Nowhere
It was a cold night though the culprit could neither be rain nor snow. It was just in the air. And as if the chilly air was not enough, the fog impaired your vision and made it impossible to see a few feet away. It was one of those nights where you would be afraid to walk alone in, yet there she was, walking alone. A girl of eighteen, maybe twenty years in the middle of nowhere.
A string of lamp posts serves as her guide through the dense fog. She had been walking that path for what seemed like forever. Perhaps because she had no destination in mind at all, neither could she remember how she arrived in nowhere. But it was sure that nowhere gave her the creeps. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand, and every now and then would pace faster. She walked and walked some more until the distant, blur ahead took shape. A large grey building? She walked closer. Yes, but a mansion, rather. That’s strange. A mansion in the middle of nowhere. She approached it anyway. Anything just to escape the eerie silence of the area she had been walking in. Surely it was better indoors than outside. And maybe they can help me find my way back, she thought.
She glanced up towards the windows and each one of them had lights on, reassuring her that the house was occupied. When she reached the doors, however, she felt like she was disturbing the occupants. So she turned away and saw the dark fog once again then to the twin front doors. Walk in the middle of nowhere alone or get in that house? She knocked on the door. Her knocks resonated loudly through the house, she could hear. A while later the doors opened revealing a little girl in ponytails and a frilly dress. “Good evening. You must be one of the guests.” she said with a smile. They both stood silently, staring at each other. “Oh, I’m sorry! Come in. Come in.” she said as she motioned for her to come in. Glad that she had been welcomed, she went in and the little girl closed the doors behind them.
The extravagantness of the house showed itself through its polished red wood floors, large windows, and high ceiling. Through the front doors, you arrive at a great hall splitting in the middle with two staircases and on the sides led to different rooms and halls. She found herself speechless.“This way, Miss.” She followed the little girl into an even grander room. A ballroom where a party was held. Lads and gentlemen clad in suits and women in elaborate dresses and gowns. The chatter and noise of what seemed like a hundred people echoed. The little girl bowed to her, smiled, and left her.
She had no idea about the party, but she was glad she was indoors. Now she could concentrate on getting her answers and maybe get home. She walked back out from the room and wandered through the house’s countless rooms. So far, no one else other than the little girl spoke to her. She tried to talk to the staff, but then they would go away in such a hurry.
Then she reached a hall that seemed to be a connector to a different building. One side was all new and had walls and floor in polished red wood. The other had only grey -- the kind of grey that was like unpainted concrete walls. She walked into it. Halfway through, a guy in a straightjacket passed by, not even noticing her. Her eyes grew wide and stopped right in her tracks. She inched away from him.
A tap on the shoulders suddenly came, “Why, hello! May I help you?” She gasped and turned around. Surprise was quite evident on her face as he was the first to ever speak to her after the little girl. He was a man of average height. His skin was pale and he wore glasses and a lab coat. He had a creepy grin. His hair was white and greasy. In his hands he held scalpels. It was the perfect impression of a doctor, a mad one. But she hadn’t noticed. She wanted to get out of there and get home. “W-well, ye-yes,” she stuttered, “Please help me. I’m quite lost, you see. Not just in this building, b-but you wouldn’t believe it! I was walking outside a-and I couldn’t even remember how I was outside! Just where is this place? It’s so strange. It seems like I’m in a dream, but it’s not a dream. It just feels too real.”
“Where is this place? Well, welcome to Sta. Clara Asylum!” he then came closer and whispered, “And yes, you’re right. It’s not a dream. It’s a nightmare.”
All the blood seemed to drain from her face as she noticed the scalpels and the blood stains on the edges of the man’s coat. He seemed like he would stab her any second with the scalpels. “Nightmare?” on the outside, she was calm, but the beads of sweat on her forehead proved otherwise. She maintained her movements and facial expressions to hide weakness, but her mind was in a jumble. I have to get away from here, away from him.
The man just grinned, “Yes, a nightmare”. His grin disappeared and turned into a stern, scary face, “Don’t you dare try to evade it by the foolish idea of getting away from here. Besides, there’s no way out”, his grin returned.
“Getting away from here? Now, why would I do that? I believe the night is young and the party has just started”, her voice shook a little.
“Very well, enjoy yourself, young woman. Be very careful for you do not know these walls.” and the man turned and left, obviously, leaving his mark on her. She became wary. What the man said worried her terribly and she would glance over her shoulder every now and then to see if anyone was watching her or worse, following her. Then she stumbled upon him, one of the employees. A butler. She can tell from his attire and movements. She made no eye contact and continued walking, but he caught her by the hand. “Excuse me, young lady,” he said “It is not the best to wander alone through the house and especially not that way”. He pointed towards where she had been towards the asylum. She did not speak. “Many have wandered through this place and never came out. Please do stay only at the grand ballroom. Madame would love for all her guests to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of her asylum and the opening of the hospital next to it”. She nodded in response and continued her way through the corridors. They must only be bluffing. Just how dangerous could a house be? But she was not really sure of that so the thought that it might be true haunted her like a ghost.
The house was enormous. She took a turn here, took a turn there, and yet could not find the way to ballroom. There were just rooms and rooms. Perhaps she had passed through a hundred of them since she had been going at it for what seemed like hours. She wondered how anyone could live in such a maze. She stepped on something. A red, dark, sticky, liquid that hung to the bottom of her shoes. Blood.
She ran as fast as she can. I’ve had enough. She ran to who knows where, but soon enough, to her luck, the sight of the two twin doors was before her. She extended her hand to reach one of the doorknobs, but she stopped midway. Her heart skipped a beat. What if what the doctor said was true, that there was no escaping this? But there was none else she could do, so before she could doubt again, she grasped the doorknob and turned it. Indeed it could not be opened. She tried both doorknobs, but still, it could not be opened. Once. Twice. She tried. It was still locked and she could do nothing about it. She ran towards the large windows. She tried each one of them running faster and faster between each that would not open. Locked. Locked. Locked. Finally, she returned to the twin doors and tried once more. Locked. Desperate, she pounded the doors with three loud thuds. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. She collapsed on the floors. Hands covering her tear-stained face. Then she started to smile. And soon, the smile grew to laughter. A crazy laughter. With all that noise, it caught the attention of several employees. They lifted her up and straight they went towards the asylum. By now she had stopped laughing and only had a blank expression in her face. They brought her to a room, fitted her with a straightjacket, and left not forgetting to lock the door. Tears began to trickle once more. She had not anticipated they would fit her to a straightjacket that restricted her movements. She had planned to be in the asylum so she could maybe be able to get out through there, but the straightjacket did not allow it. And so, she was stuck there. Day after day went by with no chance of escape. Over the days and years she became truly insane. Insane enough for her to fit in perfectly in the asylum until one day she woke up in her house, on her bed, tucked in by a blanket. It was, indeed, only a nightmare.
©September 7, 2012
