The Mansion

 "Calyx, come down and eat, you'll be late for school," his mother called. 

 "Yes, Ma, I'm coming." Calyx replied. 

 He sat down at the dining table and began to eat. 

 After finishing his meal, he quickly went out of their house and waited outside for a taxi. He immediately flagged one down and got on. 

 "Where to?" the driver asked. 

 "Just at West High School," Calyx replied. 

 "Taxi" Calyx called out. The taxi immediately stopped, and he got off

. A few minutes later, he arrived at his school. 

 He walked towards the entrance of their school. The girls couldn't help but stare at Calyx's handsome face. But he ignored them and continued walking towards their building. When he reached their classroom, he was greeted by the noise of his classmates. He walked towards his seat and sat down. A few minutes later, his friends arrived and sat beside him. Calyx smiled when his friends sat down. 

 "Hi Lyx, you seem to be getting more handsome every day," Lloyd teased.

 Calyx laughed at what he heard.

 "HAHAHAHA" he laughed.

 "Oh, you're so humble," Lloyd said. "You're the most handsome guy in the whole campus."

 Calyx just laughed at what he heard. 

 "Ma'am is calling us, Calyx." Lloyd said. 

 "Why?" Calyx asked.

 " Ma'am Pj is calling because we are gonna talk about the activities that were gonna do after the end of the school year." Llyod said.

 "Okay, I'm coming." Calyx said.

 When they arrived at the faculty room Ma'am Pj, Calyx and his classmates talked about what they would do. 

 "Since the school year is about to end, I will be giving you a task where you will go discover and explore a mysterious mansion and you need to make a document all about your findings and discovery. " Ma'am Pj said. 

 Their faces lit up with joy and excitement, and the friends started to get noisy.

 "Okay, everyone, be quiet, I'm not done yet." Ma'am Pj reprimanded them, and the students immediately became quiet. 

 "I'll give you a week to do that. You all need to be careful. Calyx you are in charge of your group because you are the president of the class, and all of you, don't be naughty, you need to follow your president, don't be stubborn." Ma'am Pj admonished them.

 "Yes, ma'am". "Be careful, that's all, thank you! You can now plan, I'll go first because we have a meeting with all the teachers, bye class." Ma'am Pj said. "Bye ma'am, take care." Everyone replied. And they started planning where to go and what to bring.

 (The story shifted to Luna)A century-old vampire named Luna had given up on life outside the mansion walls. after life was one meaningless cycle of days within the cold and grand old home. The mansion itself was a wonder of ancient architecture, now it stood as the monument of isolation. Its empty halls and dusty furniture seemed to whisper secrets from the past, but none reached her heart.

 Her lineage was centuries old and steeped in darkness. Power and gold seemed to shine through it, yet she was touched by something she wanted more than any power, money, and immortality could give love. Her heart was immortal, yet with the hollow beat of loneliness.

 On a cloudy September morning, Luna sat by a large window and she looked at the garden, overgrown and untouched. The wind stirred the leaves with a sound that hardly scraped the surface of her immortal ears. 

 She was lost in her thoughts when an unexpected sound was heard. The rumbling engine and crunching tires on gravel. She looked out and found a car, parked at the entrance. A group of people came out, led by a wonderfully handsome man. He was tall, and his presence seemed to command attention even from a distance. Luna's curiosity awakens her. 

 The man, Calyx, and his friends came to the mansion with excitement mixed with fear. Their objective was to learn and solve the mysteries of the manor house. Luna observed how they went into the mansion, with their voices coming and going within the hollow halls. 

 Her instincts, sharpened by the centuries, sensed that these were not ordinary visitors. They must be drawn by some deeper impulse, a search for something true, which apparently answered her own deep-seated cravings for what was real. 

 Calyx, with his intense eyes and his bravery, was the focal point of Luna's attention. He was not digging up some lead news story. He was seeking answers to questions never asked like what secrets lie ahead in this mansion. 

 Luna was interested. She moved forward, intending to get closer to them, going down the stairs that flowed like a staircase from one floor to another. Luna was silently moving on the floor. She could hear Calyx and his friends talking about their discovery.

 "Do you see this?" Calyx spoke in a voice full of wonder. "The detail of the paint. It's more than a mere antique. The details tell a story as well. But then suddenly Luna just stood there in a flash, it seemed she rose out of the very shadows, her eyes shining and touching Calyx with a shock on their face.

 "Welcome," said Luna, whose voice went smooth like aged wine as she began, her voice reached a point where it flowed easily into silence in the room where they turned to face her.

 Calyx's eyes widened a little but that was all. "And who are you?, You've just suddenly come out of nowhere". He said calmly though surprise had taken control of his voice.

 Luna looked at them. "I'm Luna," she replied. "And you are?"

 "I'm Calyx." He introduced himself. "I'm here with a few friends to learn about the history of this mansion. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.

" Something of the word "pleasure" resonated with Luna. She hadn't felt an emotion so directed at her in such a long time. She pointed them along for her to enter the library. A room full of ancient books and secrets long since past. As they walked, Luna felt an odd flutter of anticipation-a feeling she wasn't accustomed to, given the duration of her loneliness with the indistinguishable days of each other that the presence of these strangers, especially Calyx, felt a little like the first fresh breath of air ever. 

 Calyx looked at those dusty books with amazement. Luna watched from afar, her thoughts absorbed in all these uncanny, inexplicable feelings that were gathering inside her.

 Luna guided them through her family history as told to them. Hours seemed to pass as they dived into the history of the mansion. This proved to be more of a story of how her ancestors had risen and eventually fallen. Each story seemed to close the gap between Calyx and Luna, whose interest and respect toward her history were genuine.

 After the sun had fallen, the groups settled within the great dining hall, where Luna had prepared a great feast. Indeed, set upon the silvered table with fine food, it seemed something of a relic from another time. They dined together, the air thickens with talk and laughter. Calyx occasionally let his eyes wander over to Luna, but there was something within him that compelled him to believe more was below the surface.

 "You have told me so much about your family heritage, Luna, but what about you? What is your story?" he asked suddenly.

 Luna blinked. All this time she'd kept her family's history locked away, but had one forgotten the story of her own? She made up her mind and started telling. 

 I've lived through centuries, she began, her voice steady but carrying an undertone of vulnerability. And though I have seen the birth of empires and watched as they turn to dust. I have always felt incomplete. Being immortal has its weight, and despite all that I have. I have yearned for something I could never quite put into words.

 Calyx listened attentively, his face sober with understanding. "It sounds like you're looking for more than the historical connection. You are looking for a connection, something genuine.

" His words hit Luna with a kind of surprise and she had never strung together before.

 As the night fell very late, Calyx prepared to leave with his friends. Luna almost wished they didn't want to go. As much as she cherished their presence in her home, their warmth and life-sustaining presence made her cold and empty.

 And Calyx turned to her before he left. He would catch her eye, with sincerity that opened her heart to ache: "Thank you for sharing your story with us," he said. "You're not alone in this world, Luna. There are people who care, and who want to understand.

"The words were like a beacon shining in the darkness of her existence. Departing, Luna watched them go and found her heart lighter than it had been in years. She realized then that Calyx had given her something she'd been looking for so long hope.

 In the silence of after her visit, Luna sat thinking over the events of the evening. For the first time in centuries, something she'd thought out of reach for good fluttered to life inside of her: the warmth of human connection. It wasn't an ultimate remedy to her loneliness, but it was a start.

 As the mansion fell back into its usual silence, Luna realized that though her journey was hardly over, she had made a huge step toward finding what she had been searching for all along.