Just to set the scene - There are 3 girls on holiday together and they get bored in the huge hotel one night and decide to go exploring. I haven't written the first part of it so the story starts from there im afraid...
After what seemed like years the spiralling stairs eventually ended and at the top stood a large black door.
A small but magnificently crafted plaque shone against the dark wood and leaning closer I could see faint writing. Inscribed in beautiful, but shallow font, was the word ‘Ballroom’.
We each halted with military like precision as we considered this unusual room.
‘A ballroom? All the way up here?’ It took me a moment to realise it was my mouth that had uttered those words.
‘The stairs are so narrow, you wouldn’t think the room would be big enough to dance in.’ piped up a voice from the back, at a guess it was Claire but with the darkness so dense up here it was impossible to know for sure.
“Well?” The voice was annoyed and without doubt this time I knew it was Mary. “What are you waiting for? I didn’t walk all the way up here to go back down. Open the stupid door already.”
And with that the decision was unanimous and the heavy door began to creek open slowly.
We entered into a vast, dimly lit room and what met our eyes was beyond even the wildest imagination amongst us. A huge carousel, the size of the entire room, stood sombrely still among the glum light. Its spiral pillars, which I believe at one point would have been beautifully coloured and polished, now stood with a thick layer of dust clinging to every inch of its surface with spider webs sprawling the entire length of the room, and dangling from the ceiling like some freakish gossamer ghost.
At the opposite side of the room the wall only came to waist height and the rest was open to the world. The stars were clearly visible and the moon was full in its pale and lonesome glory. It was this light, and this light only, that allowed us to see the carousels outline and shapes, and that illuminated the difference between this carousel in front of ours eyes, and any other we had ever seen before.
Where the horses ought to have proudly stood at the end of the dusty, forgotten pillars, plastic mannequins had taken their place. The mannequin closest to us was that of a small girl, just recognisable by her size and innocent, plump cheeks. The sickly light ebbing from the night sky cast a faint blush on those cheeks and gave her matt, soulless eyes an almost human glimmer. It was eerie to see life flash on and off of her eyes from the twinkling of the distant stars.
“Woow.”
“Yeah.”
“What…..” Not one amongst us could think of where to start with that question.
My first step forward echoed round the mannequin dancers and rumbled gently amongst the filthy cobwebs.
There was a silent stir.
More echoes followed as the girls crept in behind me and we fanned out, slightly, to investigate. The floor bulged slightly as you walked closer to the centre where the large thick tree-like trunk of the carousel had dug its roots.
Peering closer I could see faint carvings in the trunk, however the dust was so thick that unless I wanted to get my hands filthy there was no way of knowing exactly what they depicted.
It was at this point that the silence ended and my heart stopped dead in my chest.
The noise was unexpected and deafening. A blaring clash of the cymbals and rhythmic bouncing of pipe organs struck out from every direction and deafened me to such an extent that I didn’t even realise I was screaming.
Bright, multicoloured lights exploded and swept around the floor and the mannequins slowly, stiffly began to move up and down, round and round, getting faster and faster as the music continued.
My heart felt like it was beating a hole in my chest and I swung round just in time to dodge out of the way of a rather large, fat mannequin. I searched for my friends and found them with much the same looks on their faces.
“What the hell’s going on?” I shouted over the fun-fair music.
As Mary and Claire made their way over I was only able to catch the end of their answer.
“…..on the floor.” Mary turned and held her hand outstretched. My eyes followed and landed on the object of her attention; a small circular bump on the floor, lit up and glowing red. I turned back to Mary.
“What’s that?”
“I have no idea. I was just walking and I felt this thing under foot and next thing I know all this started.”
“You and your stupid, fat feet Mary. How bout you actually look where your going? It’s not hard to see a lump that size on the ground you know.” Claire’s usually harsh attitude towards Mary was not lost over the loud music.
“Well if I could see past your fat head then maybe we…….”
As I stood watching the twins bicker – which looked like a madman arguing with himself in the mirror - I began to feel the music spiralling round me and vibrating through my very bones. Happy flashes of a childhood spent in fairgrounds bombarded my mind until I could no longer control my feet and I began to sway, gently at first. The music was so rhythmic and mesmerizing that I began to feel myself being pulled, the urge was of such greatness that I began to laugh uncontrollably.
I could no longer hear them arguing and as far as I was aware I was the only person in this room. As I looked around and watched the mannequins dance fast and gracefully for us, my feet took me and I began to dance and swirl.
As I twirled around a rather handsome mannequin came into sight. With the room now well-lit, I could clearly see each mannequins features. This one was of a man, young in age and large in stature. He held a hand somewhat up right, as though in a waltz position and wore formal black tie attire. His features were so clear and well made that he was not at all unattractive to watch.
I crossed the room and made my way, still dancing, to my new friend. Taking hold of his outreached hand, I too adopted the waltz position and together we glided across the room. As I twisted round and round Mary and Claire came in and out of sight, a confused, but rather amused look stuck to their faces, with Mary bent over in laughter.
My dance partner pulled me around the room and as I turned past the girls I shouted and beckoned for them to join me. By the time I had made it round the room again I saw both the girls had picked partners of their own and we all let ourselves drift along with the merriment of the night.
Some time passed, I have no idea how much, when a flash of shadow crossed my face and jerked me from this dream-like state. I turned quickly to see who the owner of this shadow was but the mannequins faces, flashing in and out of view, obscured my vision. The next thing I knew I could see a bright light coming from the corner, as though someone was shinning a flash light around the room.
