The place reeked with despair, yes, but, like the edge of a faint dream, there resided something else in the crumbling walls and creaking beams. Once acknowledged, it refused to subside. It pressed in on all sides, a feeling which would make tears well up in even the coldest of hearts. It ached and it moaned, but at the same time it throbbed with hope, with a faith and optimism that seemed so unnatural for such a dilapidated place.