The world had ended and most people were gone. Don’t ask me how. No one remembers. There were plenty of empty houses up for grabs for survivors. My family checked out one such house. Our first day there we liked what we saw, so we went ahead and moved in
From the kitchen I opened the backdoor and stepped outside. I set foot in a cobblestone courtyard with steps arranged in a semicircle on the far end just like an amphitheatre. Each step was littered with dry flowers and extinguished candles. In the centerline of the semicircle and halfway up the steps was a statue. It was carved from stone and depicted a man sitting in a meditative position. He had several arms radiating out from him just like a Hindu god. At the top of the steps, still in the centerline, was another similar but bigger statue. I was intrigued by this scene but wasn’t sure what to do there
I turned an went back inside. I found a door that opened up to a staircase. I walked down, and at the bottom I found a maze-like network of hallways and rooms. Every inch of wall was occupied by shelves, and each shelf was packed with action figures, plush toys, t-shirts, cups, and all kinds of memorabilia. The place reeked of dust and mold, but I was so entranced, I had no choice but to wander aimlessly through this apparently endless maze of novelty