I can feel it creeping up on me again, like the shadow of a forgotten memory lurking just beyond the frayed edges of consciousness. The taste of metal in my mouth, sharp and invasive—an unwelcome herald of that insufferable beast who likes to claw its way into my chest without invitation: my heart. It’s been years since the weight of it began to anchor itself in my life, three hospital visits, an array of medications, and countless nights spent second-guessing every dull ache or tightness in my chest. But today, today feels different; it feels thicker, heavier, as if the air is steeped in something dark and musty.
I stand at the edge of a property long consumed by the feral hand of time and neglect. The house looms before me, a sagging skeletal frame wrapped in an unsettling hush. Tendrils of ivy coil around its eaves as if trying to strangle the very essence of the thing, while the windows, those hollow eyes, stare down at me like the gaze of long-dead souls. I can’t recall when I first drove down this forgotten road, but I know why I’m here: it’s my mind that led me to this dereliction, a sick sense of curiosity battling with the sheer absurdity of my own existence. This house, the last known residence of a man who vanished decades ago, calls out to me, a siren song of gothic architecture and whispering secrets.
With every step, the ground beneath me feels unsteady, shifting as if molded by the memories buried underneath. The air grows thick and rancid as I approach, heavy with the scent of rot and decay. My heart stutters, teetering between a steady thrum and a frantic flutter, as I reach for the tarnished doorknob. It turns with an unwilling groan, and the door swings open to reveal darkness thick enough to stir the fears of a child.
Inside, shadows melt into corners, forming shapes and whispers, murmurs of lives once lived echoing under the weight of dust. I fumble with the edge of my shirt, awkwardly pressing it to my forehead. The dampness there is enough to tell me that it isn’t just the oppressive heat, it’s something more sinister. With each step across the creaking floorboards, I feel the house respond; its heart, if it has one, beats in sync with mine, a pulsating rhythm that vibrates through the space, reeling me in deeper.
“Someone’s here,” a voice seems to echo beneath the floorboards—crumbling, ancient, and filled with yearning.
I pause, caught in a moment between disbelief and a thrill of unease. Was that real? Or some trick my anxious heart birthed to try to shake free from its cage? I suck in a breath, but the air feels poisoned, suffocating even. Placing my hand against the wall, a rough-hewn log beneath cracked plaster, I push deeper into the heart of the house, craving connection, craving understanding.
Peeling wallpaper reveals grotesque patterns—bodies entwined in a grotesque dance, suspended in agony. I shiver, feeling sweat trickle down my spine. I’ve read about this house, heard tales of vanished inhabitants and their frenzied end; legends speak of a darkness that looms like an unseen victor over its victims. But I’m drawn somehow, as if compelled by the very presence of despair that hovers like an insatiable wraith.
My heart pulls at me again, a thunderous alarm set against the tumult of silence. I can’t help but wonder, what can a heart know about fear that it hasn’t already tasted? Each beat, a reminder I’m alive, trapped in the skin that feels too tight now. My fingers tremble against the cold, crumbling wood of a door at the end of the hallway. Unease gnaws at my insides; I’m not prepared for what lies behind it, but I shove it open anyway.
A room sprawls before me, sunken and neglected, cluttered with the debris of lives once lived. Stale air clings to the musty corners; it feels charged with a malignant force. Broken chairs, overturned tables, and scattered books lie abandoned as if the occupants fled at the sight of something monstrous. A cold breeze snakes through the cracks, sending a shudder down my spine.
Suddenly, darkness shifts in my periphery—a figure swathed in the black corners of the room. My heart lurches, the familiar pain now clawing its way up through my chest. I stagger back, gasping for breath, and that metallic taste floods my mouth again as panic ignites my vision. As I blink, the figure dissipates like smoke, leaving only the lingering sensation of dread that wraps around me like a noose.
