Danil walks up the stairs to his apartment complex, swaying side to side after a long day. The closer he gets to his room the lighter his feet feel as if to drop at any moment. Finally in front of his door, he bumps his head which jolts him enough to more lucidity. Turning the nob and pushing through a small square room is laid bare, and without even closing the door properly he collapses on to the floor deep marking the end of his day.
...The edge of a cliff lying on the ground is a child, blissfully curled up asleep. The child is roughly aware about his surroundings but pays it no mind though the details are blurry. The child doesn't consider why or how he is here and how he is aware of his surroundings. The peace seems too sacred to disturb, but eventually he tries to adjust his posture to a more comfortable position rolling over and he feels the brush of air on his back not solid ground.
Danil jumps awake from his sleep, cold sweat dampening his clothes adding to the grime and sweat of yesterday.
"Hahh!! Hahh! A… a dream", Danil gathers his breath slowly till his heart rate slows down. He checks his phone and sees that its 10:56.
"Tch! I overslept"
He decides to take a shower for now and brush his teeth. He feels nothing. Not the dull dread he expected, not the familiar tightening in the chest. Just a quiet, unfamiliar stillness.
Getting out of the shower he dries his body but leaves his hair damp. After grabbing a store bought sandwich from the fridge and a can of soda, he sits down on a chair on the balcony. The air outside is as fresh an urban area can get. Nothing really to admire with other concrete blocks blocking his view. The street below has some people walking through, with some car passing every now and then.
Danil really takes his time slowly chewing through the sandwich. The cold taste of meat and some mayonnaise is less than appetizing but he swallows it nonetheless. His phone starts ringing.
"Hello?"
"Danil where are you"
"At home"
"At home!! HOME!! We have an important meeting this week and our team has to finalize the produ- You know what never mind, just get here quickly"
Danil takes a pause while swallowing another bite of his sandwich.
"Nah, I quit bye"
"Qui- hold on"
Danil sets the phone face down on the armrest and finishes the sandwich. The street below carries on. A Tuesday with nowhere to be feels stranger than he expected. He sits with it for a while, then grabs his jacket. He can't stay cooped up.
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The building is still standing, which surprises him every time. Paint peeling off in long strips, the front gate rusted permanently open, weeds breaking through the courtyard concrete. Marshview Collegiate had a reputation for taking in whoever wouldn't be taken elsewhere. Classes barely ran. Fights were a daily event. Eventually a few incidents crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed and the school was shut down. Danil had liked it anyway.
Danil walks across the hallway, slowly making his way up each floor. He remembers the corners where he himself would get into a scuffle and where he would be to bunk his classes. He stops and turns towards a particular classroom.
The door is sealed shut with wooden planks nailed to it. One of the more memorable days, though for all the wrong reasons. It was summer, we were all outside at recess… Danil's class was the one next to it and as he was making his way back to the classroom, he witnessed a large gathering of a crowd here. Everyone was murmuring loudly, normally he would have ignored it but he could feel a certain tension in the air.
Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to take a peek. He pushed through the crowd and inside the classroom he saw the figure, extremely thin and pale with short brown hair, dangling from the rope tied to the ceiling fan.
Danil didn't know who the girl was and even now he can barely remember the name. Some attributed the incident to bullying others to domestic abuse, rumors were flying left and right but nothing was concrete.
The police were involved obviously but the case was dropped quickly and no one was convicted. Looking back at it there were plenty of strange things related to this case.
It was a somber week after that. Nobody got into trouble for a while. The school decided to seal this room and everything went back to as it was.
Danil was about to turn away when his chest tightened without warning… He stands still not being able to move, paralyzed. His feet unmoving, and his eyes focused on the door.
*Thup*
"Get a grip", Danil slaps himself, leaving his cheek stinging.
Danil realizes that if he were in a horror movie he would be one of the guys to die first because of what he is about to do.
He fetches a metal ruler from the adjacent classroom, and pries open the wooden planks with considerable effort.
The palpitation of his heart increases, loud enough to drum in his ears.
"Why are you doing this, just go home there is nothing to see here, go home, go home", yet almost against his will he opens the door.
The classroom is immaculately clean. That is the first thing he notices. The second is the figure. Floating without a rope, swaying slightly, as if something above the ceiling holds it. Pale, thin, neck bent at the wrong angle. Its eyes find his and Danil's next breath does not come.