CHAPTER II : The Hallway
CHAPTER II : The Hallway
The passage turned left and ended in a short, narrow hallway.
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The wooden floor creaked under our shoes, and the air smelled faintly of old wood and polish. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgNnK45nzc
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Somewhere beyond the passage, the tour guide was still speaking, her words becoming indistinct as we rounded the corner. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6MeGVMraj
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On the right side of the hallway, three small lamps hung from the ceiling. Each one made a circle of yellow light on the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmc4mOLNlLp
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Two people were already standing there — an elderly couple, under the first lamp. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1AfauxvlK
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"Oh," Mia whispered. "There are three paintings. Why would they hide them back here?" 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKYj1sxK1Q
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I stopped near the entrance while my friends walked closer. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i5ilLAD6R
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* * *
For a moment, I thought Mia was teasing me. But she had already turned towards the elderly couple, listening with the same attention she had given the guide. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FTbOcP2ZG
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The old woman pointed at the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyTML1h1r3
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"What a beautiful dress," she said to her husband. "That blue looks lovely next to the roses." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ625yMD8uxJ
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Her husband frowned. "Blue? The dress is green. And there are no roses." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkh1rw4rUG
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She laughed softly. "You really do need new glasses, dear." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MV9s23pLN
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Then she took his arm, and they walked slowly past us towards the way out. Mia stepped aside for them. Neither acknowledged her. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnJxkqocXY
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Mia waited until they were gone, then leaned towards the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pUuwAOX9w
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"Snow," she murmured. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXxHcmDVza
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"What?" I asked. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC60gFF1zGp
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"The woman is standing outside in the snow." She pointed at the first circle of light. "Her dress is white. She’s looking away, like she’s waiting for someone." Mia glanced towards the passage where the couple had disappeared. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpS8do061A
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I looked where she was pointing. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXAuE2rMBc
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"Can you see her?" Mia asked. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWOc9ilB8K
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I took a step closer. From the doorway, I had been the only one who didn’t seem to understand what everyone was looking at. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrhahQ1OSZ
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I wanted to be sure before I said anything. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fQxFaOkZA
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Before I could answer, Daniel called us over. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfihLECLs8
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"Come and see the middle one!" Daniel said. "It's a battle!" 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMEDLhOvMB
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He was standing under the second lamp. Oliver went to join him. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvx1rFkEkuJ
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"What do you see?" I asked. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lzPBZdjzV
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"Soldiers fighting in a field," Daniel said. "And a king on a white horse. He's wearing a gold crown." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMoEdIuV62
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Oliver turned towards Daniel. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RWRwaT3XK
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"There's no horse," Oliver said. "The king is sitting on a throne. People are kneeling in front of him." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC98QJLU3jP
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Daniel laughed. "Stop joking." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdCcI9TotO
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"I'm not joking," Oliver said. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJpGRRSDnR
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They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at exactly the same spot on the wall. Daniel leaned forward, then glanced sideways at Oliver, waiting for the joke to end. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW09GFkfV29
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Daniel stopped smiling. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZG6T9tDOlx
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Then they swapped places, Oliver squeezing past Daniel in the narrow space beneath the lamp. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33lXGrKFTN
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"Well?" Mia asked. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAMbmOYUjG
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"Battle," Daniel said. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3S9fPGfs52
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"Throne," Oliver said. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnwMUJaYAP
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Mia moved to one side, studying the wall at an angle. "Sometimes the surface—" She stopped, straightened, and looked again. Nobody asked her to finish. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8b8fFWMVxJ
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* * *
That was when two more women came into the hallway. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyFENqDk0d
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One wore a red scarf. The other carried a small black handbag. We stepped back to let them pass. Both kept their eyes on the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1aGUTt5dP7
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The woman in the red scarf stopped under the middle lamp — right next to Daniel. Close enough to touch his arm. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpc4pZN41T
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"Ah," she said. "The witch trial. Poor girl. Look at all those men around her." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaYYl3xjYF
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"A witch trial?" her friend said. "I thought it was a funeral." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWOcsAL3EO
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Daniel stared at them, then back at the wall. He lowered his pointing hand. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0vdU4pZpo
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"The king is right there," he said, pointing again. This time he sounded as though he wanted someone to agree with him. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoiRO2vaiW
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Oliver stepped back towards the entrance and lifted his camera. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaHjo0SKRm
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Mia stood a little behind Daniel. From where Oliver was standing, both of them were in his shot, along with the two women. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gWUGXayw8
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"Excuse me," Oliver said to the woman in the red scarf. "Do you mind if I take a photo?" 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpMeIWWUEi
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She did not answer. She did not even turn her head. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ37xt3aLD1
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Oliver waited. The woman continued studying the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXUx8KwMxu
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He took the photo. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yzn52fr6Z
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Click. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oMjA09dU1
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The two women moved on to the third lamp. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXoSQ2Mkau
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"The little village is so peaceful," said the woman in the red scarf. "And that boy with his lamb — how sweet." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4Ri5GE2qc
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"Lamb?" Oliver said. "I see a puppy." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVOHLEVOvr
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The woman smiled at the wall, not at him. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDj6td6NEe
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"No," she said. "It's a lamb." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQhMqkLB8Q
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Then they walked out of the hallway together. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DOBIWfhgg
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The floor creaked as Daniel moved closer to me. It creaked again when Oliver stepped forward. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsxUXe9b4q
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I listened until the women had gone around the corner. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwuZnXlXGQ
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I had heard their voices all the way to the end of the passage. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9omiJRTTMr
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But not their footsteps. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lQURKrybm
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Mia went to stand under the third lamp. For a long time, she didn't speak. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLloSrxcH5Q
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"I don't see a boy," she finally said. "I see a woman standing on stone steps. A crowd is bowing their heads in front of her." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUK7x1h9Id
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"I see a judge," said Daniel quietly. "Holding a scroll." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxa41xLq5Y
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Oliver stepped back from the wall. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2Uz1Ug75Q
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"How can we all see something different?" he asked. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1PZDQkIxc
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Nobody had an answer. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XmRw3JViz
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Out in the main gallery, people were talking and laughing. I wanted to get back to them—to someone who would turn around when we spoke. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08g2O4WFcQ
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"Let's go," I said. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN65EOv5nQ
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"Kim's right," Mia said. "Come on." 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyxdpPYRbA
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This time, nobody argued. 110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVDbVTQ7AU
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