Azriela's Dream

It's early in the morning, and that makes me feel comfortable showing you the house. It's a big house, with dark, shaded windows all around the house. The tall grey walls cover the whole building, now with green creepers growing on them, but you say that you like it the way it is. As I take out my set of keys to unlock the main gate, a cold wind blows, making me take a look around, then at you. I see that you can't keep your eyes off the house...like you are drawn to it. I smile as a proverb comes to my mind, 'Like a moth to a flame,' I think. As I finally unlock the main gates, you step forward into the compound...only to find weeds and more creepers growing in the garden. I smile and shrug, weeds and creepers could be dealt with, easily in fact. What I was feeling inside was a different matter. You smile back, and take my hand in yours, giving me strength to place one food ahead the other. I start doubting myself, 'Why did I bring you here? Should we leave? Can we leave?' I see you pointing to the many marble and bronze statues scattered around the houses' compound...something new to you. Well something new at least to someone who's idea of a house was 4 walls and a roof, maybe a small garden/compound area thrown in for fun. You caress the marble statue of a man with one arm sliced off at the elbow. I shiver as I think of myself in the same statue's place. The bronze statues are worse from wear, some green stained from the oxidization and mould. I turn and look at the front gate, never in my whole life did 10 feet feel so far away, the gate was like an optical illusion, moving further with gridlines. I waver in spirit to show you the house and it's rooms, but you just smile and nudge me to its door.

The door is solid wood, if I'd know better it could have even been oak, but it didn't matter. What mattered was what lay behind it. I slide the iron key into the keyhole and hear the latch click, loud in the silent area. Surprisingly the door opens without a creek, unlike the main gate. You notice this, and glance at me with a raised eyebrow, but I keep silent, as I have told you before we came, no questions...I just didn't have the answers, not now. We both walk in, you ahead of me and I am grateful for that. The hall we enter first smells of mildew and rot, and there is some water at the end of it, in a small pool. There must be a leak, and I find you tracing the walls and ceilings with your eyes looking for the tell tail signs of it. But you find none. I sense this troubles you, but I keep quiet and try the light switch. A dry click follows with no light, it was a useless gesture, I knew for sure that there would be no lights or electricity here, maybe not ever. We move on to the next room, a dining room from the looks of the large table laid in the middle of it. Even here the signs of rot show, the chairs have all lost their backs, some lying on the floor, broken and shattered. The urge to leave this accursed place is back now, stronger then ever, but I must show you, I must do it now. I press on, towards the flight of stairs. As we climb up I notice that I am breathing heavily, as if I have just ran a hundred meters in 10 seconds flat. I struggle to calm myself, to show you that I am not as weak as I felt, but I manage only to start myself sweating. Already the white top I have on is drenched from the back down in my sweat. Surprisingly you take no notice of this, and grunt as I stop mid-flight. At the top of the stairs a soft breeze blows, but it is dark and there are no open windows, none that I can see at least. We move towards the end of the corridor, and there I can see fingers of sunlight streaming into the old building, fighting a loosing battle with the darkness. The dust mites can be seen clearly here, and I hear you sneeze silently into the cup of your hands. You've always had a sensitive nose. 'Here finally,' I think to myself as we face a red door. I turn to look at you and you look back at me, wondering why I have stopped. I reach for the doorknob, but stop and draw back my hand.

I start to shake, and clasp my hands close to my body, feeling cold and alone suddenly. You move me aside and reach for the knob, but I stop you and try again to open the door. This was my idea, and I was going to see it through, even if it killed me. That fact loomed in front of me, seeming ever so real now. I open the door and in the centre of the bare room there is a stone; maybe even marble, crypt. Here the sun shine's bright and for a minute my fears are laid to rest. But then I notice that the light is actually coming from the crypt, and there is shadow all around the circle of light. I hear you draw your breath sharply, this was what I wanted to show you. For a moment both of us just stand there, not moving. After a while, you walk towards the crypt and run your hands over it, much like you did with the statues in the compound. Here you find the crypt not affected by mould or oxidization; in fact it is clean and smooth. Then suddenly there is a rumble and dust falls from the cover of the crypt. I run towards you and hold your arm, feeling a little safe, as safe as I could ever feel in this place. The cover falls surprisingly quickly to the floor, but there is a sense of weight, and I doubt that the both of us could have even lifted it without aid. Next I notice that you are not there anymore, gone in the darkness without a sound. I turn to find you, but you are no where to be seen. Slowly I walk towards the open tomb, every fiber of being in me screaming for me to stop. I've watched movies, I knew what usually happened. The girl would get into a sexy blouse, and walk towards something dark that usually ended up with her being cut up but I couldn't help myself. I needed to know what was inside, what drew me to the house every time. There inside I saw, bats, thousands of them, flying straight at me. I turn to run, but you are there behind me, with your arm out. At first I think that you are reaching for me, but I notice the sick grin on your face. You push me into the crypt and the world as I know it goes dark and silent.

 

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