Short story: Meeting death

For a very long time, I was very skeptical about what Alex, our guide and a friend, had said. He brought us to this dark and mysterious place. I didn’t believe him at first, because we’re adults now, and The House of Death is a myth, just like unicorns and dragons. But now I see the castle right in front of me. For a minute I thought it was ‘just’ a castle. I mean, there are a lot of castles around here, but this place has a dark atmosphere. The sun doesn’t shine around here. 

‘This is the place you were looking for’, says Alex, who stands right behind me with his arms crossed, as if it’s nothing special.

I met him after Marit’s funeral when I left my family. I sat on a bench in a park, all alone. I felt something worse than grief. A stranger, named Alex, came to me and I was so comfortable around him that it wasn’t hard to tell him that my little sister had been killed a week ago. 

I consider him a great friend since that day. Alex seems to never be stressed or feel any kind of tension. Even when I asked him if he could bring us to the House of Dead, he raised his shoulders and he was perfectly fine with risking his life. 

Because on that day, after I had told Alex everything about my sister who passed away, he asked me what I wanted, whether it was possible or not. 

‘I want to know the name of the criminal who killed my younger sister’, I answered. My sister wasn’t the only victim of this killer. The police doesn’t know who he is, but they are pretty certain it’s the same person behind all this murders. My father told me about this, but I barely listened. Normally, I am a pretty social person, but Alex was the only one who convinced to speak out about how I felt. Not even my boyfriend, Thomas, was able to comfort me.

‘But I’m never going to be able to find out.’

‘What would you sacrifice to know this name?’ he said while playing with a leaf in his hand. ‘Have you ever heard of the House of Death?’

‘It’s a myth.’

‘You know, nature consists of more magic than normal people believe.’

And now, I’m standing in front of the House of Death, where Death himself lives, if I have to believe Alex. The castle is enormous, so that we can’t completely see it from one perspective. Alex warnes us for strange creatures that wander around in this forest. 

Thomas holds my hand tighter.

He insisted on going with me which is understandable since I’m going with a strange man to a place of which no one actually believes that it exists. Eventually, Marit’s best friend, Ilse, joined us. I didn’t tell my mother about this adventurous trip, because I was scared for her reaction. But I need to stop this murderer before he kills more people. I have to do this, because I don’t wish this grief upon my worst enemies. 

Marit and I weren’t the sisters that would fight a lot. No, we would play together, care for each other, and my little sister was like a friend to me. Ilse, Marit and I often went out together when we were adults. 

How we reached the castle, is a different long story, but we are standing there with the four of us. Alex guides us to a small boat at an abandoned place. The boat doesn’t look stable and I’m doubting if it will make it to the end of this lake since we have to cross a lake to enter the castle. 

‘You should stay hydrated’, says Alex and he trows a bottle of water at Ilse, while he drags the boat in the water. However, I walk to him and start helping him. 

‘Why is this area familiar to you?’ I ask him. He knows exactly where we have to go and where we are, all the time. He has definitely been here before. 

‘I’m a hunter, I like adventure, I hear stories, I have experienced a lot.’ Alex says it quickly as if it’s totally normal to be familiar with a place like this, where Death himself lives. 

‘You’ve been here before.’ I just know. He has been here before, because he wanted to know a secret of a lost one too, just like me.

‘Maybe I have been here before, maybe not.’

‘That’s a yes.’

He sighs and tries to ignore my questions. Am I a little too curious? Probably yes.

‘For who did you come here? What did you want to know?’ 

‘Listen to me, I promised I would just bring you here safely. Yes, you are a good friend now, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to know everything about me!’

 

We cross the lake and I thought multiple times that the boat would sink.

Everything seems unreal, now I can touch the walls of this huge, enormous, beautiful palace. If the stories are true, all secrets of the dead ones that they took with them to the grave, are kept here. So this means we’ll be able to find out who murdered my sister. 

They say that if Death catches you while you’re breaking into his house, Death will make sure that you will never leave his house again. 

‘Death knows how to watch over his home, belief me. You won’t get in here easily. But there is a way under the ground that isn’t guarded.’ 

The defense walls are perfectly smooth. Even the best climber would not be able to climb this thing. Alex brings us to a stinking dirty tunnel that goes under the walls. 

 

After getting lost multiple times in this palace, we arrive in the great hall where we will find all answers. I can’t see the end of the hall, to give you an idea of how big this room is. It kinda looks like a library, but bigger, so that there are stairs to reach certain parts of this hall. There is barely any light. I feel like I’m looking up at the sky, filled with stars, because then I feel so tiny. There is so much more out there. This space feels similar to that overwhelming feeling. The place is filled with pillars that are decorated with details. And most importantly, everywhere are statues of bodies, very small ones. Every statue shows the head till the waist. 

‘These statues must represent the bodies of the dead ones’, says Ilse. 

In de statues are drawers, as if it was a desk.

‘How are we ever going to find Marit’s statue between these thousands and thousands statues?’

‘It’s sorted’, says Thomas who has figured out a pattern. ‘It’s not in alphabetical order, but it’s sorted by age.’

‘Michelle, how old was Marit when she passed away?’ Alex turns to me, while studying this immense place. I feel like I could sit here and watch this place for hours and still be overwhelmed. 

’19.’ She was too young…

We search for a long time, but eventually we find her statue where her body and her face it represented exactly the way she looks. Under the statue is a nameplate with her name.

‘Open the drawers’, says Alex. 

I cannot believe that I’m about to do this. My life has been a total mess and now I’m going to find out who caused it. 

I open the drawer and a strong force drags me away. When I open my eyes I discover that I am inside the body of my sister and I’m standing in a scary forest. This was the forest where she was found. I turn around and see the head of a man, but his whole face is dark and hidden behind his arm. He wears a hat that blocks his face partially. He looks like he’s drunk and angry. 

I don’t want to see this. I just wanted to know his name, I never wanted to experience this moment myself. I close my eyes and try to block my feelings. Marit gets shot in her back.