the velvet curtain (4)

It was as if he had stepped back in time. Costumes from long-forgotten performances lined the walls, each of them beautifully preserved, though aged. Props were scattered about: old swords, painted backdrops, golden crowns tarnished with time.

The air was thick with the smell of dust and nostalgia, and the silence was absolute. As Elliot wandered deeper into the room, he felt a strange presence, a shift in the air. In one corner, a figure draped in velvet sat on a grand chair, watching him.

Elliot froze. The figure rose slowly, revealing himself to be a tall man with piercing eyes, dressed in an old-fashioned suit from a different era.