Requiem

by Alexandru Tănase

#englishcorner #shortstory #timeforreading

Everything was prepared. I left the letter on the kitchen table where I knew it would be found hours
later. I left behind nothing that I didn’t want to be found. I was walking through the dark, foggy
forest just outside my town, searching for the ideal place to finish the job. Deep inside the dead,
autumnal forest, I found a tree with a branch strong enough for me to make my noose. There was no
way a branch that big would break and the rope was the best quality I could find at the hardware
store. I climbed the tree and worked meticulously for a few minutes until it was done. All I had left to
do was put the noose around my head and let myself fall from the branch, which I did with no
hesitation. Initially there was a strong burning sensation around my neck that spread to my whole
body within seconds as if my whole body had been doused in gasoline and set on fire. Then came
the numbness after what seemed to have been hours of standing in flames and everything around
me was blurring out until I lost my eyesight completely. The only thing that still went through my
mind was a plead to the universe for the end to come faster…

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, making me instinctively open my eyes. It seemed to be the sound
of electrical wires falling over. I was in the middle of a street in the middle of what seemed to be a
town. As the seconds went by, I examined my surroundings. I saw a fallen electrical tower not very
far away from me, which must have caused that sound, but there was something else confusing me.
The town looked as if it had been through a brutal battle. There were huge holes in the asphalt, the
buildings were ruined and the streets were completely deserted. It was probably around midnight
and the streetlights that were still functioning made for a dismal atmosphere. Every few seconds you
could hear the flickering of a neon sign that was barely attached to its post. I started taking a few
steps forward, carefully inspecting every crack of every building and flinching at the slightest sound.

‘Is this hell?’ I kept asking myself as I was picking up the pace. I took a few hundred steps until I
reached a crossroad. I initially looked left and noticed the road was blocked by a metallic gate. The
gate was small and one could easily see through it, but strangely enough but everything beyond the
gate was pure blackness and no object could be distinguished further from it. I couldn’t remember
seeing a night so dark. Still, I walked towards the gate, put my hand on it and gave it a gentle push. It
didn’t budge, so I turned my back towards it and started taking steps in the opposite direction.

“Looks like going right is the only opt-“ I started thinking out loud until I heard movement and a
metallic screech.

I froze for a moment, knowing I had just turned my back and that I could not see anything beyond
the gate. My reflexes made me turn back towards the gate, which was open. Just in front of it, there
were 3 men standing. The one in the middle was the tallest of the three and was the only one whose
face was visible. He was bald, imposing, had the composure of a military man. The other two had a
similar build, but their entire head were covered by helmets and masks. Their attired slightly
resembled a military one, but it seemed to be improvised and didn’t look like official uniforms.
“I know you’ve always wanted to see what’s beyond this gate. Follow me and you’ll find out.” The
man in the middle spoke, turning back along with the other two and disappearing in the darkness
beyond the gate.

I walked towards the gate and through it as if I was in a mirage, as if I had entirely lost control of my
body. The notion of time evaporated and after an unknown amount of robotic walking in a straight
line, I found myself on a gravel road going up a hill. The city became but a group of tiny, flickering
lights a long way downhill from where I arrived. Around me, there was complete darkness, I felt I
could barely see myself. A weak, yellow shimmering light caught my attention. I strained my eyes to
find its source and discovered an outline of sorts on the left side of the road. After taking a few steps
in its direction, I could distinguish the form of a long building that was along the road. My whole
being concentrated on the dim light which seemed to be the only way out of the darkness. I reached
the wall of the strange building and walked alongside it until I could find a door. I reluctantly touched
the handle and pushed it slowly. The door was strangely open and I entered, walked through a small
lobby to find what seemed to be a very long hallway with doors on both sides, To the left, there was
darkness, but the far right end was lit.

