Hallway
I have had dreams about many fantastic and bizarre worlds, but no realm is as odd as this one. No world remained when I woke. Am I awake?
I thought to myself; there’s no way I am dreaming. I can’t seem to revive from this illusional state of mind. As I look around, I try to make out my surroundings.
I am lying on the floor. The ceiling is high above me, with a single dull light bulb adding minimal light to the bare room. There is a sizable dirty window and a slightly opened door to my left.
I get up and make my way toward the door. I hear a strange noise through the walls. I think to myself, “What can it be?” Then someone comes near the door and peeks in at me.
Her eyes are distant, as though she had seen something bone-chilling. She gazed at me, her dull blue eyes begging for help, but she didn’t speak. Her skin is pale, almost translucent, and it clung to her bones like wet tissue. Her hair is knotted and unclean. She waved her ashen hand at me to follow her.
I followed her out of the eerie, barely lit room into a long hallway with cobwebs and leaky pipes. I could hear the drips as we continued down the hall. There were doors on both sides. I wondered, “What could be inside of them?” We continued to walk down the hallway. She turned around to me and whispered, “Shh… don’t make a sound”.
I nodded at her. She appeared to be grimacing. Was she in pain or contemplating a sinister plan? I casually reached for a doorknob; it was locked. I tried the next, and it, too, was sealed shut. She gazed back at me as if to say, “Quiet.” I looked down at the floor and noticed she was leaving watery footprints on the dirty tiles. Yet, she did not appear wet. Ok, wake up. I can’t; I am awake.
I dug deep down in my mind trying to remember how I got here and who this woman was. I drew blanks. NOTHING! I can’t remember a thing! I started to panic. I thought, “I must find my way out of here.” There are so many doors. I didn’t know which one would lead me away from here, an escape from this nightmare. What if all of the doors are locked? What if she holds the keys? How can I find out? How can I get them from her?
I gently whispered, “Where are we going?” As soon as the last word left my lips, the lights flickered. She turned with a scowled look and put her boney finger to her colorless lips. As she turned her head to face forward, she flits as though she were an image from an antique projector. I closed my eyes and shook my head; she was several feet ahead of me when I opened them. This hallway feels as though it is timeless with no end.
I could hear an old rotary phone ringing far in the distance. Every ring became louder with each echo it made. I feel chills running up my back. Then downwards, leaving my body covered in goosebumps. You would have thought there were spikes under my loose ripped, dirty clothes. I continued to quiver with every ring. The ringing abruptly stopped. Did someone answer the phone? I continued to keep walking and sighed awkwardly. I was thinking, “I finally heard something other than the drips from the loose pipes and the echoes from my steps vibrating off the hollow walls of the antagonizing, never-ending hallway. It was a relief in the queerest yet comforting way. Then I thought, what if this woman, the hallway, and the ringing were just my imagination? What if all this wasn’t happening? What if this was all just a dream? Is this my new reality?
She stops, turns to me, and her gaze is piercing and cold. I didn’t imagine chills could grow colder; I feel as though my bones have frostbite. With her deathlike lips silently moving, she waves for me to move forward. She turned and continued to walk. Her walk seems more of a glide — graceful elegance and mystery.
I started to accept my new reality and embrace it. I moved closer to this frightening graceful hologram and put my faith in her. I acknowledged that she was the only actual being I had seen in a long time. I anxiously hoped for another person to distract the intensity of the two of us. I still wonder who was calling and who picked up.
I looked around her and saw an antique desk with an old phone and an open book. We were just feet away when the phone rang. She didn’t answer. I had to hear any voice; this silence was deafening. I pick up the receiver, whispering, “Hello.” No answer, only a dial tone. I gently hung up. I noticed my name written neatly on the tattered yellowed book page. I looked to see the last door at the end of this dreadful hallway — the Morgue.
The ghostlike woman walked through the closed door; I reached for the handle and opened it. There were five empty gurneys — one with a white sheet covering a body; the body had a tag tied to the left big toe. As I read the label, my hands shook; I let out a sharp gasp and released the loose label. Following with a quivering breath, I lowered the sheet.
I tearfully looked into my lifeless eyes.
