Missing VII
I glance to my right and distinguish a faint light, about 10 steps from where I'm standing.
"Go on," my guide urges me. Two very strange-looking ligthbulbs throw long shadows and bizarre shapes onto the walls and corner. I can see a shadow emerging from the dark corner: an ancient wooden cabinet decorated with more encarvings.
My feet are heavy, tired, hesitating. Instinctively my hand touches the heavy cold watch in my left pocket. Smooth silver, oval shaped and fitting precisely into my palm. As I run my fingertips slowly over the engraved initials on the back, suddenly the cabinet comes into focus. In a spilt second I can see every detail: the structure of the wood, the leathery, parchment walls behind it covered with drawings of human shapes, the wood carvings consisting entirely of human an animal bodies, turning, whriting, torsing, entagled. I can see thousands of different creatures. It' s horrifying, I have to avert my eyes. Quickly I open a drawer of the cabinet, intending to place the watch in it and leave at once. But when I look closely I notice that the drawer is completely filled with watches looking exactly like mine. I keep pulling at the drawer, stepping back into the corridor. It doesn't seem to stop. Until I bump into something soft, warm. I jump. It's the guide, Virginie. She is still standing in the corridor, watching me.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"Well, I tried to open the drawer of the cabinet right there." I point into the darkness. "But it's terribly long."
"What?" She looks at me with disbelieve." Are you mad? Look at your hands. Nothing there but air."
She is right. I look down and see nothing. No drawer, not even the tips of my worn out shoes. Only blackness and night.
"Come on, let's go in." Virginie says, moving forward.
I put my hand in my pocket. The watch has gone. My hands are freezing.
"Go on," my guide urges me. Two very strange-looking ligthbulbs throw long shadows and bizarre shapes onto the walls and corner. I can see a shadow emerging from the dark corner: an ancient wooden cabinet decorated with more encarvings.
My feet are heavy, tired, hesitating. Instinctively my hand touches the heavy cold watch in my left pocket. Smooth silver, oval shaped and fitting precisely into my palm. As I run my fingertips slowly over the engraved initials on the back, suddenly the cabinet comes into focus. In a spilt second I can see every detail: the structure of the wood, the leathery, parchment walls behind it covered with drawings of human shapes, the wood carvings consisting entirely of human an animal bodies, turning, whriting, torsing, entagled. I can see thousands of different creatures. It' s horrifying, I have to avert my eyes. Quickly I open a drawer of the cabinet, intending to place the watch in it and leave at once. But when I look closely I notice that the drawer is completely filled with watches looking exactly like mine. I keep pulling at the drawer, stepping back into the corridor. It doesn't seem to stop. Until I bump into something soft, warm. I jump. It's the guide, Virginie. She is still standing in the corridor, watching me.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"Well, I tried to open the drawer of the cabinet right there." I point into the darkness. "But it's terribly long."
"What?" She looks at me with disbelieve." Are you mad? Look at your hands. Nothing there but air."
She is right. I look down and see nothing. No drawer, not even the tips of my worn out shoes. Only blackness and night.
"Come on, let's go in." Virginie says, moving forward.
I put my hand in my pocket. The watch has gone. My hands are freezing.
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