‘That’s where the light must have come from’ I thought and started taking slow, silent steps on the
marble floor. As I got closer to the end of the hallway, I distinguished some silhouettes moving in the
dimly lit end. The closer I’d get to it, the more confident I’d become, as the yearning to get an
answer about where I was burned hotter. The end of the hallway was wider than the rest of it, as
there was an empty space where there was probably supposed to be a room. There were a few old
couches and some low tables, making it seem like a recreation room of sorts. The silhouettes turned
out to be a group of girls and boys, a group that was odd by all means. They were walking around
the space seemingly random and they’d interact between each other, but I couldn’t hear or
understand what they were saying to each other. They were all unusually pale and had eerie face
expressions that somehow conveyed sadness, happiness and neutrality at the same time. What I
could not understand, however, is the fact that they didn’t seem to notice my presence. They would
walk right in front of me as if I was not there and peacefully continue whatever they were doing. I
couldn’t help but stare at them in disbelief, unable to understand their nature.

Suddenly, a few moments later, I heard a door open just behind me. I turned back and saw the same
bald man I had seen in front of the gate exit one of the rooms on the side of the hallway. All the
mysterious people also stopped whatever they were doing and looked towards the man, as if he was
a leader of sorts.

“It’s alright. He’s a guest here, you don’t have to avoid him. I brought him here in the first place.” He
said, and everyone started looking at me suddenly, as if I had been invisible up until that point and
finally materialized.

That was when the people in the room started to change. I could see dark marks appearing on their
wrists, hands, legs and almost covering their entire bodies. As seconds passed, the scars were getting
wider and longer and a dreadful pitch black liquid would start pouring out of them, yet they did not
seem to be bothered at all.

“Walk with me for a moment.” I heard the bald man speak, startling me. I had completely forgot he
was still there, watching over everyone.
I walked towards him and we started walking through the dark hallway. The building seemed to be
poorly maintained and the paint, the doors were faded and old. I couldn’t help but notice that the
rooms were numbered, but in a way that was contrary to all logic. Room 4397 could be right by
room 19, for instance. My lack of understanding about the strange world around me transformed
into a tingling in my whole body and I knew I couldn’t keep my composure for much longer.

“What is this place? Why am I here?” I asked, failing to hide the desperation from my voice.

“It’s not something you can really define, but I can promise that you will find your answer very
soon.” He replied, amplifying my anguish.

I wanted to protest, but before I could do so the man stopped. We were in the small lobby I had
entered through. He went behind some sort of counter that almost resembled a reception desk and
took a key.

“Let me show you to your room. I should also give you this.” He spoke and handed me an old, rusty
key with a tag that had the number 136 written on it. We walked further down the hallway for a few
seconds until he stopped and pointed his hand towards a door, which had the number 136 written
on it. I unlocked the door and entered a dark room and behind me, the man turned on the light. The
pale yellow light was dim, but bright enough for me to inspect the surroundings. The room vaguely
resembled a typical old motel room and there was an odd smell that screamed ‘old’ in the
atmosphere. There was an old bed, a small bedroom and some dirty curtains covering a window
with a wooden frame. The only oddity in the room was that there was a shelf not far from the bed
with a few glasses on bottles on it.

“I’ll get going now. I know you must be tired after all you’ve been through. If I may, could I suggest
you have a sip from that bottle of wine? I find it quite…reinvigorating.” The man said, pointed
towards a bottle and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I spent a few more moments in complete confusion, staring at random objects in the room, trying to
imagine what kind of place I could be in. At some point, I noticed the bottle the man had showed me
again and went over to inspect it. It was quite dusty and seemed old and I could figure out it was a
white wine. I figured out that taking the man’s advice and having a few sips could not do any bad
and conveniently enough, there was a bottle opener on the same shelf. I opened the bottle, grabbed
a dusty glass from the shelf and filled half of it. The taste was profound and at the perfect border
between sweet and dry. It didn’t seem to be one of the cheap ones you’d find in a corner store, in
any case. I downed the glass and strangely, I felt a soothing sensation all over my body, but it wasn’t
the regular buzz one would get from alcohol, but much more intense and profound. The whole
tension that had accumulated in myself from the moment I found myself in the deserted city
seemed to slowly disintegrate and I felt a sudden urge to lie in bed, although I hadn’t felt very tired
before. I layed myself in bed and before I could resume my thoughts, I passed out in a sleep deeper
anything I’d experienced before and only woke up to a few glints of light coming through the
curtains of the room’s only window. I slowly got up from the bed, feeling somewhat more calm
compared to the previous evening. I went up to the window and drew the curtains, hoping that the
lack of darkness would tell me more about where I was. However, the darkness was replaced by a
thick fog that was just as opaque as the last night’s blackness. The natural light itself didn’t seem to
be normal, as it was too dim, even for a cloudy or foggy day and grey in color.
I spent a few moments walking aimlessly around the room until I decided to exit and see what was
going on. I opened the door and entered the hallway and I immediately noticed the sound of people
talking from a room not far away. I looked to the right and noticed an open door further down the
hallway and I was certain that was where the sound was coming from. I started walking in that
direction and reluctantly entered the open room. It was much larger than my room and was almost
completely unfurnished. There were a lot of people roaming around, many more than the group I
had seen the previous night. They, again, seemed almost normal at first, but within a few moments
the scars on their bodies and the mysterious dark liquid started to reappear. The mysterious bald
man was standing in a corner and quietly observing the interactions.

