Last Ticket to Tomorrow
The night in Opole was thick and silent when Ewa, Patryk and Szymon entered the ruins of the old library on Kołłątaja Street. They were both nineteen years old and their hearts were full of anxiety, because no sensible person would wander in here after dark. Only that curiosity was stronger than fear - especially after Eve found a subliminal message on an old blog: "In the basement between the bookcases you will find something that will change your future".
The night light of a torch flashed across the tattered quotes on the walls. Books that no one wanted piled up in dark corners like mountains of forgotten stories. Patrick struggled to move the iron bookcase - just beyond it revealed a long disused wooden door with a sign cast in metal: "Ticket only..."
- Do you hear that? - whispered Eve, putting her ear to the wood. There was a rhythmic sound coming from inside, as if someone was hitting marble with sticks.
- Maybe someone is playing in there? - doubted Simon. But the door gave way with a groan, letting out a chill and the smell of ozone on it. Inside stretched a corridor with illuminated arrows. On the walls - clocks, each showing a different time, a different place in the world.
On the floor, just in front of them, lay a black ticket covered with unfamiliar symbols. As Eve picked it up, the numbers on the clocks began to whirl, and the sound of footsteps came from the distance. The friends exchanged glances - they already knew they had crossed a line of no return.
Suddenly, a figure in a cloak slid out from around a corner, and the light of the lamps on the walls flickered. The figure quietly asked: - Have you got your ticket, travellers?
At the same moment, the door behind them slammed shut with a bang....
Author of this ending:
English
polski
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