The Echoes |- The Ink Well Fiction Prompt 137

As the sun dipped into its horizon, casting shadows over the old ruins where Manda and Alex stood, creatures whispered tales of forgotten history.

While they talked, scanning for memories, Alex found a crumbling inscription, his curiosity spiked. There was a doorway that beckoned them to keep moving forward.

"Do you think we should be here in the first place?" Manda asked fearfully.

"Of course, just trust your instincts and follow whatever they tell you. If you can do that, then be assured, we will leave here with lots of facts," Alex answered reassuringly.

Source

Just after their chitchat, Manda saw a beautiful painting on the wall, moved by the ancient history it held; she ran her hand over the artwork.

With a creak, a door beside them swung open. The two looked at each other, uncertainty written on their faces, but they delved in.

As they went deeper, their torchlight flickered on another old painting on the wall. The air carried a rusty scent, but they wanted to hear the untold story the old ruins held.

Suddenly, they heard a sound but were not certain of the direction. They quickened their pace with no specific direction in mind.

"Manda, do you feel something? It's like this ruin is saying something to us," Alex said anxiously.

"You will always be the first to hear because you are anxious to hear. I have not heard anything. All I feel is we are walking like lost sheep in a field. I need conviction that the ruins hold a secret."

The artifact cast a light, revealing key hung on a painting on the wall, depicting a forgotten prophecy, a story of a hidden power within the ruins.

"That key is the answer to what we are looking for. It's the only key that can unlock the power within these ruins."

"You know so much, no wonder you are referred to as a bookworm. What's next, professor?" Manda teased.

"This key, from my research and historical books, can only be taken by a female. For us to get what we came here for, you have to walk to where that key is and get it with courage. If your heart trembles, you won't get that key," Alex said persuasively.

Source

At that instant, Manda was in a state of dilemma. She couldn't disappoint her friend Alex, but fear wouldn't let her get close to where the key was. As she moved toward the chamber where the key was, her heart beat nonstop. After many attempts with no results, she finally breathed in and out and held the key, and it glued to her hand.

As Manda placed the key into the rustic mysterious lock, the ruins trembled. The hidden chamber opened, revealing a great secret waiting to be revealed. The ruins transformed, taking them to a world of magic. The two looked at each other in astonishment.

"I never thought ruins could hold a doorway to another world," Manda marveled, excitement visible all over her.

"I told you the ruins hold secrets," Alex said excitedly.

Together, the ruins took them on an adventure, unraveling the mysteries hidden inside.

After the time they spent, Alex and Manda came out of the ruins, changed, and Manda mindset was forever changed, trusting that ruins truly hold hidden secrets.