot on the cold tile floor. “In for a penny.”

Ami reached for the door and yanked, then nearly fell as nothing happened. The hatch was already sealed. “Stupid.”

She spun the wheel and slipped inside – and then slid into the salt water as gravity and physics took over, banging the door shut behind her.

Whether she’d wanted to or not.

Her breath came in pants as she realized the oxygen was on the other side of the coffin, but she couldn’t bring herself to move away from the door. Perhaps – perhaps it would be fine. She had an hour in the tank, and could get out early or spin around to the air flow later.

All Ami had to do was make it through the first five minutes. Then a book would magically pop into her head, the book that was already a month late with barely three chapters written.

Hadn’t Skylar mentioned this end of the tank was supposed to have a floatation pillow on the wall? Ami reached out a hand blindly and encountered something velvety and soft. She gave the slippery pillow a tug.

“Bad enough you interrupt my bath.” The voice burbled like ocean foam on the shore, irritation like waves breaking on rocks. “Would you mind not manhandling me?”

What could only be a tentacle wrapped around Ami’s arm, strong suckers pinning her in place. Her breath came in gasps too rapid to do more than hyperventilate.

***

This week’s More Odds Than Ends prompt came from Cedar Sanderson: That’s when that spa showed up. You know, the one with the cephalopods.

My prompt went to Becky Jones, who has a new author page you should go check out: The everyday purposes of megalithic structures were finally revealed to the modern world when…