28 November 2012
Alice and Sophia were chatting away excitedly. They were talking about a party, our christmas eve party, but they didn't know where we could have it. No cars were on the road but ours. There was ice on the ground and settling snow. No one wanted to be out in that, especially with the snow coming down as thick as it was. Everyone was tucked up in their homes, despite it being only 6pm. "How about that place?" Alice called out, pointing out of the window. The car was going slow at this point anyway but I'm still surprised she saw the little castle-looking place on the side of the road. Alice got out and started to walk towards it. I flew out after her, ready to drag her back in. "Alice, get back in the car" I called as she got to the door. "Just one look, Louise" She replied, pushing the door open.
She stepped into the darkness.
Being the eldest I had to go get her, right? I couldn't just let her go in alone, could I? I ventured into the darkness with Sophia close behind me. A light came on before me, it was up ahead, so I followed it down a long corridor and into a tiny compact room. The only furniture in there were two chairs and a table. Upon the table was a crystal globe and at the back of the room there was a deep red curtain. I wondered what it led to. Alice was sitting on one of the chairs and opposite her was an old lady. She had thin wiry grey hair and dark eyes. Alice was talking about a hall and the woman was nodding away. "There's one out back" She smiled at me then pulled the curtain aside. The girls looked at me expectantly so I stepped round the table and into the darkness. "I'll get Marcel to turn the light on. Just walk straight until it comes on." The woman called out as the curtain fell and all my light was cut off. I stood there a while, my eyes adjusting to the light. Then I started walking in what I hoped to be a straight line. I could hear Alice talking excitedly about the party and asking all about the venue. There was a click and a dim light came on. I was in a long and wide corridor. It looked like I had stepped into a whole different place. All down the corridor, on both sides of me, were changing room stalls. They had old brown curtains for privacy too. It looked like I had just stepped into an old antique clothing shop. It smelt like it too. It had the old musky smell and I nearly choked on the smell of mothballs. I carried on walking, towards the back, as I passed I looked into the open stalls. People sat inside some of them. Some of them were reading books or playing cards and it seemed terribly eerie. The further down the corridor I got, the more I noticed dolls heads scattered about. Finally I found the door at the end and went through into the next room. It was dark inside but I continued to walk into the darkness. The sound of my feet echoed around me. A light flickered on, lighting a little of the room. The light came from a small tv sitting on the floor. As I got closer to the tv, Toy Story started to play. I stood there watching it.
I hadn't noticed, I was too busy watching the film, but then I looked down to find dolls heads around me. "What the?" I said aloud. And then I screamed...
The Fortune Teller's Venue • Opuss № I