“I can’t believe this place has been deserted for so many years, it’s incredible!”

“It’s amazing, when you can see past all the cobwebs.”

Our flashlight beams scamper over the riches of a past life: elegant furniture, china & trinkets that would’ve glowed had dust not taken them over. How Jay got the nerve to come up to this old mansion is beyond me, & why I agreed to come is even further beyond that.

As we cross the dusty floor into the next room instinctively I feel the wall for a light switch, to no avail. I pass my flashlight over the wall without finding a single switch. “Cripes,” I mutter, “Nobody’s lived here in at least a hundred years, nobody’s bothered to put in electricity.” As soon as I say so both our flashlights flicker out. Jay curses under his breath and scurries to an adjoining room with a window, where he can hopefully see a bit better to fix the flashlight.

A few moments later a soft light spills onto the floor. “Good to see you got it working so quickly,” I say.

“… I didn’t.”