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Project 30, Chapter 6 |
| Written by Project 30 | |
| Wednesday, 06 August 2008 | |
Chapter 6 - Kasi (Kasi Elaborated)
The room was empty of color, black and frigid. I felt the closest wall trying to read its thoughts, the houses thoughts. The room smelt musky and was thick with dust; I couldn't help but cough to clear my throat, no windows and no doors. I had to come in from somewhere. Each wall was about ten feet or so in length, rough cobblestone. I felt the veins of mortar and the uneven contours of each cut stone. Anxiety built in my chest and I could feel my heart pound. The dry stone suddenly felt wet, but not like water. Something rich and warm. ----------------- I have been writing for years, scratching my way through notebooks, journals and occasional brazen Internet posts. Not completely sure I had the courage to let anyone read my thoughts, except one. At intermediate points through ten lengthy years, he would read some of them, and respond. That is how I ended up here, StoriesVille. A simple sentence, " Hey join this site with me. And without hesitation, I did.
Soon after posting a few poems, I began to write more. I didn't know what was more nerve racking, having mass amounts of unknown cyber-writers critique my work, or someone I have known for years. After about a month I received an e-mail. The invite was simple. Having no clue why I was even chosen, I decided to go anyway. I packed a light bag and booked a hotel around the DC area, then left. After getting lost, and hitting questionable driving weather I found the place. The long driveway wound around dense trees and a dry fountain, a bit eerie. I should have stopped there, but curiosity got the best of me.
I tilted my hat sideways, to shield the rain drops from my face. The mansion was huge; no one had embellished the substantial size of this building in the invitation. I clutched the iron lion's head doorknocker and pounded twice, a small round woman answered the door. She wore an extremely dated uniform with a white apron. Her eyes were small and beady, her nose a bit too large for her face. "Ahh, Kasi your right on time." She said, then ushered me past the grand foyer up three marble steps, past two spiral staircases, straight in to the grand ballroom. This room had a lavish dining table with many chairs on each side, elaborate wall painting and art nouveau style candle sconces hung from the walls. As I entered I noticed everyone was looking at me.
DING.. DING.. DONG, everyone jumped nearly out of their seats.. The grandfather clock I had failed to observe began to make itself known. We all looked nervously around at each other and the room was silent. " Kasi, please have a seat right there", he pointed to a chair; empty if it weren't for the intricately wrapped gift sitting it. I noticed the array of age in room, and pondered the reason for our uniting. We were instructed to open our gifts; the sound of tearing paper filled the room like thunder. The box I held in my hand was small and black. I opened it and peered in. It was hard to see the old skeleton key and note rolled like a scroll, tied with a ribbon. I held the key in one hand and opened the scroll with the other. The note read:
Kasi, The key is your subject, it will unlock the confusion and will give you the words you need to write, elaborately. This experience will help establish you as a writer, so how you decide to finish the night is completely up to you.
Sincerely, Administrator
I thought for a second. And looked around the table, everyone was in their own moment trying to guess what would happen and equally confused as to why. As we toasted each other, someone gasped, "The Admin..." Someone else Said, " What happened" I stood up from my seat a peered around the table... "Well, he fainted ... right?" I hoped. But he was dead. The room was a storm of chatter and nervousness; the buzzing was making me sick so I left the room to find a phone.
The house was so confusing; I have worked in the housing industry for years and seen just about every layout. This was truly a-maze-ing, every door I opened seemed to lead to another room with more doors. They all looked the same, with old jacquard fabric wallpaper, dimly lit lamps and crushed pattern carpet. I decided to go back., but I was lost. It felt like hours had passed. I found myself in what looked like a kitchen but could possibly be a small butlers pantry and followed the corridor adjacent to it. At the end was a small door with a skeleton keyhole. I pulled the key out of my pocket and placed it in the hole. It fit.
Nothing had been going right until now. The room was dark; I didn't want to enter, so I reached my hand around looking for a light switch. I thought if this is where I need to be then I should go in. I also thought about the dead Administrator and if he met his fate unknowingly then I dare not enter. But of course, I lost my footing and fell into the room, I had no way of knowing if there were stairs, I couldn't see a thing. The door slammed shut, I turned around and tried to feel for a knob. Nothing, not even an outline could be felt, just stone. I stood confused; I listened for any noise at all to tell me where I might be. Silence.
The walls were no help, after placing my hand in some questionable liquid, I decided to give up. I sat on the ground with my knees close to my chest. I placed my hands on the floor and felt the cool dirt beneath my finger. I drew rhythmic breaths to help calm myself and then it came to me. I too am trapped in a black box intricately wrapped in this huge mansion, should I wait to be opened? Am I a key?
I thought of the contents of my box, as I twirled the key in my hand. I felt my pocket and pulled out the scroll, knowing I could never read it, I just held on to it thinking of its inscribed words. Something about confusion, elaborate words and how I would spend the rest of the night. I wrapped my arms around my legs, trying to keep the frosty air from my deterring my thoughts. Words, how would they save me from this? I put my finger on the dirt and began to write blind in the dark.
I knocked at the massive door, For there was no bell to roar Gifts, death, confusion and the room I will presume, And assume, That this is my tomb.
Who could think or write at a time like this? Nothing sounded right. I stood on my knees and felt the wall close to the ground; something was carved into the wall. I felt the ribbed outline of a scroll and just beneath the scroll, in the wall was a hole. A hole, this hadn't been here before, had I overlooked it. It was just big enough to fit through, I didn't think I had the nerve, but if this was my only way out, I should at least try. I misplaced the thought of getting stuck and dying in that crawl space, I slithered through and kept my hands out in front to help guide me. The space turned to the right .I shifted my body and squeezed into the tight position. There was no way I would be able to go back. I swallowed the lump in my throat and moved forward. Eventually I came to the end of the tunnel, and there was a small door. Feeling the carved wood and metal hardware made me grab for my key, I maneuvered it up to the keyhole, turned the key and hit it with my fist as hard as I could. The door swung open and I contorted myself out of the passage.
I took a deep breath and struggled onto my knees and then my feet. I walked as patiently as I could to the front door of the mansion, looking at it, deeply not wanting to go in and explain where I had been and why I was covered in dirt. When I gathered my courage and raised my hand to that gnarled lion's head knocker, the door opened. That same small woman answered the door in her hideous ensemble. "Ahh, Kasi your right on time." Puzzled and extremely exhausted I followed her to the same ballroom, as I stepped in, the same eyes peered at me from those confused, familiar faces. The same unforgiving grandfather clock rang loud, DING.. DING.. DONG . And the voice, " Kasi, please have a seat right there". The Administrator, alive and reaching for his wine glass, " please open your gifts". I glanced at my seat and did not see a gift. I could feel the color draining from my face. The administrator raised his glass; I ran to his side, grabbed the glass from his hand. He muttered " what the hell", and then collapsed to the floor.
" I thought I was the key," I said to the detective. After explaining my translucent time warp, and absurd actions, he gave me a sarcastic look at told another to detain me for further questioning. I began to think, "now, how will I get out of this box?" Copyright 2008 Project 30 |
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