A Lesson in Love and Death

Anna had often reflected that receiving the letter from Endymion College three months prior was the one and only thing in this life that could have stayed her slow descent into madness. Exactly how long it could hold her, she did not know. It was a reprieve she had never truly expected, and she grabbed hold of the opportunity with both hands, with her heart and with her soul.

Endymion College was life.

Endymion College was everything.

Black fingernails flicked the lit end off a cigarette, only for the glowing ember to be obliterated seconds later by the tip of a brown boot against a wet autumn leaf. Anna slipped the remaining half-cigarette back into its package and shoved the lot into a large pocket.

A light mist of rain was just starting to pearl on her brown woollen coat as she passed through the forbidding entranceway, and into the largest building of the university campus. She ran her hand along the old, cold, smooth oak of the doors, flung open to weather and students, and she entered a large atrium, pausing to take it all in.

Opulent, dark wood surrounded her—the walls, the stairs rising high in front of her, the vaulted ceiling, the long hallways to her left and right. She breathed deeply, savouring the scent of the oak, the varnish, the dust, and that evocative smell of old books that ancient universities seem to have absorbed into their very walls.

Stained-glass windows set high overhead cast a magical, dusty light onto the granite floors below, which gave off their own particular sharp chill, much colder than that of the stormy atmosphere outside.

Her stomach tightened with a combination of delight and apprehension, as she vowed to remember every one of these precious new sensations so long as she should live—to enjoy them for the very few precious years they might last.

If she didn’t fuck everything up too soon.

Following the corridor to her left, she took in the view through the seemingly endless row of arched windows which lined the hall she walked along. Perfectly trimmed green grass and the scattered leaves of autumnal trees framed in ancient Ancaster stone. The leaves of those trees which had thus-far managed to hold on to their foliage were all aflame as a bolt of sunshine cut through the slate-grey sky to illuminate them in brilliant contrast.

She turned right into the belly of the building, darker and darker still, until she found the office, crammed into a poorly lit corner that would perhaps have been more fitting as a storage room. Faded yellow fluorescent lights, the corpses of various bugs in their casings a testament to their long-term neglect, glimmered dimly on the dull browns of the worn shelves, walls and floor. And there, Anna’s many and meandering aesthetic reflections halted abruptly due to the stark contrast made by the brighter than bright, perfectly polished, appallingly beautiful, dark-haired man, who didn’t bother to look up from his work when he sensed her approach.

“Name?”

“Anna James.”

“Anna…” He ran his finger down a long list, eyes glued to the page all the while. “Ah, I see your roommate has already been and got her key. One moment.”

The handsome yet bored-looking man disappeared into a dimmer, smaller room, only to return seconds later with a faded envelope, at which time he finally made eye contact.

He froze, licked his shapely lips, and swallowed hard. The response set her already anxious heart apace, but he had himself back in hand so quickly, speaking so casually, she soon wondered if she had only imagined the odd reaction.

He sidled over, a wide smile flashing two rows of perfect white teeth, and began. “So, we have a small problem, Ms James. Your key is missing. I suppose whoever had it last year didn’t manage to bring it back. But all’s not lost. I found you another. Except this one…” He paused, a little dramatically to Anna’s mind. “This one comes with a warning.”

Clearly amused, he leaned halfway across the bench in a conspiratorial manner, and raised one expectant eyebrow at Anna as she took the faded envelope from between two of his long fingers. The words ‘Do Not Open’ were written across the front in beautiful cursive. Anna’s big brown eyes followed the path her delicate fingertips made as they traced over the words.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as sinister as it sounds,” he continued, watching her fingers so intently that Anna scrunched her hand into a fist, causing him to meet her gaze again. “In there is, or should be, a skeleton key. It will open all the doors in your apartment. Which is fine, because there are only two, but one of those is the old hanging door.”

“Hanging door?”

“Hanging door. You’ll see when you get there. You’re on the second floor. There used to be a staircase leading up the exterior of the building to a side door, but that staircase has long since rotted away, and now only the door remains. A hanging door. A door to nowhere.” He smiled his dashing smile and Anna couldn’t decide if he had gone insane with boredom or if he was flirting. Or both. She certainly wouldn’t have minded the latter, if he hadn’t immediately and continually given her the sense she probably shouldn’t trust him. But of course that was ridiculous. He was just an admin clerk. Or a student. Maybe she should flirt back? But was he flirting? Probably not. But maybe…

She thought she should say something, anything, but all that came to her was a weak, “Oh, that’s so interesting.”

