The Moonflower Hotel

Amelia glanced at the bar before she got up and made her way towards the two men. Evan caught sight of her and understood instantly what she had to do. It wasn’t new, since John wasn’t a subject in the hotel; more like an object, actually.

The beautiful woman walked right past their table without a single look at John. She passed by Evan and threw the small object at his lap. Thankfully, john was drinking away his troubles and didn’t see anything. Now, Evan had to do it since the younger man was having so much fun. The Irish man had a plan conjuring in his head already.

“Why don’t we take a walk, John? You can tell me more on the way.” The older man started while getting up.

John’s eyes widened in surprise and followed Evan wherever he was going. Guillermo rose his eyes just in time to see the innocent man walk pass through the hall, running after Evan who was grabbing his coat.

“We’re going out?” He asked, a bit unsure of what was going on.

“Of course. I’m going to show you the lake, just like I showed it to Victor. We can talk there more about this subject.” The way the words were spoken by Evan made Guillermo realize why the Irish man was leading John away from the hotel.

“Mister Martin,” Guillermo stopped John right before he got the chance to open the front door. “Take all the time you need.” John furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but nodded nonetheless.

Evan looked down at what he had in his hand, gripped tightly in anxiety and sorrow. The small object was a stone; dark purple, long and with a sharpened tip. It could have been seen as an elegant knife, created from magic but it was so much more.

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Victor was by himself, in his room, when Pauline opened the door ready to clean. Her eyes widened for a second when she realized Victor didn’t leave his room for the entire day. Besides, unknown to him, John was getting rid of.

“I will come late-“She started but the man cut her off by making a sign to come closer. She gulped and took little steps to his bed, where he was sitting on.

“Pauline, you’re from France, aren’t you?” He asked calmly.

“Marseille, yes.” She responded with her thick accent. It was funny now that he heard her say more than a few words.

“How did you meet Aida?” Victor continued with the questioning. Pauline swallowed in fear and answered the same thing she did to everyone who asked her about her life and connection to her Mistress.

“My parents were cultivating grapes for wine. Mister Valenti visited once and fell in love with the wine from Marseille. He also-“ Pauline looked to the side, at nothing particularly in Victor’s point of view. But she knew; she knew that walls had ears and eyes. She licked her lips and took a few more steps towards Victor, before leaning in, telling him a little secret. “Mrs. Valenti was from Marseille. That is where they lived for a while and where Aida was born.” The short woman whispered. Victor blinked a few times, just until the information got registered by his brain.

“I heard her mother died when she was born,” He mumbled. He didn’t need to be loud when the woman was uncomfortably close to him.

“Yes. She died of blood loss because the baby didn’t want to come out of her womb.” Pauline’s eyes widened after she gave him that information. She could feel the ground shake lightly under her feet.

“How did her mother look like?” Victor was getting more and more intrigued by Aida and her family.

Pauline took a step back and stared at his petrified. She heard a quiet murmur coming from the window; probably the wind, probably not. Pauline walked towards the window and looked at the overall sight.

“Someone is going to die,” She mumbled to herself. Unfortunately, Victor didn’t hear it; he didn’t hear the words that would have probably saved his life.

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“So, where are we going exactly?” John asked when he realized they have been walking for ten minutes already.

Evan glanced at the younger man over his shoulder, just to check the condition he was in. John was oblivious to his surroundings, or so it seemed.

Sincerely, John could feel paranoia crawl up his body, starting from his legs, going up his spine up to the back of his neck. It was a feeling that seemed to burn his whole spine and he started to feel uncomfortable. John’s eyes rose to the sky and he noticed how much the sky was changing as they were walking deeper into the forest. Above the hotel, the sky was clear without stars or even a moon. Now, that he was getting further away from the building, all those nonexistent little details started to show up here and there.

“That’s so weird,” The young architect muttered before he stopped. From the sky, his eyes wandered on the forest. He could swear he saw animals and birds when he first ventured towards the hotel; it was as if everything was guiding him to the finish point excitedly. Now, everything was gone and he was getting scared. “What’s going on in this place?” John continued to ask himself.

There was one detail that John didn’t notice until it was too late: Evan was gone. While the young British man was engulfed into the passing magic of the domain, he realized he was all alone in the middle of a thick forest.

