The lady in white

In the hushed corridors of history, myriad tales swirled around the enigmatic lady in white. Most dismissed them as idle gossip and superstitious ramblings. Over the years, those who claimed to have glimpsed her were often blamed for excessive wine consumption or attributed their sightings to mere tricks of light. The ancient castle, rumored to be her dwelling, bore witness to centuries of human drama. Yet the lady in white’s story remained elusive, shrouded in vagueness and inconsistency. Some whispered that she was a nanny who had descended into madness and set the castle ablaze, while others insisted she was the mistress of the house, eternally tethered to her final resting place. To Anna’s practical mind, it was all nonsensical folklore. She was on the verge of marrying in this castle, and no spectral mumbo-jumbo would mar her joy. So convinced was she of the ghost’s nonexistence that she felt perfectly at ease staying alone in the bridal suite the night before her wedding.

Anna’s stomach churned with pre-wedding jitters, rendering her unable to eat that evening. She ascended the castle’s long, dimly lit staircase, its eerie ambiance only intensified by the shroud of night. As she approached her room, a shadow darted swiftly beneath the door. With trepidation, Anna pushed open the door, revealing an empty room. “Just a figment of my imagination,” she reassured herself.

In an attempt to distract herself from both the impending wedding and the unsettling atmosphere, Anna reached for the romance novel resting on her bedside table. While engrossed in her reading, a peculiar clicking sound resonated in the room—click, click, click. Anna set the book aside, her curiosity piqued. The sound ceased when she stood up. Odd, indeed. She resumed her reading, and once again, the clicking commenced—click, click, click, followed by a resounding bang. Anna’s gaze darted to the corner of the room where her wedding dress, covered in a protective garment, had tumbled to the floor, revealing a gown marred by bloodstains. Terror gripped her, and she screamed, rushing forward to inspect the dress. Strangely, upon closer examination, the dress appeared unblemished. Anna zipped it back into its protective cover.

Though shaken to her core, Anna dismissed these occurrences as mere figments of her imagination. She decided to ease her nerves with a soothing bath. As she lay in the tub, the sound of a woman sobbing drifted from her bedroom. Anna leaped from the bath, hastily wrapping herself in a towel, and dashed into the bedroom, but it was empty, the weeping having ceased. Her dress lay on the bed, outside its protective cover. This was no mere product of her imagination. Fear began to gnaw at her; perhaps she should flee. Or maybe, she thought, she could pacify the spirit by donning the wedding dress. She made the decision to put it on.

After drying herself, Anna slipped into the dress with care. She settled in front of her vanity, methodically brushing her hair. Then, the crying began again. Slowly, she turned the mirror toward the source of the sound. And there, in the reflection, stood the lady in white. The spectral figure’s face remained obscured by a veil, her torn gown stained with blood. She sobbed uncontrollably. Anna, compelled by a mixture of curiosity and dread, inched closer to the apparition. When she reached the ghostly figure, she gently lifted the lady in white’s veil. To her astonishment, she gazed into her own eyes. Anna gasped and dropped the brush. The woman in white was herself! The dress she wore was the wedding dress Anna had donned. A blood-curdling scream escaped her lips, and she turned to flee. In her panic, she failed to consider the length of her dress’s train. At the top of the stairs, she tripped and tumbled, never reaching her wedding. Perhaps, in the end, there was no wedding at all, only a timeless nightmare woven into the castle’s haunted tapestry.