In the light of a candle - The Ward

A Story by D.Y.Petkova

Well, hello. Tonight we are going to be out. The winter hasn’t come yet so we could enjoy the night air. But this is not the reason we are here. Do you know what the building behind me is ? A university. It is great but this still isn’t the reason I brought you here. Let’s sit and I will tell you the story of the dove cot.
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When I was little my father used to tell me something �" children are evil. That’s it. They aren’t bad or pretending to play, they are evil. They haven’t learned to be something else. And there’s nothing worse that child cruelty. They are ready to do anything just to see how far they could go. This is where the adults interfere and slowly they turn into people. But when they are young, there’s nothing to stop them. And since they do can’t draw the line between good and evil, they can’t understand these concepts. Why am I telling you this ? I want you to think, just for a moment, what would happen, if there were no parents, no adults, no example. What would the children turn into ?
They would stay children.
They would grow up, but so would their desires.
Innocent, childish desires.
Desire to see how far they can go.
And when there’s no control ?
They can go
To
The
Very
End.
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In this university there is a wing that is called dove cot. Or pigeon house. Nobody actually knows if there were doves there. But the rooms resemble bird cages �" low-pitched roof and tiny windows. The rooms themselves are so small that all that could fit there is a desk and two chairs. Some of the teachers use them as offices. Others share so they don’t have to go into this part of the building. And I would understand them. I‘ve been there only once- it was enough. Later I talked to some senior students and they told me the story. About the ward.
This hasn’t been a university since the beginning. It used to be a small clinic near the sea. Really small, with the children wing on the top floor. The building itself was tiny which is why the corridors look like that. How, you would ask. I will tell you.
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The fourth floor of the main building of the university is a little strange �" green walls instead of white, wood floor instead of concrete.
/A woman talking, saying she can’t do this anymore. They are following her in her home, in her sleep. She is nurse, but she can’t stand it. She would leave. She would /
The other strange thing is the quiet. This a university. A school. But still not a sound can be heard. And it is empty. Rarely would someone cross the corridor with amazing speed for an old professor. It is weird.
/She would, but last night they called her name. Said they won’t let her. Screaming with their high pitched voices, scratching the doors, calling threats /
If you have the bad luck to need a consultation and the teacher’s office is there, I should warn you. Do not wander around on your own. Or with friends. What you should do is drag your legs a little look at the doorways and a man will show up.
/She told him about them. How she can’t stand them. How she can’t stop them. The children. And he told her not to worry, that he would go and make them behave. She wants to defend them, they ar e helpless children, but she can’t find in herself to tell him to stop. She wants them silenced/
He always does. You will recognize him by his looks. Old enough to look like he’s a professor. Just a helpful face around the university. You should ask him and he would direct you. He may even propose to take you. Do not decline.
/He went to the door and stared inside. She didn’t want to go and see. He didn’t say a thing, just looked at the patients. They returned his stare. He left. They never made a sound when they noticed him and never gave him a reason to go back. They were afraid of him/
He will take you to a staircase and point the right corridor. Listen carefully and do everything exactly the way he tells you. When you enter the corridor, it will be narrow. And white. Pristine white, like a hospital. The floor is wooden, so do not ear heels �" it will feel like you are going to fall through it. No solid concrete, just linoleum over planks. Then you would reach a turn and the corridor will become ever more narrow. And there would be doors.
/She left, but came back years later. The old building had been destroyed and a university was standing there now. Big and proud. She entered and her feet took her to the fourth floor. If the clinic had been demolished, then there shouldn’t been anything left from it. But when she saw the stairs, she stopped. It is there. Every single ward had been removed, but this. She felt a presence behind her and turned carefully. It is him. The warden. With a different suit but everything else is just the same �" the gentle smile, the white hair. He was still there fifty years later, looking like he hadn’t aged a day. That would mean that /
Do not stop to look at the doors. Go ahead and you will reach the office you need. Really, don’t. Because these doors were locked before the destruction. Before the evacuation. Before the clinic closed doors. They were children back then, with their young undeveloped brains and unintentional cruelty. They have seen that they could go as far as they want because there’s no one to stop them.
Of course, this is just a legend. A story. But sometimes voices can be heard from the dove cot. Small, childish voices. And they suddenly stop. After a while a man in a suit, with big smile and white hair comes out and offers to show you the way. If he directs you, they will leave you alone. Because they fear him, they always did. He is the strong man and they are just little kids. At least in their heads. About ninety years have passed since the university was built. But they are still there. In their rooms, with their toys, doing what children are best in �" being evil.
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So next time you visit, go to the fourth floor. Look around. And if it takes more than two minutes for the man to show up, just leave. It would be best for everyone. Because children want someone to play with them. And even though in their minds they are kids, their bodies aren’t. Their desires and passions aren’t. And they do not care.
Sleep well and do not look at narrow blank doors.