With a grimace and a sharp exhalation, possibly at her poor attempt at flirting, his tone and face changed to stern. “Do not open that door. I don’t care what happens. Don’t let the air through, don’t look at the view, don’t even touch the thing. Health and safety, you know? It’s rotting on its hinges and it could fall out at any moment. I shouldn’t even be giving you this, but, well, I know how it is. You can’t always rely on your roommate.” He tapped firmly on an old laminated map that was stuck to the counter with brown, peeling sticky tape. “You’re in the old building, here.”

Anna’s romantic heart leapt at the words ‘old building’. “Older than this building?”

“Oh, yes,” he sighed tolerantly. “A good two hundred years older. Go back the way you came and straight across the courtyard. It’s opposite this one. You’ll be in the east wing, so turn right when you go inside, then up to the top floor. You’re at the very end and you have the corner view.”

Absolutely thrilled, Anna signed for her key and thanked the man, despite the oddly glum look that had come over him as he stared hard at the counter. He made no further response, so she turned to leave, but then, “Ms James?”

“Yes?”

There she noted a sudden, strange intensity in his manner—in his stormy, blue eyes. “That key—that’s our little secret. Really, I probably shouldn’t have given it to you.” He paused. He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell anyone and don’t let anyone else borrow it. Not even your roommate. And whatever you do, don’t bring it back here. Not until you graduate, anyway.”

“Uh.” What does one even say to something like that? It was just a key, after all. Wasn’t it? “Are you sure I should be taking it? I can just wait a few days to get a new one cut.”

“I’m sure. Take it.”

“Okay, then.” She waited, as though he might say something else, but he didn’t. He only watched her as though he might. “Thank you,” she tried. Nothing. She turned again to leave.

“Anna?”

There was something in his tone. Something akin to a chill finger sliding down her spine. His face was still serious, but softer now. His eyes seemed to want to say something he would not say, though she, having never met him before, did not trust her own impression enough to push for an answer.

“Be careful.” Her stomach tightened as she awaited the explanation, which, when it came, was less than satisfactory for the weight of the warning. “Maintain a high standard of work, do not draw attention to yourself, and never let your scholarship be called into question. And make sure to keep one hand on the handrail when you go up and down the stairs. It’s not safe.”

“The interior stairs? All right.” She tried to shake off the unease of the bizarre conversation with a flippant, “I guess that’s old buildings for you.”

“Yes,” he said dryly. “Old buildings. They should knock the thing down before anyone else gets hurt.” And he disappeared abruptly into the back room, presumably to go on with his work. Anna stood still, making certain that this time he was not going to call her back. After a reasonable period of lonely silence, she shrugged to herself and walked back to the corridor.

An odd start to university life, for sure. A very pretty man, some secret key business, some sort of mysterious warning about it all, but now she was back on track and—

“Anna!” The quick tap-tapping of a pair of expensive brogues hit the granite floor behind her, and she groaned internally as the office man ran up, slightly out of breath. “Ms James, I need you to do something for me.”

She tried to hide her increasing irritation with a tight smile. “What can I do for you?”

“Can you come here? Come to the window.” She walked over as directed by an impatient flick of his hand, soon finding herself disconcerted by his warm, breathless proximity as he moved in behind her. Even if he was annoying, he was appallingly handsome, and her pulse quickened despite herself. She was standing close enough to smell his undoubtedly expensive cologne, and he leaned closer still, his chest touching her shoulder, his face almost brushing hers, his lovely, dark hair tickling her cheek as he pointed through the window. “See that building over there?”

She nodded and chanced a glance up at him.

His eyes found hers, hotly. A flicker of a smile pulled at the corner of his lips, and she noted for the first time a slightly roguish arch. It looked like it belonged there. But in a second it was gone, and he focused his gaze out the window again. “That’s your building. Top window on the right. That’s your apartment.”

“Okay.” Was that really all he wanted? “Thank you, then,” she mumbled. “That’s where I’ll go…”

“No, no, wait. Look at the bottom floor.” He tapped the glass. “Under your window, just there. What do you see?”

She raised bewildered eyebrows. “Another floor?”

He sighed heavily. “Well, obviously, Anna, but what do you see? Describe it for me.”

Taken aback by his sarcastic tone, she might have left immediately, if not for his being employed at Endymion College. And his being so nice to look at. As it was, she scowled up at him and pushed forward. “I see two bricked-up windows on a grey stone wall. Is that enough?”

He shocked her with an elated double clap of his hands before standing tall again. “Thank you for your time.” Then he walked away, never looking back as he called out, “And remember, that key is our little secret!”

