Although most of the buildings in the town were tilting, this cathedral seemed to be near falling over. Tall marble walls shone in the silvery moonlight and the ebony doors seemed to glare at the siblings as they approached.
Before they could knock, the door was flung open by a tall and gangly figure. Their lips curled too far up their face and it took a moment for the Brother to realize they were smiling.
"More guests," they tittered quietly, "Welcome, welcome... I'm so pleased you made it..." They wore a moulding black-and-red striped suit, which resembled a circus costume that had been tossed aside for decades. A tiny pin on their lapel read 'The Caretaker'. Their face was sunken and white as the moon, their eyes lifeless.
The Caretaker pressed against the wall, making space for the Brother and Sister to walk past them. They kept mumbling under their breath and it was hard to tell what to listen to and what was nervous babbling.
The nave was filled with tables where the pews should have been, silk tablecloths draped over the dark wood. People floated around the room. They were whispering, the sounds melding together to sound like wind blowing through the trees.
The Caretaker was beside the Brother and Sister suddenly, looming over them like a praying mantis.
"Take a seat, take a seat...." they told the siblings, "Anywhere you like... drinks will be served momentarily..."
The Brother and Sister were siphoned into the throngs of people. The Sister's eyes were starting to look more glazed, as though the mind behind them was spring cleaning, slowly getting emptier and emptier.
The Brother was watching the other guests. There were people from all walks of life - one person even had a stethoscope curled around their neck like a snake.
YOU ARE READING
an untitled story about ambivalence
Mystery / Thriller𝘵𝘸 - 𝘴𝘶!𝘤!𝘥𝘦, 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦@𝘵𝘩 "Seems a shame," the woman on the couch whispered, "To be inside on such a nice night." "Not for long," her brother mumbled, almost mournfully, "not for long..."
