I gasped as I awoke. It took my eyes a while to adjust to the dark dusty corridor in front of me. Though it rang familiar, I was sure I had never seen this place before. I stood alone staring ahead. Moonlight flowed in through the window at the end of the hall in front of me.
A stale cold breeze drafted in from the ancient vent adjacent to the top right corner of the window. A thick cloud of dust floated between the moonbeams that faded in through the clouded glass. My eyes flitted down to the rotting red carpet of the walkway before me and to the small ratted chaise lounge against the dingy white wall to my right. This place stilled my heart with hopelessness.
Aside from the small nightstand in front of the lounge that held wilted flowers and a fraying doily, there was no other furniture to be seen in this hall. The left wall was dirty and baron of any decor.
I turned around over my right shoulder to check behind me. It was scarcely a moment later when I told myself I must be dreaming. There was nothing there.
It wasn't simply that there were no windows, doors or furniture. What I saw before me now was blackness. As if the world stopped just beyond the doorway.
I tried to tell myself to step forward. Perhaps the world before me would show itself if I could take that first step. But for some reason I couldn't do it. I stood there for a while staring at the darkness hoping and praying that this was a dream. Pondering hopelessly how I had even arrived here in this place. Why couldn't I recall how I had gotten here?
I glanced around.
Within reach of my left hand was a door. I turned to face it and reached forward towards the handle. Just as my fingers were about to make contact a small noise caught my attention. It came from the only other door that I could see, the one at the end of the hallway between the vent and the nightstand. I felt compelled to wander nearer.
I walked slowly towards the other door as if pulled there by an unseen force. As I passed the nightstand I stopped and my heartbeat increased. I caught sight of something out of the corner of my right eye that froze me in place. There was a window here that I was sure hadn't been there only a moment before.
For a moment I didn't dare look to my right, for as I closed my eyes I could feel another pair watching me from beyond the glass. My eyes opened onto the moonlight in front of me and I slowly arced my gaze across the wall, the crooked door, and to the edge of the new darkened window. I shook my head and continued my gaze into the dark room that I assumed the door ahead must lead to.
Five figures stood against the far wall of the dark room. At first I thought I may not be alone here after all, but as I inspected the figures I realized they were just outfits. Floating there with no people inside them.
The first outfit was for a dainty little thing. An old pair of bloomers beneath a pale yellow dress that had more frills that I thought necessary. A matching yellow parasol was propped against its right shoulder. The entire thing was moth eaten and faded with time.
The second figure dwarfed the first in its immense size. Taller and broader than all the rest of the figures, this one stood firm and intimidating. A frayed and knotted suit jacket. Stark black against the dingy white wall behind it. It's arms crossed as if judging the world and the once fancy hat tilted down as if to cover one eye of the nonexistent wearer.
The third figure was an outfit for a much shorter man, though obviously a muscular build. The blue grey sweater stretched taught over a well formed chest and slunk down to meet a pair of darker grey slacks. It looked much more carefree in its pose than the first two. I dare say it looked friendly as it casually leaned against the wall.
The fourth was another female form. This one seeped with elegance. The form taller than both the first and third donned a stunning floor length velvet dress. I was unsure of the color as she stood where the moonlight no longer reached and was mostly in shadow.
The fifth figure I knew was there. But I could not see it clearly through the shadows. It was as tall as the woman next to it, but a more lithe build. It was from this figures nonexistent gaze I felt my heartbeat quicken.
I stared at the figures a long time, and still convinced they were somehow a part of this dream. My eyes darted to look away from the eerie clothing, to the room itself. It was just as dusty and plain as the corridor I was in. Once my eyes met the shadows of this room however, I had to look down and away for fear that something may be hidden within their depths.
I noticed something then, the figures before me were all missing something. Shoes. I tilted my head as I thought hard about my first scrutiny of these figures and hadn't noticed that they weren't wearing any.
I looked back up to see them again and screamed as all of the clothing slammed down to the floor in four small heaps. I shot backwards against the other side of the hallway in shock.
My heart raced inside me as I struggled to comprehend what was going on. I chanted to myself incessantly that it was all just a dream as I sank to the floor, knees drawn in tightly. Trying desperately to make myself believe it.
The image replayed itself again in my memories. Four outfits fell to the floor far too quickly. As if gravity crushed the figures all at once. A thought clicked within me and my eyes flicked open onto my knees. Four figures had fallen. What of the fifth?
The one shrouded in darkness hadn't fallen, had it? I asked myself this question with dread as I realized I now had to know. My legs shook beneath me as I forced myself to stand. I looked to my right again hoping that somehow the rest of this corridor had appeared and that I could escape this place. But it was no use. Nothing but darkness led this way.
I turned my gaze back to the window in front of me and I approached warily. The four piles of clothing lie there in messy heaps as if they had always been that way. Dusty and baron.
I tried to see if the fifth pile was off to the right, but couldn't tell because of the shadow. I stepped closer still to the window and cupped my hands over my eyes to clear the glare of the moonlight from my vision. I stared right at where the clothing should be. There was nothing.
I stepped back and reasoned with myself. This had to be a dream. I had no recollection of arriving in this place and there seemed to be no escape. I pinched my arm and felt the familiar prick of pain. This genuinely concerned me. I felt pain here. I closed my eyes and again repeated my mantra though I now had my doubts that waking up would be my salvation.
I shook my head, and pinched myself again. No go. Waking myself up wasn't going to happen any time soon. For now, I could stay here and wait, or attempt to follow whatever story this place was attempting to reveal.
I planted my feet and surveyed the hallways again. Two choices now lay before me. The door to the left of the window that lead into the room with the four piles of clothing, or the door I had first seen to my right. Neither one particularly struck me as a smart option. The first had a figure missing that could very well mean me harm, the second was a mystery. Then there was the darkness...for some reason that wasn't an option.