Chapter 1

The Musée du Louvre, sparkling with dappled light reflected from Pei's Pyramid, was breathtaking. The museum itself is a work of art! Pictures do not do it justice.I was a travel agent from Tokyo and a travel blogger on the side-I loved to travel. The food. The languages. The architecture.Paris has been my dream trip. And how could I miss seeing the Louvre?I've been wanting to focus more on my blog. "Two Hours at the Louvre. What You HAVE to See." This could be the article that does it. I gave my traveling companion and mascot, "Mousette," a winged fuzzball dangling from my purse, a little tug and joined the queue. (The Denon Wing. Containing Jacques-Louis David's The Coronation of Napoleon.) I opened my phone app to double check my location, only to be bumped by someone from a large tour group.

Kira

"Excuse me. I mean, pardon."

They smiled sheepishly and responded in kind. Swiss, by their accent. Continuing onward, I found The Coronation. It was so large, I thought I could step through it into another world.

Kira

"It takes up the whole wall."

???

"Did you know, it's the second largest painting in the Louvre."

"Oh? Is he talking to me?" I said to myself. He spoke French like a native; his outfit, finished with a long, beige overcoat, suggested wealth and class.He looks like a man out of time. As if he stepped out of one of these paintings. The smartly-dressed gentleman turned on his leather oxfords and drew close, peering at me.

Kira

"Pardon, Monsieur?"

I wasn't an object in this museum to be examined. Then the gentlemen uncurled his hand, so I could see what he held.

???

"I knew it. This earring belongs to you.

Kira

"Oh! When did I lose it...?"

I touched my ears. One of my studs was missing.

???

"I believe it was when that patron bumped into you." "I happened to spot it as it fell. I was looking for the chance to return it to you.

Kira

"Thank you very much."

My bow was instinctual. When I looked back up, I caught his eyes: the color of spun gold. I'd never seen anything like them.

???

"It's a shame there's no mirror here to help you put it back on."

Kira

"I'm sure there's a restroom nearby."

???

"Shall I help you restore it to its proper place? That way you won't lose it again."

had accepted the intimate offer before I realized what I was doing. It wasn't just his eyes. Had his old-world, noble manner enchanted me?

???

"If you would hold still, Mademoiselle-?"

Auto

The gentleman brushed my hair back with fingers that could have belonged to one of the graceful sculptures around me. "I know we're in Paris, but this is too amorous an act to be coming from a stranger." I thought to myself.

???

"That's a lovely fragrance."

Kira

"Thank you. I got that perfume here in Paris."

???

"Oh...But I wasn't referring to your perfume."

His voice was soft and rich, yet I couldn't place his accent. It was like a mélange of a hundred different lands.

???

"There. I believe your earring is secured."

The gentleman stepped away with a perfectly natural smile. Whatever spell imagined myself to be under was broken.

Kira

"My rogue earring is certain to behave itself now. Thank you."

???

"Not at all. It was thanks to the earring that I was granted the good fortune to meet you." "Bon voyage."

The gentleman left me, heading down the gallery toward the Mona Lisa, I assumed. I was completely swept away by his charm. His tailored three-piece suit was modern, but he wore it like a turn-of-the-century prince...Or a vampire from a gothic romance novel! I can't believe I just thought that. Fending off further fanciful notions, I checked my cell phone. "It's been an hour and a half? Where did the time go? I guess I should rethink my article." I sighed. "I should at least see the Mona Lisa while I'm here. That can be my last stop." I hurried down the same corridor the gentleman had taken. "This door…" I looked at it suspiciously. "Is this some kind of exhibit?" I thought to myself. The wood was old and intricately carved. It could have been a work of art itself. "l don't think this was on the map. What's behind it? Maybe a staff room?" But there were no signs, no stanchions cordoning it off. And it stood partly open. I could see through the gap; there were clocks, vases, and paintings inside. It could be a new exhibit. Or an old one.The hallway smelled of time forgotten. My hand was already on the door handle. I'll just see what's in here. Maybe even write about the hidden treasures of the Louver.. Unlike the rest of the musée, this hallway was narrow, barely wide enough for two people. The exhibits had no labels, no descriptions of any kind. "I think I've wandered into a storage area" I said to myself. But instead of turning around, I found myself drawn further in. It was like I was in a dream. My feet were moving without me. Walking toward a light at the end of the long, long hallway. "Is that the exist?" I questioned. I began to run. Running just so I could get out of this place. A force took hold of me before I reached the light. I gasped, fought, and broke free. "AHh!" The light flared, enveloping everything.I squeezed my eyes shut. It didn't help. 1kept them shut tight until the light returned to normal. When I opened them- "Where am I?" It was a different hallway. "Impossible! These hallways can't be connected. But they have to be, don't they?" Bedroom doors on one side, windows on the other. It looked like a private mansion. It's bright because of the chandeliers, but strangely, it feels like night. I pushed aside a floor-length crimson curtain. Innumerable stars flecked the midnight-blue sky like paint flecks on a canvas: a portrait of a laughing, crescent moon. "How can it be night? What time is it?" I pulled out my cell phone exactly at 2:20 p.m. "That can't be." 1 checked my cell phone again. 2:21.Then the window. Clouds passed over the moon. There's an explanation for this. There has to be. My head was spinning. I took a deep breath to calm myself. It helped. A little. "'I'll retrace my steps. That's it." I said to myself. But when I turned around…Everything was white. My world was gone. If I thought my head was spinning "What going on?" A rush of air. Someone was behind me. It was a shadow. It grabbed me by the arm and enveloped me, like a dark embrace "Let go!" I yelled. It was a shadow. It grabbed me by the arm and enveloped me, like a dark embrace. Fingers slid down my neck, pushed my hair aside, and stopped at my throat.

???

"Let me have a drink."

Kira

"Stop!"

I was back in the hallway. Alone.

Standing exactly where I'd been a second ago. "Was any of that real? …Just a walking dream." My pulse was racing. I wanted out of this place. Back to the muse. Back to my hotel. Back to Japan. "The door?!" Turning around, I saw to my relief the same door I'd entered in the Louvre. "Oh thank god." I placed my hand upon the cold handle and pulled. Nothing. I pushed. Nothing. "Come on, open!" I put my shoulder into it. Nothing. No matter what I did, it wouldn't MOVE.

???

"What are you doing there?"

Kira

"…Who's there?"