“Evan?” The only thing that responded was the echo. “Mate, I think you forgot something behind!” John continued.

“-you forgot something behind!” Only those words echoed.

“Hello? Evan?” John shouted, but no one was there to give him a response; not even the echo.

The sky was getting darker and the wind picked up; a storm was coming. John was aware that he got lost and he was in big danger if the storm will start with him still in there.

“Damn, I get colds easily,” He muttered as he walked in a random direction.

It was probably a few more meters when the rain started to pour down heavily. John’s eyes widened and ran wherever he could see. The raindrops seemed to block everything because he couldn’t see well; just like a curtain that would suddenly drop. He stopped and looked around helplessly. John couldn’t see anything and the sky was being enlightened by lightning complimented by loud thunders. He was still in that spot when he noticed something even weirder; the lightning was getting closer to where he was. The British architect couldn’t help but feel like he was in a stupid cartoon where the storm was following the main character, driving him away from the domain. He tested his theory by running towards the domain, the rain getting even worse while when he was backing off, the rain would become softer.

In the end, John realized that he had to get out of there no matter where that would lead him therefore, he ran forward, through the trees, getting away from the hotel. As he was running, he started to hear again the echo. He was sure he wasn’t talking yet it seemed like someone was voicing out their thoughts clearly to him.

“Evan? Hello?”

“-you forgot something behind!” That sentence begun to repeat and that was very strange.

Suddenly, the echo disappeared again and small voices started to whisper words in Italian. John couldn’t take the voices that started to mess with his mind, though he was sure they were coming from the trees, and yelled as he tripped over his own legs and fell. Just like in a bad horror movie, he fell down a mound - which truthfully smelled burned and rotten- and rolled through the mud until he finally stopped on pavement. John didn’t even care anymore what happened, he was just glad that he got out alive and only dirty.

As he was getting on his feet, he saw the hotel from afar and noticed the dark clouds were only above the forest. As soon as John got off the propriety, the sky cleared up and he could finally have a clear view over the building residing in the middle of the domain.

“No way,” He mumbled, his eyes getting as big as two plates. He was ready to get one step back towards the forest, in simple amazement, when he got thrown to the side by a sudden car. No light awaited him on the other side and definitely no angel. He was all alone, bleeding while the car drove without a second glance from the driver. In his last moments, though his vision was blurry and his brain was shutting down, John Martin swore he saw Evan MacAllister watching from the side, his eyes watery blue and his clothes wet.

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Victor was in his room, watching the lightning contour the sky as it started raining. He was standing there with his hands behind his back, his eyes shining from the moonlight. Victor Abbot couldn’t stay there for longer but he couldn’t get the courage to leave either. Something was keeping him there, chained emotionally and spiritually. Probably that was the magic of the hotel; it gave you everything as long as you were staying and once you decide to leave, the magic fades away.

“Mr. Abbot,” Aida’s voice sent chills down his spine and he could actually feel goose bumps.

Victor moved his head to the side in order to look at her. Amelia was a beautiful woman with a pure heart and nothing she has ever done would change Victor’s opinion; but there was Aida. The mistress was above normal, above any kind of woman he had seen before; her green eyes reaching deep into someone’s soul and grasping it, urging it to let go and intoxicate with the magic of her every word.

“Is there something wrong?” Victor asked her; though he was pleased she decided to visit him, he could sense something was bugging her.

“Your friend left the hotel.” She announced it in such a way that seemed like John left on his own accord. “He’s going back home, to England, without you.” She continued, quite pleased.

Victor stared at her, more exactly her eyes which were entrancing now that they were shining in the moonlight. The windows were large and the moment she got out of the darkness of the room, Victor couldn’t help but feel those chains around him tighten. She was part of the magic and if he was going to leave, he may never see her again. Ever.

“Is there something wrong?” She tilted her head to the side innocently as she asked a question she already knew the answer for.

Victor relaxed, his shoulders lowering and his hands falling along his body. His eyes glanced from her green eyes to the window and eventually, he sighed.

“I’m going to leave tomorrow.” Victor announced right before a ray of lightning struck close to the building.

“Why?” She asked bluntly, though it sounded darker than she intended.

“I have been living here for a few weeks and even before, you treated me while I was hurt. I took your kindness for granted and it’s time to get back on my feet.”

