The Ghosts of GingerBread Castle and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Chapter 10

It wasn't long afterward that her words shook me out of my thoughts.

"The house is monumental, so help yourself to any room, save for the first bedroom down the corridor. It's mine," she said before adding. "All the bedrooms are upstairs, by the way."

I nodded, looking around to my left and glimpsing the curved well-faded mahogany staircase leading upstairs. Strange, but since I entered, it was only now that I got a good look at the insides of the castle. To my surprise, everything appeared dusky and withered, even the cobwebs seemed depressed at the dark shadowy insides. Yes, the shadowy insides, for as I looked deeper and harder, I noticed something peculiar. I looked around for a light switch but none was in sight. Maybe it was hidden. I looked again at the spectacle before me. The entire foyer was engulfed in shadow, and the further corners sank into blackness, save for the staircase, illuminated by a bluish eerie glow. I looked for a light switch, again.

My company seemed to have noticed my wandering eyes. "It's weird isn't it? Your eyes are the light switch!"

I turned to look at her, my curiosity peaked. "What do you mean?"

"Go toward the darkness."

I hesitated as I looked at her, before taking my first little step.

"Go on. You'll be okay." She urged me on.

"I stepped toward the darkness and strangely, the bluish glow seemed to move as I moved, highlighting the darkness as I neared it. I stepped back a few paces, to see if the bluish glow would move, and strangely it did. What sort of peculiarity was this?

A room opposite the staircase drew my attention. It looked to be a dining room, and just as shadowed as the foyer outside it. Looking in, I swear I saw a shadowy figure shift inside the room. I hesitated, before entering and standing near the dining table, which immediately became illuminated with the same bluish glow. The table was set with silverware. All that was missing was the food. Thinking of food I suddenly felt very hungry. Dismissing my hunger, I glanced around, noting that the far corners of the room were engulfed in complete pitch blackness. I approached one corner, seeing something shining through it and noticed a goblet upon a shelf, as the corner will suddenly filled with a bluish glow. So, my eyes were the light, I mused. Well, I wasn't liking it one bit, for how could I tell what was lurking in the shadows. I never could!

I suddenly realized something and turned to the young girl who'd followed me into the room. "You never told me your name."

"It's Sinella."

I grew even more curious. "Have you always lived here?"

"No. I arrived just yesterday."

"Did—ehm—did, a creature tell you to ehm—"

"Come here?" she finished for me.

"Yes. Did he?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Silence followed. I secretly wondered why the creature had sent her here as well. I mean, I was here because my time had supposedly come to die. So said the ghastly creature or angel of death. And I was spared because of a few good deeds I'd done. But what about her? What was her story. I thought suddenly about the woman and men I'd seen. "Those men who were chasing you—did they chase you all the way from your home?"

"No. I only saw them when I got here."

"Where are you from?"

"Three villages away."

"You walked all the way here?"

She shook her head. "No. I took a taxi till just outside the forest."

"Oh. And the woman who walked out from here? Who was she?"

"She was Rosinella. She lived here until this morning."

"She left to save you. If she hadn't you would have been slaughtered?"

"Right. You catch on fast, you know."

"Yes," I said, as we both fell silent for a while. "Why did those men disappear like that?"

She shook her head. "Maybe it's because Rosinella walked away."

And spared her life, I thought, as I nodded in silence.

Sinella broke the silence. "I'm going to tidy up." She walked out, leaving me standing alone in the dining room.

I entered the kitchen which was the room adjacent looking for something to eat, but there was nothing. I even checked the pantry, still nothing. Outside the kitchen window I noticed the surroundings had turned a shade of blue. Was I seeing right? I ran to the front door and looked out. Everything was bathed in an orange hue making me think of hell, even the trees bore a shade of orange. Perhaps it was the reflection of the sun. I closed my eyes and reopened them. Still, everything was still as it was.

I walked out seeing a tree with some strange fruits. As i neared it, I recognized it. It was plums. It only looked strange because of it's color. I picked a handful, and a little more, thinking Sinella might like some, and looked around further. Everything was so still, and even the wind seemed to be dead. I noticed a fruit bitten into on the ground, and next to it the grass had withered. How strange.

I returned inside, and went straight to my bedroom, choosing the one after Sinella's. I knocked on her door and offered her some plums but she refused them. "I wouldn't eat those if I were you." she said.

"Why."

"Nothing, just they made me really sick. I threw up every bite I took."

"Oh."

"But, perhaps, that's because I think I've always been allergic to plums. So, maybe it won't happen to you."

I nodded.

"I've got to finish doing something. Talk later?" she asked encouragingly. "Oh, and don't lie on the bed until you've had a bath."

"What?" I asked, curious.

"Just do as I say. You'll see why."

I nodded slowly, and went on to the room right after. I opened the door and looked at the bed contemplating whether to touch it, just as the door flung open.

"Gosh, you should see your face!" Sinella laughed. "I was only joking. Go on have a seat."

I sat down, and we chatted a while, about our villages, our families, etc. She lived with her foster mother, all alone, with no siblings, or other relatives. She was in school, but sadly had to leave it behind when she got the deathly news. We chatted for like a few hours, before she got up to leave.

Then, she said the most unexpected thing. "I've to leave in a while to do something."

"You're leaving? When will you be back?" I was curious. Can one leave here? I remembered the creature telling me that if I returned to my village I was as good as dead. How come she got to leave?

"Not sure," she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, you'll learn everything soon enough. It's your first night here, so someone—they'll—come tonight."

"Who will come tonight?"

"Sorry. I shouldn't have. Forgot I said that. You'll soon learn everything." With that she walked out, and moments later, I heard her footsteps echoing down the corridor toward the staircase.