a chair sitting in front of a fire place

**The Room Beyond** Samantha had always been drawn to old, forgotten places. When she discovered the abandoned mansion at the edge of town, she couldn't resist exploring it. The locals whispered tales of disappearances and cursed rooms, but she dismissed them as small-town superstitions. The mansion was a labyrinth of decayed grandeur: crumbling wallpaper, shattered chandeliers, and furniture shrouded in dust. As she wandered through the dim halls, her flashlight flickered, casting shadows that seemed to shift on their own. Then she found it--a door that didn't belong. Its polished wood and gleaming brass handle were pristine, untouched by time or decay. She hesitated. The air around it felt colder, heavier. But curiosity, as always, won. The door creaked open to reveal a cozy, candlelit room, starkly out of place in the derelict mansion. A fire crackled in the hearth. A single armchair faced away from her, and on a small table beside it, a steaming cup of tea waited. "Hello?" Samantha called, her voice