Her eyes were staring at the man with a glint of what Victor has been looking for his entire life: death. She could feel her hands beginning to ache as the hotel was feeling threatened by Victor.

She wasn’t evil and didn’t want to kill Victor just for fun but the hotel waited for a whole year and let her decide when it was time; well, it was time.

“Then, we should organize an Arrivederci party, shouldn’t we?”

Her words surprised Victor, mostly because she didn’t look like someone who would go or even organize a part at all. He was wondering if she ever knew what a party was since he has only seen her listen classical music or have small gatherings at dinner.

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Therefore, Victor couldn’t help but feel overjoyed and excited for the next day. He already planned everything that night, after Aida left; he was going to enjoy his last day in the Moonflower hotel and leave at dawn in order to catch the bus to Rome.

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That night, Aida went into her room , where Abel was already waiting for her with his usual blank expression. He noticed the way her mood dropped and the way she started to rub her hands on her sides in anxiety. Normally, he would have asked her what was wrong and she would respond in her calm voice but this time was different; Abel already knew who got his mistress in such a bad mood.

“He wants to leave, doesn’t he?” He asked in his neutral tone.

Her head snapped towards the young man who shuddered under her glare. Those eyes could be parental, kind and hopeful but when that time was coming those eyes were empty, like she was soulless.

“AH!” She shouted in anger while smashing everything around her, the hotel vibrating under their feet. The collected mistress was losing her temper for the first time in a very long time.

Truthfully, Abel didn’t care if Victor left or died; it was the same for him either way but it mattered a lot to Aida and he wanted her to be happy, or at least content. If that meant Victor Abbot’s soul, then he might as well do what he was doing best.

“What do you want us to do?”

She growled loudly, imitating the sound of an angry demon before she responded, “Organize his last party.”

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When Abel walked into the restaurant, the members of the staff were already there, sitting around Aida’s table silently. Evan noticed the young man first and frowned when he saw Abel’s cheek bleeding.

“Did she hurt you?” Evan asked, making everyone at the table gasp.

Abel was Aida’s favorite puppy because he was usually the one who only killed and never asked.

The boy touched his cheek and felt the red substance dripping a bit from a simple scratch. He didn’t even notice when she threw a vase in his direction. He felt an ache on his shoulder and realized she probably threw it straight at him because he had a deep wound and pieces of the shattered vase were still caught in the flesh.

“It’s nothing,” Abel responded yet his twin brother scoffed and rushed to his brother’s side. Kain couldn’t believe that Aida actually hurt Abel.

“She must be really pissed off,” Amelia mumbled from her seat, fear crawling up her body.

“She will be fine once Victor Abbot dies. Everything will go back to normal and another customer will be added on the wall.” Abel commented, wincing when Kain started to take the pieces out of his shoulder.

Guillermo frowned and unconsciously turned towards the mirror at the top of the stairs. He saw his reflection, looking just like the day he died and his soul entered the devil’s den.

Kain and Amelia grabbed Abel and walked to help him while Guillermo and Evan remained in the restaurant, drinking tea. Evan wasn’t exactly bothered from what the younger man noticed; if anything, he looked ready to detach himself from any emotional baggage he got from hanging with Victor.

“It’s never easy,” The Spanish boy muttered, his eyes fixed on the mirror.

“It’s never easy to kill but it does give you a certain thrill,” Evan mumbled, placing the cup of tea down. “Why are you staring at the mirror? John has been taken care of and if everything goes well, Victor will become part of the staff.” The Irish man continued, feeling almost glad that he will have someone to talk to; someone smart and well educated.

“Is that really a good idea? I eavesdropped when you were talking to John and heard what he said about Mr. Abbot’s condition,” Guillermo emphasized the important word, making Evan raise an eyebrow intrigued.

“And what is this condition you’re talking about, hm?”

The Spanish boy sighed and leaned over the table, Evan enjoying how secretive Guillermo seemed even when he knew the walls had ears and whatever he was going to say was automatically going to be heard by the mistress.

“His mother. He’s not in his right mind and talks about a person as if she’s alive when she actually died a long time ago. That’s not normal, Evan.” The boy whispered.

