Umi took the envelope with trembling hands.
The corridor was silent.
It was as if even the mansion was holding its breath and watching her.
She slowly opened the envelope.
A single page, old-looking letter came out.
The moment she read the first line, her eyes widened.
"If you are reading this letter, it means everything has started."
There was a name at the bottom of the letter.
Umi.
But it was a little different from her own writing. It looked more mature, neater.
She continued reading the letter.
"I am you from the future. I don't have time to tell you everything. There is a reason your dreams come true. This mansion is not an ordinary place. This is where time knots."
Umi's heart started beating fast.
"The man upstairs is not your enemy. You can trust him. But do not open the door in the basement. No matter what, do not open it."
Right then a loud noise was heard from the end of the corridor.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
It was as if someone was hitting a heavy door.
The sound was coming from below.
From the basement of the mansion...
Umi looked around in fear.
She tried to read the last line of the letter.
But the writing began to disappear before her eyes.
Within a few seconds all the letters were gone.
The paper was completely blank.
"How is this possible?" she whispered.
At that moment the man dressed in black appeared at the end of the corridor.
This time part of his face was visible.
He looked young.
And surprisingly, he wasn't frightening.
"You finally came," he said in a calm voice.
"Who are you?" Umi asked.
Without answering, the man listened to the sounds coming from the basement below.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The sounds were getting stronger.
The expression on the man's face changed.
"We're late..." he said.
At that very moment all the lights in the mansion flashed on for an instant.
And Umi realized there were hundreds of old photographs on the walls of the corridor.
The same person was in all the photographs.
Herself.
But each photograph looked like it was taken in a different year.
In some she was a child.
In some she was an adult.
In some she was much older...
And the same date was written on the back of all the photographs:
October 13, 1897.