Tyler Herro, half-asleep, rolled over restlessly. Why was his bed so uncomfortable all of a sudden? He would have to leave a note for housekeeping to get him a new mattress. He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to go back to sleep; after all, he had slept in enough airport terminals to be accustomed to adverse sleeping conditions. However, when his groggy mind realized that there was also no pillow beneath his head, he knew something was wrong. So he opened his eyes.
Well, he wasn’t in his Orlando hotel room any more, that was for sure.
The comfortable bed beneath him had been replaced by a flat surface of shiny, unblemished marble. The blandly adorned hotel room walls were now medieval-esque stone edifices rising to the sky. And instead of a ceiling, there was a layer of silver clouds, illuminated from behind by a sun which glowed gentle gold. It was a very peaceful place. An almost heavenly place, really. But he had no idea how he had gotten there.
“Hello?” he asked out loud, but even the quiet volume of his voice seemed much too loud. There was nobody else around. In the distance, there was a fountain with a cascade of water falling down a central figurine. The splashing of the water was the only sound. Tyler walked towards that fountain, but when he reached it, he had not gotten any closer to the end of the hall. The walls just continued forever until they disappeared into the far distance.
Tyler sat down on the edge of the fountain and let his fingers run through the cool water. He found himself drifting into a sort of daze. There was no excitement in this place, but sometimes, on needed a respite from the unceasing demands and stresses of everyday life. Sitting by that fountain, his soul full to the brim with relaxed contentedness, Tyler found that respite.
Some amount of time passed. How much, exactly, was of no concern. When he looked up, he saw another man sitting next to him on the fountain’s edge.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” the man said by way of introduction when he noticed Tyler’s slight shifting movements. “But as the appointed Guardian of the Hall, it is my duty to provide counsel to the visitors who are making their first journey here.”
“…the Hall?” Tyler asked.
The man nodded. “Yes, the Hall of the Thirty Point Scorers. My name is Carlos Delfino and I am the Hall’s Guardian.”
The name was not familiar to Tyler, even though Carlos had stated it in a way which implied that his identity should be well-known. Tyler was too deep in relaxation to fret too much about this, however. He happily accepted the robe that Carlos handed to him and pulled it over his naked body. “How come nobody told me about this place?” he asked, thinking of all the players on the Heat that had scored thirty or more in their careers.
“Would you have believed anybody if they had told you of it?”
Tyler thought for a moment. “No. I would have thought it was them pulling another prank on the rookie.”
“Exactly,” Carlos said with a slight smirk. He got up from his seated position. “I will leave you alone, now. Again, my apologies for interrupting your serenity, but you will find that serenity always returns quickly in the Hall.”
Tyler was thinking about one of his favorite veterans on the team and how he would love to share this experience with him. “Can I invite Udonis here? Is that allowed?”
“Last name?” Carlos asked.
“Haslem.”
Carlos put on a pair of spectacles and withdrew a thick scroll from an inner pocket of his robe. “Ah, sorry, no. It appears Mr. Haslem has yet to score thirty in a regular season or playoff game.”
Tyler felt a small amount of sadness try to break through the wall of pure peacefulness that had enveloped his mind. “But he’s retiring soon. He’ll never score thirty before then.”
Carlos looked at Tyler over his spectacles. “Rules are rules. The Overseers become very displeased if the covenants of the Hall are broken in any way.” He then consulted his scroll again. “But there is good news for your friend. It appears he qualifies for entry into the Luxurious Finnish Sauna of Fierce Loyalty. Only those players whose careers are spent with a single franchise are allowed in, from what I understand. I am afraid I don’t qualify, myself.”
Tyler smiled. A steamy, invigorating sauna sounded like the next best thing to an infinite realm of unassailable placidity. Maybe he would one day be allowed into the Luxurious Finnish Sauna of Fierce Loyalty. For now, though, the Hall of the Thirty Point Scorers suited him just fine.