Evan chuckled and copied Guillermo’s actions, leaning over the table, “I gave him subtle hints in order to open his eyes. He saw the truth and deep down he knows he’s going to die and he’s welcoming that with open arms. He’s been looking for death all his life and he’s finally going to see it in the eye and take dinner with it.”

“What if he’s not welcomed?” Guillermo mumbled, knowing fully that Abel hated Victor.

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Morning came quickly for the culprit and he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t get himself feel happy. He dressed in the clothes he first entered the hotel with; the costume that held a bittersweet memory. While he was fixing his tie, he remembered the smile on John’s face when they got the project and he could still taste the wine and food he ate that night.

Victor Abbot took a long breath and let it out slowly before he opened the door and walked to breakfast. While he was in the corridor, he wouldn’t help but stop in front of every painting and towards the stairs and smile at the details on each and every one. He was close to the center hall when he met Aida, leaning against the wall in a long red dress. Victor gulped and couldn’t keep his eyes off her, even when they met and walked into the restaurant; Victor didn’t even glance at Amelia, who was dressed in a pretty black dress, but kept his full attention on the mistress.

“Cheers!” Evan shouted, the whole restaurant cheering and drinking together.

Everyone was dressed classy in black suits and dresses; all except Aida who was like a red dot in the middle of a black paper.

“I remember you telling me about Pan,” Evan started, Victor being a bit shocked that his friend actually listened to him back then. “If we’d be realistic, all of us have a certain similarity to a mythological character,”

“That’s stupid,” Amelia mumbled, getting a scoff in exchange from the older man.

“For example, Guillermo,” the Spanish boy looked up in surprise when he heard his name. Evan winked and continued, “I think he resembles Pan the most. He went after his best friend into the woods, looking for the legendary Moonflower Hotel. He was a loyal young man, looking for mystery and he found it.”

Victor laughed it off like a simple example, but the rest knew what was happening. Guillermo got up and excused himself before leaving back to his post.

“And then, our dear Amelia, a beautiful woman who wants nothing else but to love and be loved,”

“Aphrodite,” Victor added, making the woman blush.

Aida was silently watching as Evan was doing his job, taking every member and describing him into perfect characters from old stories. However, she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at Amelia when she stood up, ready to leave.

“Kain and Abel, what more is there to add?” Evan chuckled, pointing at the twins with a joking glint in his eyes. “The good and the bad; always battling for their mother or in this case, the mistress.”

“What about you?” Victor asked, completely ignoring the fact that Abel and Kain rose and left the table right after Evan finished their characterization.

“Me. Maybe I am subjective but I want to think of myself as Poseidon. A God that lived on the bottom of the ocean who fought against the titans and integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades.” The older man gulped down his whole drink before he continued. “I am quite handsome and smart and you are too, Victor. You are an amazing man but you live in your own world and that’s going to bring you disappointment in the end.”Evan concluded before he too rose and waved at his friend before leaving.

“He overdid it,” Victor heard Aida comment under the glass of wine.

“What about you? Who do you think you are?” He asked her coyly.

Aida chuckled and put the glance down before asking for another bottle of wine. Her green eyes fell on her plate, which was empty next to Victor’s who had his plate full of food.

Abel came back a few moments later, with a new bottle of wine and poured only in Victor’s glass. Aida’s eyes followed the liquid drop inside, the color changing slightly when it hit the bottom of the glass. The background music stopped and most customers got up and left, clockwise. Victor smiled and thanked Abel before he gripped the high legs of the glass, swinging the liquid in it, just like a taster. Maybe if Victor was attentive and smelled the wine, he would have noticed something was wrong, but he didn’t. He drank it in one gulp, turning afterwards to Aida who was watching him closely.

“Do you like this hotel, Mr Abbot?” She suddenly asked, preparing to leave.

“I do, yes.” His response only brought a soft smile on her pretty face.

“Would you like to spend an eternity in here?” She asked as she got up and walked behind him, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. “Would you like to spend an eternity with me?” she whispered into his ear.

Victor didn’t have enough time to understand what game she was playing because the whole room started to spin around and the only thing he could hear was a word whispered over and over again by multiple voices.

Death

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Victor woke up a few hours later, in a room that resembled his yet was much larger and it smelled of lavender. He opened his eyes groggily, his head still hurting like he just banged it against a wall. The man rose bit by bit and rubbed his eyes, moaning while doing so.

