Chapter 18: The Drowned Sorrows

In the oppressive embrace of Lament Boarding School, the past lingered like a fog that refused to lift. It was in this fog that I stumbled upon the tragic tale of a student who had become one with the very sorrow that permeated the walls of this cursed place. The school pool, a place of supposed leisure and laughter, had become her watery grave, her body discovered floating in the still waters, eyes forever gazing at the ceiling as if searching for answers in its blank expanse.

I learned of her from the whispers that danced in the drafty halls, the quiet murmurs of those who had known her—whispers that coalesced into a chilling story that left the taste of tragedy on my tongue. "She just... gave up," one of the older groundskeepers told me, his voice a low rumble that resonated with the sorrow of the tale. "It was like she drowned in her own despair, right there in the pool."

The thought of such profound sadness was a weight upon my chest, a heavy stone that threatened to drag me into the depths of my own fears. I could not help but feel a kinship with her, a connection wrought from the shared experience of Lament's pervasive melancholy.

It was in the library, amongst the must and leather of forgotten tomes, that I sought to escape the chill that the story had left in my bones. The walls were lined with books that held the secrets of Lament's long and storied history—a history that was more alive than any of us realized.

As I perused the dusty shelves, a volume caught my eye, its binding cracked and its pages yellowed with age. It was a ledger of sorts, a catalogue of names and dates that stretched back centuries. My fingers traced the entries, feeling the indentations of ink pressed into the paper by hands long since stilled by death.

It was then that I noticed it—a pattern that sent a shiver down my spine. Ethan's name recurred throughout the ledger, a constant presence that defied the passage of time. The realization crept over me like a shadow at dusk, slow and inexorable. Ethan, the one I had drawn so close to, whose smiles had been my refuge, was woven into the very fabric of Lament's cursed existence.

My breath hitched in my throat as the implications of this discovery settled upon me like a shroud. How could it be? How could Ethan, so seemingly vibrant and alive, appear within these ancient pages? Was he truly the betrayer that Raven had warned me of, an eternal specter that had haunted these halls for centuries?

"Ethan," I whispered to myself, the name a question, a plea for understanding.

The library seemed to close in around me, the books leering from their shelves, the knowledge they contained both a gift and a curse. I felt exposed, as if the room itself was privy to my innermost thoughts, as if the ledger in my hands was an indictment of the trust I had placed in Ethan.

I replaced the book on the shelf, my hands trembling with a mixture of fear and a desperate need to deny the truth laid bare before me. I fled the library, the echo of my footsteps a frantic rhythm that matched the racing of my heart.

That night, as I lay in my bed, the darkness seemed to press against the windows, eager to penetrate the fragile barrier and extinguish the last flicker of hope within me. The story of the drowned student haunted my dreams, her fate a dark mirror that reflected my own potential destiny—a destiny inexorably linked to the enigmatic and ageless Ethan.

The sorrow of Lament was a tangible thing, a presence that could drown us if we were not careful. And as the night deepened, I could not shake the feeling that Ethan was a part of that sorrow, a key to the lock that held the secrets of Lament's damned history. My heart ached with the betrayal of it all, the shattered remnants of trust cutting deep as I grappled with the knowledge that the one I had turned to for comfort might very well be the architect of my undoing.

The days at Lament bled into one another, each as indistinct as the last, shrouded in a perpetual gloom that clung to the soul. It was against this backdrop of despair that the festival was to be held—a grotesque celebration of the school's haunted history. A history that now seemed inextricably linked to Ethan, whose very essence appeared to mock the passage of time.

Before the festival's eerie festivities could commence, a chilling event unfolded within the confines of the schoolhouse. A teacher, Mr. Darrow, was found slumped over his desk in the early hours, his body rigid with the stiffness of a catatonic state. His eyes, once filled with the spark of knowledge and instruction, were now wide orbs of terror, staring into a void that none of us could see.

I heard the commotion from the hallway, the murmurs of students and the quick, authoritative steps of faculty converging upon the classroom. I pushed through the crowd, my heart racing, until I stood at the threshold, the sight of Mr. Darrow's stricken form a cold hand that clenched around my heart.

"What happened to him?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper amid the chaos.

No one answered; their faces were a collection of pale masks, eyes reflecting the fear that Mr. Darrow's condition had ignited within them. It was clear that he had seen something, something that had snatched away his very sanity, leaving him a hollow shell, a vessel emptied of life's vigor.

The festival, when it came, was a macabre affair. The grounds of Lament were transformed into a carnival of the damned, with decorations that mimicked the gothic architecture and mournful spirits of the school. Masks were worn, some grotesque, others hauntingly beautiful, yet all served to conceal the true faces of those who danced beneath the twisted branches of the ancient trees.

Ethan was there, his visage obscured behind a mask that was both angelic and demonic, feathers and darkened silver crafted with an artistry that made my breath catch in my throat. He moved among the revelers with a grace that seemed out of place in the clumsy merriment of the festival, his every gesture a reminder of the ageless enigma he represented.

"Abby," he called out, his voice muffled by the mask, yet unmistakable to my ears.

I turned to face him, my own mask a poor shield against the tumult of emotions that his presence stirred within me. "Ethan," I greeted, the name now a thing of suspicion and dread.

He offered his hand, an invitation to join him in the dance of the festival—a dance that felt like a prelude to something far darker. "Will you dance with me, Abby?" he asked, the question hanging between us like a spider's thread, delicate and dangerous.

I hesitated, the image of Mr. Darrow's catatonic form flashing before my eyes. Could I truly step into Ethan's embrace, knowing what I knew, suspecting what I suspected? Yet the pull of him was a tide I found difficult to resist, and so I placed my hand in his, a pact made in the shadow of my own misgivings.

As we danced, the festival around us seemed to fade into the background, the laughter and music becoming distant echoes that no longer reached my ears. Ethan's movements were a seduction, a call to forget the fears and warnings that had come to define my existence at Lament.

The dance ended, and the festival continued around us, a whirl of color and sound that felt increasingly hollow. Ethan's mask, his ageless nature, was a riddle wrapped in a conundrum, each moment with him a step closer to the abyss that had claimed Mr. Darrow.

I excused myself, the need for air and clarity driving me from Ethan's side. As I walked the grounds, the festival's grotesque gaiety a stark contrast to the dread that filled me, I couldn't help but wonder what horrors lay behind the masks we all wore. What secrets did Ethan conceal behind his? And what would be the cost of unveiling the truth hidden in the depths of Lament Boarding School?