Another few seconds she waited, positive he would come again, but this time, finally, he did not.

She wasn’t disappointed.

Not at all.

He was weird anyway.

Thankfully, the interaction with the odd and particularly attractive man in the office had done nothing to dampen Anna’s enthusiasm for her new life on campus. If anything, the mystery only added to her excitement. It seemed to suit the atmosphere of the place.

Back outside, she stopped in the middle of the huge green courtyard. Her new home for the next few years. Maybe longer. Her eyes ran across the flowerbeds and trees, the huge statue of Lady Adeline Something-Or-Other, the rest of her name having been blotted out by ivy. It was of little interest, because she was far more interested in studying the ‘old building’ in front of her, admiring the ornate wooden doors framed in their thick stone archway. Not a reassuring and regal Ancaster stone, like the building she had just visited. Her dwelling was built from cold-looking but beautiful bluestone. It rose two levels high, and she followed the line of arched windows to the very end, to the apartment where her new life would take place.

And there, staring back at her, she saw what must have been her new roommate.

She could only make out a little of her features due to the distance, but she looked pale, with dark hair. Anna hoped she was just as bookish as she considered herself to be. She smiled and waved, but the face in the window made no sign of having seen, though it appeared to be watching her. Odd. Maybe she didn’t like the look of her? Or maybe she had no idea why a strange woman in the courtyard was waving at her. That was probably it. Hoping they were not already off to a bad start, Anna made her way inside.

It was dark, very dark, with almost no lighting in the hallway, save the occasional ornate sconce. Despite that, white and bright, the first thing she saw was the staircase she had been warned about. Indeed, the edges of the stone steps had been worn down to a smooth curve, the handrail polished by millions of hands until it was as slippery as glass. She wrapped her own hand around it and held tight, obediently never letting go until, after three turns, she stepped onto the wooden landing at the top.

The upstairs hallway was, to her eye, an endless, windowless, black line of doors on both sides. The dim sconces here appeared as little more than small orbs of fire floating in almost complete darkness until everything all but disappeared into black at the far end of the hall. With her heart beating strangely hard in her chest, she turned back to the door that was to be her own.

Room 235.

The key, a delightfully old-fashioned barrel key, turned easily in the lock. A flood of light met her eyes, revealing a handsome living area lit by two huge gothic windows. These sat above an antique-looking couch with enormous, opulent armchairs on either side. A small, round coffee table, a square dining table set against the wall with three chairs, and a bookshelf, already replete with old books, completed the furnishings in the room.

To her left, set deep in the exposed stone, was the hanging door she had been told about. Its pale-blue paint, flecked and peeling, gave the room an eerie yet cosy charm. To her right, she saw the bedroom, from which her roommate must have been looking down at her earlier.

“Hello?” she called. “I’m your new roommate, Anna.”

“Anna?” she heard a voice reply.

She made her way through to the bedroom.

But she saw no one there.

She turned.

She looked over the two beds, the two desks, the two small dressers at the foot of either bed.

There was absolutely no one else in the room.

“Hello?” she called.

“Anna.”

Anna jumped, her skin crawling. The voice had come from right next to her, as though a person stood with their mouth at her elbow and spoke up to her. She had felt the breath hot on her arm.

But that was utterly impossible…

A key turned in the lock.

Anna’s eyes snapped across as she stood rooted to the spot in burgeoning terror. Slowly, the door opened, and an extraordinarily beautiful, tall, blonde woman stepped into the room. She stopped just as still as Anna on sight of the unexpected person in the apartment. “Hello?”

Anna very nearly shouted at the poor woman, “Did you just say my name when you were outside?”

With a swish of her long hair, the woman glanced back over her shoulder. “Out there? In the hall? No.”

“Are you sure?” Anna pursued, desperate for a rational answer to the hideous idea blooming in the back of her mind. “I thought I heard my name, but it was in here. And there was someone in here just before. But it wasn’t you. And I don’t see how they could have left without me seeing them.”

“I, uh…” The woman looked her over doubtfully. “I don’t know your name. Or… Are you staying in this room?”

“Yes… I’m… someone’s… roommate… I think…” Anna’s pulse raced, the flush of adrenaline making her hands shake a little. Her frightened eyes appeared particularly large and wild in her pale face, which displayed an unsettling twitch on the left side.

“Oh.”

There followed an awkward silence in which the tightly drawn lips and raised eyebrows of the disappointed roommate spoke volumes.

It was easily the worst possible start to Anna’s new life at Endymion College.