Chapter 4 — The Spirit in the Walls
500 words
The night after they buried Matthias, the cathedral did not sleep.
A cold wind slid through the aisles even though the doors were shut. Candles flickered violently. Hymn books fell from shelves without touch. And every corner seemed to hold a whisper too soft to be human… yet too sharp to be ignored.
Elara woke in her chamber gasping, her skin covered in chills. She knew she had not been dreaming. She had heard a voice—broken, trembling, unmistakably familiar.
“Why did you leave me in the dark?”
Matthias.
She hurried to find Gabriel.
He was already awake, pacing the sacristy, a deep frown carving his face. “Elara, something’s happening. Every time I close my eyes, I feel like something is watching me.”
“It’s him,” she whispered. “His spirit. He’s not at peace.”
Gabriel froze. “We buried him. That should’ve—”
“No,” she cut in. “Not when his life ended in fear. Not when his truth was silenced.”
A sudden crash echoed through the cathedral. A choir stand toppled over on its own. The candles by the altar burst with bright blue flame.
And then they both heard it.
A low moan. A whisper sliding through the pews.
“You buried me… like I was nothing…”
Elara felt her heart stop.
Gabriel’s breath shook. “He’s angry.”
Minutes later, the clergy gathered in confusion, asking questions Gabriel wasn’t ready to answer.
“Where is Brother Matthias?” Deacon Samuel asked. “He was supposed to lead morning prayers.”
Gabriel swallowed hard, forcing his voice calm. “He left. Late last night.”
“Left?” another priest asked. “Left where?”
Gabriel closed his eyes briefly before lying, “He returned to his motherland. He received word of a family emergency.”
The room fell silent.
Some nodded. Others frowned. But no one challenged the Pope.
Yet Elara saw the truth behind Gabriel’s calm mask. He was breaking. Each lie he spoke drew Matthias’s spirit closer, tightening around him like a cold hand.
That night, the haunting intensified.
The church bells rang by themselves though no one was in the tower. Holy water bowls spilled over without being touched. The organ played a single chilling note — the same note Matthias used to hum when he polished the pews.
Gabriel entered the sanctuary alone, desperate to bring peace. “Matthias,” he whispered into the shadows, “I’m sorry.”
The air dropped several degrees. His breath fogged in front of him.
A figure flickered at the far end of the aisle—small, hunched, shaking. Matthias’s outline. His face pale and hollow, his eyes filled with betrayal.
Gabriel’s knees nearly buckled. “Please… forgive me.”
The spirit stepped forward, not walking but dragging, as if still tied to the dark place they had left him.
Elara rushed in, grabbing Gabriel’s arm. “He doesn’t want forgiveness. He wants truth.”
The spirit’s whisper echoed around them:
“Bring me into the light… or I will take yours.”
The candles blew out at once, plunging the church into darkness.
And Gabriel knew—
a lie had awakened something they could no longer control.
Gabriel cried heavily , but Elara didn't confront him...
Soon, Elara said " look let him be ... he is death gone forever Love...
We buried him , please lets ignore his spirit.
