Marian grabbed a fluffy, white TOWEL from the tidy STACK by the sauna door. Entering the hot wood-lined room she smelled the familiar scent, evoking memories of her college days when she frequented the large sauna with steaming lava rocks in the back corner of the basement locker room at the university recreational fitness building.
every time the door opened it would squeak, as did the slat benches as the new comer found their spot. The DRAFT of cool air was always refreshing, allowing Marian to tolerate a few more minutes.

The atmosphere was always so quiet as the strangers sitting naked, or wrapped in their towels, barely acknowledged one another. Occasionally friends came together and chatted as if there were at a cocktail PARTY or coffee shop, ignoring the presence of anyone else despite the close quarters.

Today Marian was visiting a spa, where she’d have a private wooden armoire style infrared sauna all to herself. The ambiance was hers to create by selecting her own musical playlist to be piped in, selecting a favorite essential oil for the steamer, and pick whichever chakra color lightening she preferred.

All of those options, and the devices that set them in motion, were too difficult to navigate. Marian entered the box. Sitting uncomfortably upright she watched the timer countdown the minutes of her not so luxurious after all birthday indulgence.

Heather