“You woke up faster than I thought,” A voice he knew yet couldn’t recognize spoke firmly.

Victor needed a few more minutes until his vision cleared up and he finally was able to see who was speaking to him; it was Kain. They haven’t talked much so it was only normal that Victor couldn’t identify the individual right away. Kain’s voice was pretty much the same as Abel’s but the older twin was softer and nicer than the younger one.

“What are you doing?” Victor asked when he noticed how relaxed Kain was standing on a loveseat, with a pencil and an old looking piece of paper.

“Sketching,” He responded cheekily.

“Who?” Victor asked as he tried to get on his feet yet he couldn’t. The spinning didn’t disappear; it felt like it started to intensify actually.

“You.” Was the short answer of the young blue eyed man. “It’s time,” Kain continued.

“Time to what?” The British man asked, trying to use everything he could in order to rise on his feet and keep his balance.

“Mr Abbot, what have you been searching your whole life for?” Kain suddenly asked, confusing the older man even more.

“Why?”

Kain didn’t have to respond. The doors opened widely with a loud sound and Aida Valenti entered dressed in the same long red dress, her hair falling down on her shoulders, complimenting the whole Princess of Death concept.

“You certainly have a lot of questions, don’t you Victor?” She spoke loudly, her voice echoing through the room.

As Aida took a few steps towards the British victim, Victor stumbled on his feet while touching the air in front of him, for help or maybe only in hope he could feel if there was something blocking him. Aida grabbed one of his hands and pulled him closer. Even though everything was spinning around him and he could see more versions of Aida, her eyes were he element that didn’t multiply. They were different, smaller and longer and he swore they seemed drawn.

Victor touched her cheek in amazement. No matter how strange she looked as seconds passed by, he couldn’t help but fall deeper into her spell.

“You’ve been looking for perfection,” she started, pulling him even closer to her. “Do you see it, Victor? Do you see your desire in me?” She whispered, leaning closer to his face.

The man frowned and in one swift movement, she pushed him so strong that he fell on the bed. He wasn’t even sure what happened before he saw her hover over him, like a snake. Aida trapped him under her body and lowered over him, her scanning every feature and breathing over his lips. She caressed his cheek softly and chuckled darkly.

“Do you want me to tell you who I am or who are you?” she whispered, her left hand crawling up his chest to his neck where she easily untied his tie and the few buttons of his shirt. “You are Dyonisus, just like your mother told you. You’re handsome and attract trouble without trying. You induce lust into your victims and slowly,” She grabbed onto his collar and started to pull it down. “Slowly,” She continued, breaking his shirt. “You make them give in to pleasure and you make them forget everything but their own desires,” She finished, rubbing her body against his.

With the weak power he had, he grabbed her left hand and forced her to stop. Aida only chuckled loudly and kissed him. He let himself be kissed for a few minutes, almost getting back into her magic. Almost, since he quickly redeemed himself and turned his head to the side.

“Oh, come on, Victor. Don’t you want to kiss Death?” She whispered, making his eyes widen in shock. “You think you are smart but you can’t see anything as it truly is. You’ve been trying to create your own world and completely ignored reality. But let me tell you something,” Her eyes widened making her look like she was possessed. “You and I are the same. I was born from fear and sorrow and I can only watch as time is passing and the world is changing. This hotel is not my house, is my cage,” She took a deep breath before she continued; “I died here, Victor. I died by my father’s hands and I became a constant reminder of what the world was many centuries ago.”

Victor’s eyes widened from the moment she said she died. His breathing became heavier and for the firt time since he entered the hotel, he felt scared. Aida lowered down to his chest and pressed her ear on his heart.

“I can hear your heartbeat.” She closed her eyes and smiled contently. “The sound of blood rushing through your body, the adrenaline forming from fear yet you can’t lie; you’re excited.” She raised her head and smirked. “You’re not like the rest, are you? You have found what you’ve been looking for. You found perfection. You found me.” Her voice lowered and moved back in front of his face. “Spend an eternity with me, Victor. You will have everything you want; everything you desire, no matter how expensive or how rare. You only have to say yes.” She whispered.

