
I am grateful that I work and learn on the ancestral and unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nations in Burnaby and on the ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in Port Moody

THE DOOR IS CLOSED
Original (Published in "Lun's World"): 2004-06-30
Rewritten: 2025-05-27
Lun is already 17 and a half years old, but because his thinking is different from that of people of the same age, he will suddenly do something unexpected, and our situation will change immediately. The following is a small episode in life.
I didn't expect Lun to act so quickly. He pulled the wooden door connecting the two rooms with his hand and closed the door in an instant. We looked at the closed door and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
We went to the inland for a vacation on the weekend. Because Lun is already 17 and a half years old and the younger brother is already 12 years old, in order to have more space to rest, and to prevent Lun from getting up in the middle of the night to find something to eat, or playing with a cup in the wash basin, making everyone sleep restlessly, we rented two connected rooms with a total of four beds. The wall separating the two rooms has a door on each side for easy access.
We went on a trip and arrived at the hotel. To ensure Lun's safety, he chose his bed, and we arranged to sleep there ourselves so that we could monitor his sleep. It was past midnight that night, and everyone was ready to go to bed. Everyone stayed in the larger room, waiting for Lun to choose. In the end, he chose the sofa bed in the larger room. In a flash, he walked to the door connecting the two rooms, pulled the door of the neighboring room towards him, and the door closed. The four of us were in the same room.
We looked at each other, thought about it, and suddenly realized that the main doors of the two rooms had been locked from the inside, and the windows were closed. The only passage connecting the two rooms was locked by Lun. In an instant, we could no longer enter the neighboring room, and the whole family was trapped in one room.
Lun has a habit of "out of sight, out of mind". After he finishes an activity, he doesn't want to see the leftovers, such as leftover dry fried beef noodles, fried spicy wide noodles, Yangzhou fried rice or Singapore fried rice noodles, so he will move them away. This time was no exception. He didn't like the small room, so he simply closed the door and didn't see it.
After the three of us understood what was happening, we tried to open the door to the neighboring room. After failing, we stepped out of the corridor, hoping that the door of the neighboring room was not locked, but we returned disappointed. We considered climbing through the window, but I thought it was too ridiculous and didn't dare to do it. So I used a credit card to cut into the crack of the door and try my luck.
If it doesn't work, the family of four will have to squeeze into one room tonight. The more I think about it, the more I feel it's not worth it. The worst case scenario is that I have to wait for the skilled worker to open the lock tomorrow morning before I can get my luggage back. In addition, how will the bill be counted? It's really disappointing to pay for it without staying.
I notified the room manager, and he said there was no way and asked us to stay until tomorrow. In this case, we can only keep trying. After two hours, we still haven't made any progress. I was frustrated and felt bad. Without options I had to bother the Creator by praying for his help.
Since the rectangular credit card didn't work, I cut a long triangle card out of hard plastic and cut it into the crack of the door again. I moved it up and down, and suddenly there was a "crack" sound, and the door opened. Three of us seemed to see the light of day again, and we were all very happy. It seems that Lun didn't understand what difficulties we encountered. When he saw that we all went to bed peacefully, he also went to sleep as usual, waiting for tomorrow's programs.