Nina and Julek slip behind the school to investigate the forgotten orangery, where strange lights, whispers, and a hidden wardrobe stir fear and curiosity.
Until that Monday, the school on Acacia Street had felt ordinary to Nina. Classes, homework, the same tiled corridors, the same ringing bell. Then, during nature lessons, their teacher mentioned the old orangery at the back of the grounds - a place almost everyone had forgotten.
The plants there, she said, grew taller and greener than anywhere else. And sometimes, when the school was already dark, a strange light could be seen through the glass.
Nina spent the rest of the day thinking about it. By the time lessons ended, she was no longer curious in a quiet way. She was restless, as if the orangery had somehow called her name.
After school, she found Julek waiting by the bicycle racks, pushing his glasses up his nose and trying to look brave.
"We should at least see it," Nina whispered.
Julek swallowed. "I was hoping you'd say that."
They slipped behind the main building and followed a narrow path over cracked paving stones, past tangled bushes and a rusted water tap. At the end of the path stood the orangery: a long, glass-walled building with peeling white frames and an iron gate locked by a heavy, rusty padlock.
"Maybe there's a key in the secretary's office," Julek said.
Nina shook her head. "Too slow."
She pointed to the back wall, where a small window had been left open a few inches.
It took both of them to climb up and squeeze through. Nina landed first, then Julek, with a soft thump and a hiss of surprise.
Inside, the air was warm and damp. It smelled of wet soil, green leaves, and something sweet and forgotten, like a summer afternoon hidden under dust. Shadows moved between the plants. Broad leaves brushed their shoulders. Somewhere nearby, something gave a faint rustle.
Nina held her breath.
In the middle of the orangery stood an old wardrobe, tall and dark, as if someone had dragged it there years ago and never bothered to move it again. A pale, pulsing light seeped out from beneath its doors.
Julek reached for Nina's sleeve.
Then, from inside the wardrobe, something knocked once - slow, deliberate, and very close.