Wooden Door, Orvieto, Italy © Doug Hickok All Rights Reserved
The door beckons.
It opens.
Into the darkness.
Into the quiet.
We step inside.
It locks behind us.
The silence envelopes us.
It carries us to our destination.
To the dark chambers.
Beneath the house.
Where our fate awaits us.
THE DEAD GAME
Take a walk inside.
The dark rooms.
Musty smelling.
Cobwebs.
Cracking ceilings.
Deserted.
Damp.
See what humanity left behind.
Light the candles.
Follow me through
the empty corridors.
Past dark rooms.
Down a long flight of stairs.
To the dungeons below.
Where shadows await us.
Waiting for company.
To wile away their empty hours.
Perhaps a game or two for us to play.
A game to lighten their boredom.
A pool of water appears before us.
Cages descend from above.
Their pointy edges facing us.
Circular saws soon follow.
What kind of hell are we in?
What kind of game are we playing?
Come closer to find out.
The Dead love to play.
THE DEAD GAME
Kindle
Nook
Open the door.
Step inside.
The darkness is beckoning you.
Calling you to walk in.
Welcome! Glad you’re here!
Follow the flickering candles.
They will lead you to untold pleasures.
Do you hear the music?
A party is waiting for you in the drawing room.
Don’t be afraid. Peek in.
Do you see the dancers?
Twirling around and around.
You can see through them? Can’t you?
That’s because they’re transparent.
An echo from the past.
Those who lived here before.
And now they inhabit the air.
Their spirits live in these dark rooms.
Now you can join them
and live here forever!
A story that can be told
just by looking at the closed door
and opening the door in your mind.
What a beautiful castle.
What secrets has it seen?
Is it deserted, or
do people live here?
And if so, what are their lives like?
And what about the people
who have lived here in the past?
Did they have grand parties?
Or did they have sad lives and now haunt the castle?
So many possibilities.
There’s no limit to your imagination.
A beautiful castle.
It stands alone and deserted.
What stories could it reveal to us?
How many lives have passed through
its majestic halls?
Has there been dancing in its rooms?
Or have sadness and death pervaded
its stone walls?
Go inside and listen to its story.
Listen to the sighs and whispers,
emanating from its dark rooms.
What do you hear?
I can hear both sadness and joy
mixed together in its soft sighs.
All you have to do is listen.
