Descriptive writing: A room with a table

The lustrous brass doorknob churned out a minuscule “squeak” as I tugged the door open,
liberating it to the distorted melodies of the decayed hinges. I ran my fingers down the
splintered ebony frame as I stepped inside, examining the sight bestowed upon me.

Golden fingers of light lit up the eerie scene, penetrating through the fractured window and
illuminating the lonely mahogany table placed at the centre of the room. Its top was engulfed in
an ornamental floral tablecloth that was pinned to each of its legs, perhaps to make sure it
wouldn’t abscond. Atop the cloth sat an old-fashioned rock crystal candelabra, its tulip-shaped
bulbs doing little to rival the harsh sunlight.

Placed meticulously on the table were cream-coloured ceramic dishes, each equidistant to each
other. Shining silverware was spilled haphazardly, their handles covered with faint traces of
grease and oil which formed the vague pattern of fingerprints. The rancid aroma of leftovers
pierced through the air, mingling closely with the sickly-sweet scent of blood-red roses that
graced the cold, marble floor.

Another step inside the room and drops of sweat had begun to slide down my face, periodically
spattering on the ground, only to be occasionally muffled by the soft rose petals. Embossed on
the wall beside me was the indentation of cranial bones, a few inches above a missing chunk of
the plaster, with teeth marks embedded abrasively on the drywall.

Another step towards the table, and a bucket of gravel was sprawled across the floor,
amalgamated with the craggy broken shards of glass that were stained crimson, the liquid
curdling on the floor until it achieved the consistency of cotton cheese. The pungent smell of
metal seemed unable to diffuse to the rest of the room and stayed immobile, occasionally
wafting through the fragmented remains of the window, and out of the room.

Another step towards the table, and the silhouette of an antique cedar grandfather clock was
visible towards the far right end of the room. Its pendulum oscillated to and fro hypnotically,
perfectly synchronised with the ticking of the hands which seemed to get louder with every
second that passed. The ticking appeared to constantly reverberate, bouncing off the rough
drywall until eventually, the clock struck midnight, with twelve loud clangs ringing through the
vast, endless night sky.