A little story for you...Happy Halloweeen!
NO MORE ROOM
Just an empty room, but you’re not
allowed inside. Why’s that, you ask? You came all the way here, paid your
entrance fee and managed to make it down the narrow, stone stairs without
scraping your head on the low ceiling. The air is thick and muggy, which surprises
you because you expect it to be cool. It is underground, after all.
We know your type. You don’t believe in God. You don’t
believe in ghosts, yet every step you take makes you feel more uncomfortable,
burdened. There must be an electronic field, you think, something that makes my
hair stand on end and makes my stomach turn. It offers little comfort but it'll do. Something nags at you…you push it away.
There are many doorways, spaces
in this underground maze. We see you explore. The blood in your veins hardens. Laboriously,
your heart continues to pump though every beat racks your rib cage. You duck and squeeze through the labyrinth where
so many have died with relative ease. The tour guide points this way. “For
those with a sixth sense…” she taunts. A smirk
plays across her lips. You roll your eyes, but underneath, her words weaken
your composure.
In a straight hall, you peek inside
this room. Off limits, though no sign is used or required. For some reason, you
hold your breath. This is ridiculous,
you tell yourself. Whispers float in the still air. We despise you. A man. Or was it a woman?
The hissing of phrases in a foreign tongue caress your ear like the heat from
a flame. Gooseflesh spreads over your skin as you glance around, realizing there's no one there.
The ropes are only plush sausages
hung between two hooks. You could enter this space, but you don’t. You don’t
even want to. Why? Because I follow the rules,
you think. You’re fooling yourself. You know the real answer.
This room is already full.
The photograph is my own, from the Underground Naval Headquarters in Okinawa, Japan 2009
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