Chapter 9
From the vase, I moved right. I saw a painting... and a man lying on the floor! The painting was "? Art," yet another word I didn't know. More importantly, was the man on the floor. I've seen him before! He was the one looking at the picture of a hanged man in the museum! I wanted to help him, but sadly I could do nothing.
I walked up to him, and the only thing he could utter was "...Ugh..." There were wounds all over his body and he was bleeding. He was clutching a key in his hand. I decided to finish his mission.
To his right was another of those smiley face paintings with the tongue hanging out. It didn't spit anything at me this time, though.
I walked on. There was a headless statue in front of a red door. It didn't come to life and attack me. It just... stood there. I couldn't move it since it was too heavy, so I backtracked to the room with the vase and went left.
In the next room, I saw familiar notices placed on the wall. "When the rose ?s, so too will you ? away." "You and the rose are ? Know the weight of your own life." Even though I couldn't understand some of the words, I got the basic gist of it. More importantly, there was yet another vase on a table. However, there was no rose, no water.
Could... Could that man back there have lost his rose? Is that why he's weak and dying?
As I walked on, I noticed blue petals on the floor. These weren't mine... It must have been that man's back there. But, who or what could have done this? I went down the hall, seeing more petals and eventually blood. At the end was a missing portrait. I read it, "The Lady in Blue."
My mind went blank. Fear started to crawl into the depths of my psyche. I started to shake. There was another woman crawling around on the floor. And she actually took down an adult man. But where was she?
I noticed there was a door and a window in this room. I also noticed that the trail of petals led from the wall into the room. I couldn't see what was on the other side through the window. My only choice was to use that man's key to unlock the door and go inside... I took a deep breath, and went in.
I could hear someone noisily rummaging through something, muttering unintelligible things to themselves. I thought to myself that this was no doubt the lady. I crept forward and tried to get a better view.
As I approached, the noises stopped. I felt like she was looking right at me. I quietly crept back a few steps until I heard it resume its rummaging.
I couldn't do this. This was too scary. But wait! Would that man back there have done what you tried to do? Would he have tried to save you? I decided to be brave. I ran out from my hiding spot and saw her. The Lady in Blue.
Instantly, she leapt at me and shrieked. She tried to grab me, bite my, scratch me. I kept running, desperately searching for the man's rose. I dodged her, and went back to where she was before. There, I saw it. A blue rose. I picked it up and got out of there.
As I left the room, I breathed a sigh of relief. Whoo haha that was a rush! I heard the lady banging on the door futilely as I walked away. Hehehe I chuckled to myself.
Then I heard a crash. The sound of shattered glass rang out through the air. The woman broke through the window. How could I forget there was a window... She resumed her pursuit and I ran as fast as I could out of there.
I ran out of the room and slammed the door shut. I returned to "Eternal Blessings" and placed the man's rose in the vase. It was instantly replenished and brand new. I rushed back to him to see how he was doing.