A Tale Of Shadows (Wattys 2023) - REPLACED BY DIVINE ASCENSION

Chapter 14 - Spilling Secrets

For what seemed to be around a minute, Melinda, Frank and Agatha all stood before the door like statues, trembling with fear as they anticipated their visitor, whoever it was. Fortunately for them, it was merely Amanda, who greeted them with a weak smile, a gesture which they returned.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully at once, breaking the silence. "I see that you're worried, but fear not. I just want to talk to Miss Grey for a short while."

With a solemn nod, Melinda took her hand, leaving the room. As they slowly strolled down the hallway, which was completely silent and full of shadows, Melinda busied herself with thinking, cogs turning in her head as she formed various theories on what the reason for all of this could be. 

The rotting wooden floorboards creaked between them, making noise in place of words, which irritated her immensely, along with all the dust that lingered in the small space. All of this made the walk feel eternal to her, although she loved walks. There were also countless oaken doors lined up neatly along the walls, standing firm as soldiers, making her feel as if she were walking through one of the circles of Hell. She'd have given anything for it to stop.

"Why aren't we there yet?" she asked, her impatience showing ever so slightly.

Amanda turned around suddenly. "We need to go far from the general walking area so that no one sees us. There's a certain room I've had in mind, but it'll take a little while to reach. I'm sure we'll be there soon, though."

Melinda nodded meekly.

In a couple of minutes, they were there. Amanda opened the creaking and dusty door, leaving them in a cloud of dust. Melinda entered first, after which Amanda came in soon and closed the door as fast as she could, turning around again just in case, but the hallway was as empty as always. 

When Melinda took a short amount of time to observe her surroundings, she noticed that the room really did look like it was hardly ever used, if at all. What little furniture there was - a brown couch, a rectangular coffee table, as well as two oaken chairs dyed black - was wrapped in transparent cloths almost entirely covered by cobwebs. Insects crawled intensely beneath the gaping floorboards that barely stood still, crawling desperately until they eventually succumbed to their wretched fate in this terrible place and were eaten by rats. The walls were a dull, cracked yellow, hidden by nothing. There was a vase full of chrysanthemums, but they all withered long ago. She gave Amanda a brief glance, and in that moment, she looked withered as well. She supposed that this was simply what the house did to people, along with things.

"So, what have you brought me here for?" she said after a while to break the depressing silence.

Amanda let out a heavy sigh. "I don't wish to do this, but I know that it must be done. I've brought you here because I'm about to tell you something that can't leave these walls."

"Oh," Melinda said, raising an eyebrow. "Is it a secret?"

Amanda scowled. "It is, but not the one you were expecting. I'm only telling you this one because it's very important. I don't trust you enough to tell you the other one."

"But why?" Melinda pouted. "I'll tell you my secret. I've come to trust you. I respect you enough to let you know."

Amanda glared at her. "Miss Grey, I'd love it if you behaved more consistently. Your contradictions confuse and anger me. I don't know what you aim to achieve with this. You're a strange person, you know?"

"Oh, come on!" Melinda said, throwing her hands in the air. "I haven't even told you my secret yet, and you're already confused and angry!"

Amanda stared at her stupidly.