It was as though I was dreaming. I felt as though I were caught in that strange place between wakefulness and sleep where your dreams seem to draw inspiration from your surroundings.
I heard a sound, I swirled around to face a black corridor and I heard it.
The voices, the voices were calling again. They called to me. I could not understand them, but I heard my name being called amongst the unintelligible murmurs.
"Amyriah…Amyriah…"
As if drawn by some unseen force I was obliged to follow the voices emanating down the corridors. They were calling me, calling my name. I could not control the pull which drew me nearer to them. I did not attempt to resist the pull. I allowed my self to drift soundlessly away from silence, toward the music.
At once, I was faced with a figure of great stature. I came to realize that it was the man who had rescued me from the black night. He began to speak to me in a commanding tone. I was powerless to his brooding voice.
"Where are you going, my dear? Do you not yet understand the circumstances? This is not a place which you are empowered to desert."
I stood, paralyzed, unable to move or speak. Indeed, I was beginning to come to terms with the circumstances.
The mournful figure held out a pale hand to me and I felt my own rising to meet it. We began to walk, no, sail, effortlessly away from the blackness of the corridor toward a gleaming beam of ethereal radiance.
I have no other means of description of the source of the place to which we had arrived than to say that it was a place of great light. The radiance caused me to withdraw slightly, but the light did not bother my ever widening eyes.
It was a warm, welcoming light. It seemed to call to me, much like the voices.
I don't know when it was that I realized that we had arrived to a feast. I only know that there was only silence. The deadened faces of my companions were grim and unfeeling. Their eyes did not meet the glances of others. It seemed as though their eyes were no more than black tunnels and if you dared to peer into them, your soul would forever be lost to them.
At a certain point, my submission to my masked companion subsided as an emotion for which I have no name overtook me. I arose from the feasting table and attempted to find my way from the room, back to the passage which would lead me from this icy existence. I was halted by a man near the passage.
"You cannot go. You must stay here. You have nowhere to be. There is no place left in the world for you." I then, at that moment, fully conceived my fate. I could not recall what the circumstances were that lead me here. I felt a presence behind me. It the masked figure.
"What happened? What happened to me? Why am I here?"
His eyes, painted with pity, turned from me.
"You hit the streetlight. The car caught on fire. It happened so quickly, it's no wonder you have no memory of it. I guess it's for the best. Come with me."
I followed him down the corridor once more. He led me to a window out of which I could see the street where I had parked my car. Indeed, the vehicle was charred and almost unrecognizable.
I placed my hand on the window and noticed a bit of fogginess surrounding it. I understood that I was doomed to haunt this place.
My only existence now consisted of causing the fear of my living counterparts until the day their fates would lead them into my realm.
Where would I start? What could I do? My very existence in this endless labyrinth of corridors and rooms would forever frighten any visitors here. I ran my fingers across the wall and grasped the doorknob which I then turned. I heard a small gasp behind me and turned to see what it was. A small child of about 10 years of age stood there. She was shaking frantically, but unable to move, she stood there gazing in my direction. Only, she wasn't really looking at me, she knew I was there, but could not see me. I let out a quiet chuckle and the girl fell to the floor in a frantic heap until a woman took her away.
I followed down the hall to a small room where the little girl was place. I entered the room almost instantly. I could not explain this strange occurrence in which I seemed transported into other rooms. I saw the little girl on the bed. She was panting and drops of sweat beaded their way down her cheeks.
I couldn't help but pity the child. After all, it was not her fault that I crossed her path at the moment. I hoped that she would be alright and silently exited the room.