Room Number 411

Fall arrived early, The Dhillthyston Medical College is shrouded in sheer eeriness. It is only October, the fallen leaves cover the ground all over the school regardless of countless sweep. Flakes of withered leaves lament over their break away from the matrix, helplessly fall to the ground, immerse in the mud, then disintegrate and rot. Those Arborvitae trees that were once full of vigour appear decadent, as if they suddenly become old-aged. 

The night is long and dusky. Dark clouds scud across the sky like wild horses; and a sudden violent gust of spooky wind blows the shredded leaves in constant swirl.

Room number 441 in the girls dormitory.

Silence. Complete silence.

"Hah——"then a sudden light gasp utters out of Cloris's mouth. The girl wakes up from a strange dream. There she encounters a man, who dons a ghastly smile, and has eyes like the surface of a lake in a murky bleak night, ominously dark and alluring with a tinge of a peculiar green glow. 

She sits up, uncovers her furry blanket and steps towards the window to inhale some fresh air. The Autumn air already carries a bit of chilliness, which helps clear up her blurred mind from the dream.

Unable to go back to sleep, Cloris then sits down in front of her computer and presses the keys randomly. The bright screen light immediately emanates into her eyes. She blinks a few times.

An MSN message with a name she does not recognize suddenly pops up——

It's time...I'm behind you.

It must be one of those silly tricks that senseless people over the Internet plays, she thinks. But Cloris can't help feeling tensed up with an immediate ghostly chill, as though an icy finger has touched her spine. 

She turns her head and unexpectedly sees the face of the man in her dream, magnified to such extent that she thinks she can literally feel his breath. The air at this point is so rarefied, and Cloris almost feels suffocation with her heart pounding to the point of breaking out of her ribcage.

Then, for some reason, fear stops seizing her.

She suddenly feels that his eyes glow with the depth of universal love, casting off stardust as a diamond casts light and then smoulders like embers of a fire in a desert night. They have a certain undefinable green sparkle to them, so captivating as if Cloris has been enchanted by a spell.

She questions herself——

What's my name again?

But nothing matters anymore as the man reaches out to touch the tender edge of Cloris's hand. He leads her towards the balcony, and embraces her into his icy chest.

Then...he pulled her with him over the edge.

The Temple

Above the town, on the hill brow, the temple used to stand. My recollection of the place is till intact, and still very vivid, as if it was the event of yesterday. I recall that in the vicinity of the temple was nothing but bleakness and desolation. The area seemed uninhabited, with sapless leaves swirling in the violent gust of wind. The weather was not in its amiable mood, dark clouds scudded across the sky like wild horses. Between times were some frail birds quivering their wings, singing some rather dismal melody, and then flew across the horizon. I was carrying a huge mountain bag on the back and a camera in my hand. I trod each step warily and soon entered the courtyard of the temple which shrouded in murkiness from the view outside. However, once I stepped inside, something extraordinarily strange happened. The atmosphere in the courtyard was poles apart from the outside, as if a door had split it into two worlds. Wherever my gaze touched emanated gleams rendered with life, without even a slightest degree of gloominess, even though all the architectures were mainly in somewhat dull red and gold. I stand in front of the chimney-like structure made of bricks, where candles and joss paper were located to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and worshiped my gods. Along the two sides of the temple in the courtyard stand two erect Bodhi trees. They must have afforded many people an excellent shade to enjoy the cool. I than stepped inside and immediately scented a peculiar fragrance of Scandalwood almost ubiquitous in the temples. It was a woodiness smell with an acrid, almost vanilla-like sweetness to it. Meanwhile, the deep rhythematic tapping sound of a wooden fish(a Buddhist percussion instrument made of a hollow wooden block) along with the chanting of scriptures disrupted the silence. I found myself indulged completely, in this peaceful melody that touched the greatest depth of my heart. My eyes left from the monk who was tapping on the wooden fish, and fixated on the golden Buddha statue. I felt enlightened inside out, and currents of ardency and calmness lingered within my body and soul. I slowly closed my eyes, and be immersed in meditation.