God, does this hallway ever end? I’m getting tired already.
I never asked for such a big house, but when you’ve been kicked out of your latest flat and up to the ears in debt, sometimes you just suck it up and take it like a man. Great uncle Jimmy passed away six months ago, and while he was a successful businessman, he never seemed to have any of his paperwork in order. It took a month for his will to be found and read, and it seemed that nobody around was left (or wanted) to claim what was his.
Turns out, I was next in line to receive his property since my oh-so-generous cousins rejected the place. I can see why now! This house was in the middle of nowhere. It had forty rooms too many. A dried up swimming pool. A kitchen filled with enough pots and silverware to serve a small motel.
But hey, like I said, I was down on luck, so this place had to suffice for now. Plus, the will said that it couldn’t be sold or rented, so I decided to make it my home for the meantime.
I mean, come on, at least leave some servants around or something! I won’t be able to clean up this place before I die and pass this shit hole to my future kids!
I’ve been staying in this place for the past two weeks and I’m still getting used to it. I took the first empty room closest to the entrance of the house because I didn’t want to get lost finding my bed to sleep in, and staying in my Great Uncle’s bedroom would have been weird. Who wants to sleep in the room of someone who recently passed away?
Anyway, I’ve been able to get quite comfortable with my surroundings – so this weekend, I decided that I’d do some exploring. After all, it was going to be home for a bit – at least until I got my shit together. After washing up and putting on some clothes, I took a stroll down the length of the house so I could start from one end and work my way back to my room. Then I’d repeat the same trip except, one, two, three, four, and five floors higher.
I finally arrived at the far end of the hall and stood in front of a door. I turned the knob and stepped inside – and found myself outside of the house. Huh? I saw my great uncle’s house some distance away in front of me. I turned back to look through the passageway I came from (its doorknob still in my hand) and saw the corridor which I had just traversed.
Very peculiar. I stepped back in and shut the door. Maybe it’s just another house that looks like this house. I opened the door again and the view didn’t change. I shut the door again and decided to try exploring another room.
This one was ordinary-looking. It looked like a regular study, except that it was covered in dust. I guess I can use this place to have some quiet time next time. As if the rest of the house was noisy anyway.
I closed the door and opened the door to another room. This time it was a bedroom, fully furnished but unused – just like most of the other rooms in the house.
So this door opening went on until about five rooms down and found myself in my own bedroom. *What the fuck? I’m sure I didn’t make it to the end of the hallway yet.* Sure enough, I checked outside and was still in the middle of the corridor.
Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea. I’ll move my shit around, and we’ll see if it affects the stuff in my real room! So I went back into my room and shifted my stuff around. When I was satisfied I had made enough of a mess, I left my room and continued exploring.
The rest of the exploration trip seemed pretty uneventful. I guess I’ll find out more in the upper floors. I was approaching the last few rooms (before my own room), when I heard a door shut. I turned towards the end of the hall, where the sound was coming from, and saw nothing. Fuck mind, stop playing tricks on me.
I heard a door open and shut again. This time I saw a brief flash of light – it was from the door at the end of the hall opening, which had let the outside light in.
I felt the hairs on my arms begin to stand. This is a little creepy.
I heard the sound of the door being closed again. This time it was from another door closer to me. I decided I had enough for the day and headed back to my room. The door was ajar and I heard some noises from inside. Is someone in my room?
I slowly pushed the door open and was shocked at what greeted me. I saw a person inside thrashing my own room. Making a mess of the place. He was throwing my sheets on the floor, emptying my drawers and bags, punching my pillows – oblivious to me while I stood there watching.
I must’ve gasped audibly because that person stopped dead in his tracks turned and looked at me, fear in his eyes. My eyes.
I was staring at me.
Writing Prompt from Reddit: Your eccentric great uncle recently died and left you his estate, which includes a rather large house filled with doors that don’t always lead where you’d expect.