This house, this forsaken relic, lives and breathes—its presence interwoven with tales of its former owners: lost souls, desperate for connection, for release from the tangible binds of life. I can feel their grief, their lingering sorrows wrapped around my chest like the tightening grip of a vice. It’s as if they’ve latched onto my own heartbeat, amplifying each thud with their despair. I stagger back toward the door, the heavy weight of fear pulling me down, and yet something, a whisper, beckons me to stay.
“Don’t go,” it sighs, hushed and breathy, laced with the agony of eternity.
My heart races against the bars of its cage. I grip my chest, feeling the rapid staccato, sure that this time it will burst forth—a final betrayal of my body against its tumultuous core. I can’t breathe; I can’t escape. The shadows expand, swallowing the light that dare enter the room, and I am left in a swirling, chaotic plunge into the depth of darkness.
The walls pulse with life, echoing the shadows of the inhabitants long departed. My heart and the house pulse in harmony, frantic and out of sync. It’s a symphony of lost love and regret, echoing through the crumbling foundation, vibrating through the cracks that run like veins pooling with sorrow. I stagger, my legs weak as my heart waves its white flag of surrender.
A shuffle of feet—the sound reverberates through my core. I whirl, eyes wide now, seeking the origin of this noise. The room is alive, writhing and heaving around me, shadows coalescing into forms, faces emerging from the dark. Each expression twisted with a yearning I can’t completely comprehend.
“Stay,” their voices harmonize, rising like a chilling crescendo. “Stay with us, don’t leave us alone.”
I clutch my heart, feeling it plunge into a frenetic dance. Is it truly my heart racing, or is it the very essence of this house thrumming through me? What connection is this, binding me to the forgotten souls who linger here, trapped in an infinite loop of sorrow? I double over, gasping, my breaths shallow and rapid, my body struggling against the tide threatening to consume me.
“Please,” I manage to choke out, “let me go.”
But they don’t listen. They can’t. They are shadows, remnants of lives entangled in a grip more profound than death—it’s the raw need to connect, to be remembered. I feel their anguish as if it’s my own. My heart, a traitor pounding against my ribcage, a desperate plea for release.
And then, just as that burning pressure creeps into my throat, my chest tightening to the point of explosion, a sudden understanding washes over me. I am one with this house, a fragment of every soul who has ever walked these floors. My heart—a mere echo of theirs.
As if sensing my surrender, the darkness shifts, parting like mists on a mournful dawn, revealing a fragmented memory. A table—set neatly with the remnants of a family meal. Children’s laughter, bright and sweet, laced in echoes. And suddenly, I am there, in that moment, alive and breathing, free of anguish.
But it slips away, the house grasping for me again, pulling me into its vortex of despair, and I’m caught between two realms—the living, gasping for breath, and this tapestry of sorrow gifted by the house.
The weight of their suffering feels heavier still; every pulse of my heart now matches theirs.
I stagger back, retching against the encroaching darkness. The house wails, an agonizing cry that seeps through the very walls. “Don’t leave us!”
Pain tears through me. I am torn between the worlds, the unyielding grip of life on one side and the seductive, eternal embrace of the forgotten on the other.
I clutch my chest, feeling the rhythm reach a fever pitch. I have to escape. A last-ditch effort brings me to the door, the threshold of freedom. I burst out into the night air, gasping as the coolness washes over me, but the house lingers behind. I know it’s still there, waiting, yearning.
I stumble back toward the street, heart pounding with the mixed emotions of dread and relief, but I can almost hear their whispers, desperate pleas floating on the wind. They won’t let me forget; they will always be there, shadows in the corners of my mind, reminding me of the fragile line I walk between the living and the lost.
Every heartbeat resonates with the echoes of their pain, and I know that no matter how far I run, no matter how much I wish to sever that bond, I will always be tied to them, bound by the house that stands eternal in the silence, a spine of darkness against the unyielding light.
Author: Opney. Illustrator: Stab. Publisher: Cyber.
