The Chair That Moved Three Inches Every Morning

Maya worked at the front desk of the Harlow Hotel. She liked her job because it was quiet and predictable. She knew every room and every guest.

Then, something changed. A guest in Room 4, Mr. Obi, called the front desk. "The chair in my room moved again," he said. Maya looked at her logbook. She wrote the same thing on Monday and Sunday. The wooden chair started each night against the wall. Every morning, it was three inches closer to the door.

"I will ask the cleaning staff," Maya said. But the cleaners did not move it. The night guard did not go into the room. Maya decided to investigate. At 11 p.m., she went to Room 4. She put a piece of white tape on the floor behind the chair legs. She took a photo. The chair was against the wall.

At 6 a.m., she returned. The tape was still there, but the chair was three inches away from it. Maya looked at the floor. It was old wood and not flat. It had a very small slope. She put a pencil on the floor. The pencil rolled slowly toward the door and stopped at a small bump. Maya laughed quietly. It was not a ghost; it was just the floor.

Later, she told Mr. Obi. He smiled and showed her a notebook. "I am writing a mystery book," he said. "I thought the hotel was haunted. I wanted to use the chair in my story."

"And now?" Maya asked.

"Now I have a better story," he said. "A story about a clever woman who finds the truth. Can I use your name?"

Maya felt happy. "Yes," she said. She liked her job, but she liked being the hero of a story even more.