"My name is Daniel Brooks. I'm the head of building maintenance. Can you hear me?" Victoria tried to respond, but her throat had closed. She managed a choking sound.
"Okay," Daniel said. "I'm going to talk you through something. Don't worry about responding yet. Just listen to my voice. We're going to breathe together.
Ready? Breathe in through your nose for four counts. One, two." Victoria couldn't follow. Her chest was too tight.
"That's okay," Daniel continued as if he could see her struggle. "Let's try again. Just focus on my counting. Nothing else exists right now except these numbers. In for four.
One, two, three, four. Hold for four. One, two, three, four. Out for four." His voice was steady, warm, relentless.
He kept counting, kept breathing with her until Victoria's panicked gasps gradually synchronized with his rhythm. "Four in. Hold. Four out. Good," Daniel said.
"That's really good. You're doing great. Now, I want you to know exactly what's happening. No surprises, okay? The elevator stopped because of a power fluctuation in the building's main system.
It's not a mechanical failure. The safety brakes engaged exactly as designed. You're completely secure. The car is locked in place and cannot fall. Victoria's hands were still shaking, but the suffocating pressure in her chest had eased slightly.
We have a team working on restoring power to your car right now, Daniel continued. But they need to do it carefully to avoid any electrical surge. That's going to take about 20 minutes. I'm going to stay on this line with you the entire time. You won't be alone for 1 second.
Is that okay? Yes. Victoria's voice emerged as a whisper. Perfect. So, here's what I'm thinking.
20 minutes is a long time to just sit in the dark counting breaths, right? How about you tell me something? Anything. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Black coffee, Victoria said.