THE END
I have had dreams about many fantastic and bizarre worlds, but no realm is as odd as this one. No world remained when I woke. Am I awake?
I thought to myself; there’s no way I am dreaming. I can’t seem to revive from this illusional state of mind. As I look around, I try to make out my surroundings.
I am lying on the floor. The ceiling is high above me, with a single dull light bulb adding minimal light to the bare room. There is a sizable dirty window and a slightly opened door to my left.
I get up and make my way toward the door. I hear a strange noise through the walls. I think to myself, “What can it be?” Then someone comes near the door and peeks in at me.
Her eyes are distant, as though she had seen something bone-chilling. She gazed at me, her dull blue eyes begging for help, but she didn’t speak. Her skin is pale, almost translucent, and it clung to her bones like wet tissue. Her hair is knotted and unclean. She waved her ashen hand at me to follow her.
I followed her out of the eerie, barely lit room into a long hallway with cobwebs and leaky pipes. I could hear the drips as we continued down the hall. There were doors on both sides. I wondered, “What could be inside of them?” We continued to walk down the hallway. She turned around to me and whispered, “Shh… don’t make a sound”.
I nodded at her. She appeared to be grimacing. Was she in pain or contemplating a sinister plan? I casually reached for a doorknob; it was locked. I tried the next, and it, too, was sealed shut. She gazed back at me as if to say, “Quiet.” I looked down at the floor and noticed she was leaving watery footprints on the dirty tiles. Yet, she did not appear wet. Ok, wake up. I can’t; I am awake.
I dug deep down in my mind trying to remember how I got here and who this woman was. I drew blanks. NOTHING! I can’t remember a thing! I started to panic. I thought, “I must find my way out of here.” There are so many doors. I didn’t know which one would lead me away from here, an escape from this nightmare. What if all of the doors are locked? What if she holds the keys? How can I find out? How can I get them from her?
I gently whispered, “Where are we going?” As soon as the last word left my lips, the lights flickered. She turned with a scowled look and put her boney finger to her colorless lips. As she turned her head to face forward, she flits as though she were an image from an antique projector. I closed my eyes and shook my head; she was several feet ahead of me when I opened them. This hallway feels as though it is timeless with no end.
I could hear an old rotary phone ringing far in the distance. Every ring became louder with each echo it made. I feel chills running up my back. Then downwards, leaving my body covered in goosebumps. You would have thought there were spikes under my loose ripped, dirty clothes. I continued to quiver with every ring. The ringing abruptly stopped. Did someone answer the phone? I continued to keep walking and sighed awkwardly. I was thinking, “I finally heard something other than the drips from the loose pipes and the echoes from my steps vibrating off the hollow walls of the antagonizing, never-ending hallway. It was a relief in the queerest yet comforting way. Then I thought, what if this woman, the hallway, and the ringing were just my imagination? What if all this wasn’t happening? What if this was all just a dream? Is this my new reality?
She stops, turns to me, and her gaze is piercing and cold. I didn’t imagine chills could grow colder; I feel as though my bones have frostbite. With her deathlike lips silently moving, she waves for me to move forward. She turned and continued to walk. Her walk seems more of a glide — graceful elegance and mystery.
I started to accept my new reality and embrace it. I moved closer to this frightening graceful hologram and put my faith in her. I acknowledged that she was the only actual being I had seen in a long time. I anxiously hoped for another person to distract the intensity of just the two of us. I still wonder who was calling and who picked up.
I looked around her and saw an antique desk with an old phone and an open book. We were just feet away when the phone rang. She didn’t answer. I had to hear any voice; this silence was deafening. I pick up the receiver, whispering, “Hello.” No answer, only a dial tone. I gently hung up. I noticed my name written neatly on the tattered yellowed book page. I looked to see the last door at the end of this dreadful hallway — the Morgue.
The ghostlike woman walked through the closed door; I reached for the handle and opened it. There were five empty gurneys — one with a white sheet covering a body; the body had a tag tied to the left big toe. As I read the label, my hands shook; I let out a sharp gasp and released the loose label. Following with a quivering breath, I lowered the sheet.
I tearfully looked into my lifeless eyes.
THE END
Wysteria Baasel & Mojha MacDowell
2021