“Oh, there you are. We were waiting for you in order to begin.” He said once he noticed me, with a
subtle smile on his face.

“Begin what?” I asked in confusion.

“You’ll see.” He replied and I noticed everyone around me forming a circle.

Everyone started holding hands in order to finish the circle and I noticed how two girls, one on each
of my sides were reaching their hands for mine in order to complete it. I reluctantly took their hands,
which felt abnormally cold and thee circle started moving. It was a slow, lethargic movement at first,
but I could feel how everyone was slowly speeding up the pace. Before I could realize what I had
been opted into, the slow movement developed into a hypnotic dance of some sort. We were
almost running and were jumping in every direction, yet still keeping the circle united. The moves
were something my clumsy self would have never been able to master, but in that moment, my
body was acting completely independent from my mind. With every second that passed, everything
around me was getting brighter and it went on until almost my entire surroundings had whitened
out. Just as the last outlines of my surroundings were about to completely disappear, I felt a strong
hand grabbing me by the neck and pull me away from the circle with force. I was filled with panic
and everything around me returned to the initial state. I noticed how everyone else that formed the
circle had stopped from the dance, but before I could get a better look at everyone the same hand
grabbed me from behind and dragged me outside of the room. It was the bald man, who also left the
room and closed the door behind him. He was wearing the same clothes I have always seen him in,
but strangely, he also had what seemed to be a sheathed sword attached to his belt.

“I hope you now understand why you don’t belong here.” He spoke gravely, looking right into my
eyes.

“What do you mean? What is happening?” I shouted between breaths, as panic was making it
almost impossible to breathe.

“You’re not like the others here. This time, I’m going to make an exception.” He said, reaching for his
sword.

I wanted to scream and run, but I froze completely. I saw the man draw the sword from the sheath
and I closed my eyes, expecting to receive the final blow, but instead I could hear the sword slashing
the air above my head.
I suddenly felt as if I had fallen to the ground and I could sense an ache throughout my whole body. I
could not make any move for minutes and I my entire perception of the outside world was blocked,
as if I was levitating in a void. My senses, however, started slowly coming back to me and a few
moments later I felt as if I was lying on grass and I had a strange sensation around my neck. I built up
the courage to open my eyes and was almost blinded by bright sunlight coming from above me. As
my eyes were getting used to the light, I first noticed that I was, indeed lying on grass and that I must
have been in a forest. The trees were green and the sounds of birds and critters was all around the
place. I watched my surroundings in awe, believing I was hallucinating. After partially recovering
from the shock, I still felt an uncomfortable sensation around my neck. I touched it and I could feel
my heart stopping for a second. There was a collar of rope around my neck. I panicked and pulled it
out violently, scratching my whole face and upon glancing at it, I noticed it was the noose I had made
myself. It was cut from the rest of the rope with the cleanest cut I had ever seen. I instinctively
looked above and remembered the thick branch I had tied it to, which had the other part of the rope
still hanging around it.

I stared at the two pieces of rope for what seemed like an hour and every time I’d look closer, I’d
realize there was no possible way the rope broke in that exact way under my own weight. It was
supposed to be able to hold at least a few times my weight.

There was only one thing that could make a cut that clean.