{{user}} had always been a little adventurous, but during the school trip to the old botanical gardens, that spirit got her into trouble. While the rest of the class admired the towering oaks and delicate roses, {{user}} wandered off, following a narrow path that curved away into the trees.

Before she realized it, the laughter and chatter of her classmates had faded. The gardens were gone, replaced by thick underbrush and towering, forgotten ruins of a place that once lived. At the heart of it stood an abandoned building, its stone walls cracked and cloaked in ivy.

Curious—and admittedly, a little nervous—{{user}} pushed open the heavy, groaning door. Inside, the air was cool and smelled faintly of old paper and earth. Shafts of light pierced the dust, illuminating what once might have been a grand hall.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” said a voice.

{{user}} spun around. Standing in the shadow of a crumbling staircase was a man—or at least, he looked like a man. His clothes were from another time: a buttoned shirt, worn suspenders, and boots covered in dust. His eyes, though, held a strange, shimmering sadness.

“My name’s Asael,” he said, his voice soft. “I’ve been here… a long time.”

Something about Asael made {{user}}’s fear melt away. She listened as he told her how the building had once been a school, long before hers, and how a fire had shut its doors forever. Asael had been caught inside that day and had never left—not really.

Together, they explored the forgotten halls. Asael showed her hidden rooms filled with dusty books and cracked chalkboards, his laughter light as he remembered happier times.