“My answer,” He trailed, his right hand moving to the side, towards the lamp. “My answer is,” He didn’t get to respond because he grabbed the lamp and hit the side of her head with it, throwing her over. “You’re insane!” He shouted before quickly getting off bed and sprinting down the corridor.

Victor was still dizzy and had to support himself from time to time on the walls. Aida’s room was hidden deep into the hotel and along the walls were many family paintings. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed one of her and her father. The man in his dream was right there, his hands wrapped around his daughter, the two smiling happily.

He swallowed his saliva, his mouth getting drier from whatever Aida spiced his drink with, before he continued running through the maze. He couldn’t believe how stupid he was. Evan told him he should look out and Amelia told him that appearances weren’t what mattered, but he never imagined just how big the deal was. He was trapped in a hotel that hid dead people!

Victor started to see a lot of things, out of nowhere. The portraits started to move and the guests became ghosts. He could see someone’s shadow following him and eventually, he found an empty spot, labeled with his name. His eyes widened and he started to hear voices calling out for help or screaming in fear. Somehow, Victor got into the center hall on her floor, where the piano was. It started to play by itself a melancholic tune that only seemed to entangle Victor’s mind and weaken his state.

He saw Pauline from the corner of his eyes, waving at him with a sad smile on her face before she faded away right in front of him. He felt the hotel vibrate and realized that Aida was controlling everything from the shadow and the hotel was responding to her demands.

“You can’t hide Victor Abbot. I am the hotel and this hotel is me.”

He heard her voice echoed throughout the whole building, like she put speakers inside the walls especially for days like these.

On his way to the stairs, Victor passed portraits that he had seen before but never really seen them for what they were. He passed Evan McAllister, Amelia Corelli, The orphans: Abel and Kain, Pauline Lumiere and The First Young Foreigner: Guillermo. Those were the titles of his friends; his friend who were nothing but lost memories caught into a place that knew nothing but murder.

“No one leaves the Moonfower Hotel, Mr. Abbot. Ever.”

Victor felt his eyes sting and closed them, completely blinded by whatever she gave him or did to him. He wasn’t even sure if she saved him as an act of kindness or just as a snack for later. Victor Abbot was a fool.

“You have been looking for perfection, Victor. Perfection only exists in death.”

He heard what sounded like Amelia’s voice, which only made him feel even more like an idiot.

Since he couldn’t see and he even started to tear up from the pain in his eyes, Victor didn’t see the stairs and fell over like a rag doll. He hit his head and felt blood dripping down his temples. He also hit and probably sprained his ankle because he couldn’t get up no matter how much he tried.

“You can’t escape me. There’s nowhere you can go.” He heard her close, probably coming down the stairs.

With great difficulty and feeling his eyes hurt like they were boiling in his head, he barely opened them, enough to see where he was. He landed in front of the big mirror at the top of the first pair of stairs. He could hear her coming closer, too fast for his liking, and tried to focus on a smart way to get out of there. He had no idea and his head wasn’t working at all.

“The hands,”

Victor remembered the man’s words. Actually, he was pretty sure he heard him say it again in his ear. But the big portrait wasn’t there, it was a mirror and it looked really hard to shatter.

“Big people fall hard and so do objects. Search for the crack.”

He swore he heard his mother’s voice this time. He had less and less to live and he was sure Aida was taking her time only to watch him become more miserable. She was only a few feet away from him when he opened his eyes more and looked for the crack. He repeated that a few times since he wasn’t able to open his eyes for longer than a few seconds.

“Stop struggling, Victor. You’re mine now.” She spoke before she grabbed him by the neck and raised him with extraordinary power. He didn’t stop struggling and moved his legs in the air. At some point, he hit the side of the mirror, hearing a small sound from it. Since he couldn’t see well, he based his next moves on hearing. He hit again and again, until the crack spread along.

Aida frowned and applied more and more pressure on his neck. He kicked one more time before he got thrown down the stairs, falling right in the middle of the hall. He heard it, though; the sound of a mirror breaking into pieces. He opened his eyes a bit and saw the truth. As the mirror broke, so did Aida’s beauty. He gasped when he saw who was standing at the top, glaring at him with monstrous eyes and a bullet hole right in the middle of the forehead. She was old, very old, and looked rotten from the inside. She was dead; she was only a sorrowful memory using others to satisfy her needs.

