It was midnight, and my husband and I were fast asleep in our Airbnb bedroom. That’s when we heard the door burst open, and our host stormed in, furious. But it wasn’t the intruder we had feared; it was something far more mundane.
The owner, a man in his late fifties, stood in the doorway, panting, his eyes fixed on the towel-covered device on the ceiling. “You idiots, this is a fire alarm!” he exclaimed. My husband and I sat up in bed, blinking like deer caught in headlights, trying to process what was happening.
The owner’s anger was palpable, but as he explained the situation, we realized our mistake. We had covered the fire alarm, thinking it was a hidden camera, and the system had alerted him to a malfunction. The owner’s frustration was understandable; he had been woken up in the middle of the night and had to drive to the property to check on us.
As the owner explained the situation, we felt our embarrassment grow. We had let our paranoia get the better of us, and now we were facing the consequences. The owner’s words were laced with sarcasm as he pointed out the obvious: if he wanted to secretly film us, he wouldn’t do it with a device in plain sight.
We apologized profusely, trying to make amends for our mistake. The owner, while still visibly annoyed, seemed to appreciate our sincerity. As he left, he reminded us to leave the fire alarm alone, and we nodded enthusiastically, still feeling a bit silly.
As we lay back in bed, my husband turned to me and whispered, “Well, that was embarrassing.” I nodded in agreement, and we both burst out laughing. It was a midnight misunderstanding that we wouldn’t soon forget.
The next morning, we left a review, apologizing for our mistake and thanking the owner for his patience. It was a humbling experience, but it taught us a valuable lesson: sometimes, it’s better to double-check before jumping to conclusions. And if something is blinking, it’s probably just doing its job.
