Global Classroom documents | Page 49

S H O RT S TO R I E S F R O M T H E G LO B A L C LA S S R O O M | 2014 Then I suddenly find my father abandoned in an old armchair, staring at me and through me … and then it happens! I hear my mother’s voice calling me from the courtyard. I look through the window and see my parents standing in front of the house. I gaze at the armchair again and see a weird old man, staring at me with unreal and scaring eyes. I feel like I am losing my mind and almost fainting when he suddenly stands up and drifts out of the room, shouting in a rough voice, ‘FOLLOW ME …’ Like a victim hypnotized by a huge snake I follow him, wondering what other creepy things will happen next. The man approaches a dowdy bookshelf and pulls out a little drawer. The shelf opens, revealing the entrance to a long and dark corridor. I hear a piercing voice coming from the other end of the corridor: ‘Over here! Over here!’ Thousands of needles are passing through my spine and I literally start crawling onwards … The old man waves his hand, encouraging me to carry on, and exits the corridor. I follow him into what appears to be a small atrium full of withered bushes and weeds surrounding anthropomorphic statues of hobbits and witches. In a corner an enormous chest is lying, covered by a thin layer of moss. The man is standing in front of it without any gesture. His eyes are now closed and he seems to meditate with intensity. I wonder what’s going on. Then the lid of the chest magically unleashes. A yellowish steam pops out like a puffy cloud and I am able to see odd human bodies taking shape from this mist. I calculate four boys and two girls of the same age, wearing old scholars’ uniforms. The decor changes and they appear to be sitting in class, reading from their notebooks. The next image shows them walking through the same class during a fire alarm. A flame of fire can be seen emerging from a corner. When the fire is about to extinguish itself a window is smashed in the wall by a strong gale of wind. The air current eventually intensifies the fire, which now expands vividly. One of the boys jumps towards the window and closes it with firm gestures – but it’s too late. A new image arises, showing the boys and girls lying on the floor. When this last image goes away I hear the voice of a boy asking me for help. Not knowing what to do I look for the old man, but cannot see him anywhere. I believe in God and the Hereafter but have never been ready to accept ghost stories and rumours about ghosts, so I am having a hard time understanding what’s going on. ‘What is it about these images?’ I hear myself speaking out loud. ‘Can someone tell me what’s happening?’’ I continue, with the voice of a stranger. No answer ... After several attempts to communicate I hear one of the girls whispering: ‘We were all good, getting busy for a new boring test, when the alarm rang. We were quickly surrounded by smoke and I suppose we fainted. Later we found ourselves trapped in the classroom with the windows and door locked. We tried to break them so many times but n