Aida Valenti was perfect, like she said, but she was a monster. That was the first time Victor Abbot realized just how big the price of perfection was. It wasn’t death that would bring it; it was darkness.

“YOU!” Her voice changed as well; it was really low yet under that was her normal voice, making it even scarier. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Her loud voice came closer, until he felt claws wrap around his neck. “You can’t kill me.” She hissed.

Aida only had to kill him before he was trying anything foolish. She had a sharp piece of the mirror in her hand and without any remorse, she plunged it straight through his chest. His eyes widened, forgetting all about the stung in his eyes or the sprained ankle. He was staring ahead, finally seeing what the mirror was hiding: her portrait. His eyes moved on the bottom where the man from before was smiling at him.

“The hands,”

Mr Valenti repeated, Victor’s eyes automatically moving on the hands. The claws retracted and Aida rose. She scoffed and wiped her hands on her dress before walking away.

With the last breathe, Victor took out the sharp piece from his chest, groaning at the feeling, and threw it at her portrait, hitting the hands. He wasn’t sure what happened next because he fell on his back and closed his eyes.

NO! NO!

Those were the last words he heard Aida shout before everything became black and he fell into the hands of death.

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In a hospital in Rome, the machines connected to a certain patient started to beep normally as his eyes cracked open.

“Oh my God,” The patient heard the voice of a man whisper, like he couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. “Doctor!” the same man shouted, alerting other people.

The patient groaned and shifted on the bed. He had a massive headache and the fuss created around him wasn’t helping at all.

“Oh my God, Victor! Victor!” A female, this time, shouted from the side.

The patient, Victor, tried to say something but his throat was sore. A nurse gave him a glass of water and he gulped it down quickly. The light was bright and he needed a few more minutes before he finally got accustomed to it.

Right there, next to his bed, were John and his younger cousin, Marie. His eyes widened at the sight of the doctor, who looked exactly like Abel.

“You’re alive!” He shouted and immediately regretted doing it because he started to choke.

“Calm down, Victor. You’ve been out for a while now.” John responded, a wide smile gracing his lips.

“What do you mean? I got hit by the car and for a year I was-“

“In a coma.” The doctor interfered.

“W-What?” Victor couldn’t believe it. “You-Abel?” Victor wasn’t sure how to express what he wanted to say. The doctor laughed it off, though.

“Sorry to disappoint you but my name is Alberto.”

Victor was confused. How come he was in a hospital and John was alive? And why was Abel a doctor and his eyes were soft and kind?

“Mate, you’ve been in an accident outside Rome. Someone called an ambulance but the driver didn’t make it. You had a few broken ribs and hit your head really hard. You’ve been sent to Rome’s best hospital and Doctor Alberto tried his hardest to keep you alive. Your heart almost gave up a few times.” John explained slowly.

“What about the Moonflower Hotel?” Victor asked curiously.

Everyone in the room glanced at each other, having no idea what the patient was talking about.

“There’s no Moonflower Hotel, mate.”

It took Victor a few more days of checkups and therapy until he got the green light to get out of the hospital. John and Marie spent the whole time with him, telling Victor what happened while he was out as well as victor telling them about his fictional adventure.

1 Year Later

“I think you should give up, Victor. No one heard about that hotel.” John mumbled while grumpily following his friend towards a fictional place.

“Shut up or I’m going to punch you again.” The older man threatened, making John stared confusedly at him.

“When have you hit me before?” The childish friends asked while wrapping a hand around Victor’s shoulders, forcing him to bent and get his punishment from his friend.

“Wait, wait!” Victor shouted and pushed John aside before he ran in front of the place that should have been a forest. “It’s-“

“Empty? Nothing? Your imagination has no limits, seriously.” John started to ramble but Victor was living the biggest disappointment of his life.

There was no forest but there was a building a few miles away. Unlike what he thought he will see, the building was barely complete, looking like it’s been through the First World War; half of it fell and half was covered in moss.

“It was only in my head,” Victor mumbled under his breath. It was unbelievable.

The man sighed and looked to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. At that point, he swore he saw a woman in the distance, smirking at him.

“It was only in my head,” He repeated, his eyes locked on the spot that was now empty. “It was only in my head.”