Eric--Part Ten

Splog # 55

Ten

   There were no doors on this side of the building, only the windows through which he watched the weaving motions of the beings inside. The singing had a very strong beat and, as Eric stood there, he found himself swaying back and forth, caught up in it. He began to lift his feet slightly from the ground, the better to embody the rhythm that was growing inside himself. Soon he turned away from the window and, still keeping time with his feet, he walked to the corner of the building and turned to the left.

   This was obviously the front of the building and Eric halted his rhythmic movement as he gazed at the place he had been brought to by his chase through the woods.

   The front of the building had a door but no windows. Though the building was white, the door was black and covered with a pattern of what seemed to be stars scattered over a velvet sky. There was no latch or knob that Eric could see when he reached the door. Just a black expanse covered with stars. Above the door was printed in block letters colored red "SEAN F". Eric wondered if that was the name of the building's owner.

   When Eric first came around the corner, his attention had been entirely focussed on the building but, seeing no way to get in at the door, he turned his back to it and surveyed its surroundings. The first thing he noticed was three paths leading away from the black door. One led practically straight into the forest from where he was standing and the other two branched off diagonally, one to his right and one to his left. They all looked fairly well traveled, which made him assume that this building with the name of Sean F on it was a place commonly frequented. So why did the door have no handle of any kind? He figured that a person would have to knock rather than just walking in. But that was simply common courtesy in most places. When he looked back at the building, he wondered if he should knock and talk to someone inside. There was no knocker on the door and he didn't see any bell to ring on either side of it. He looked back at the paths. Should he go on? He felt slightly nervous about meeting a roomful of unknown people in an unknown place that he'd arrived at in an unknown fashion. But it seemed foolish to keep wandering aimlessly. Here he might be able to get some questions answered, maybe even find out how to go home. He listened for a moment and realized that the singing had stopped. It actually seemed fairly quiet inside. Well, at least they would hear his knock, which they mightn't have if they were all singing.

   Eric had just raised his hand to give a knock on the door when he heard movement on one of the paths behind him. And then more singing. But this was a solitary voice. Someone was coming to the door and singing under their breath as they approached.

   Without thinking, Eric ran back around the building in the direction he had come from. He stopped by the windows and wondered why he had run away. He had evidently made some noise as he did so for as he stood there panting, he heard a man's voice say,

   "Who else is out here?"

   Eric turned again and ran to the back of the building but now he heard rustling footsteps following him.

   "Who's out here? Why aren't you inside? Cor? Is that you?"

 

   The voice was friendly, not threatening, and Eric was torn between responding to it or running farther into the woods.