Welcome to the Unknown

My truck barreled along the vacant strip of rural highway in nowhere Ohio. The blistering heat of the midday sun shimmered off the pavement when Stephanie, sitting sun burnt and perspiring in the passenger seat, suddenly shouted “There!” Glancing out her window I saw the vast expanse of browned and dying grassland that reached out into an apparent infinity. Our bodies abruptly lurched upwards as a dust cloud gathered in the rear-view mirror and the truck rumbled across yet another pothole. The jolt caused Stephanie to drop her arm back to her side but not before I noticed that she had been pointing out my window. My head pivoted and I saw it.

This was the type of ramshackle oasis we had been hoping to stumble across. The engine let off an exasperated hiss as I pulled to a stop in the gravel alongside the road. Stepping out of the truck we were enveloped by the two-story shadow of heart-tuggingly beautiful decay. The building’s crumbling walls were slowly being overrun by lush greenery as thick brown vines snaked their way in and around the twisted steel of a collapsed roof. The few windows that had managed to remain unbroken over the years were caked in thick layers of grime. Nature was reclaiming this building. “I think that’s our way in” I said pointing to my left at a hole in the wall that was three times larger than my truck. Stephanie nodded as we headed toward the section of collapsed bricks.

Walking through the patchwork dirt and grass landscape, carefully avoiding the piles of broken glass from fallen window panes, we made our way to the gaping hole. We climbed through and gasped in collective fear; realizing we had not been the first to make our way inside the deteriorating structure.

She was just waiting there, an expression of tragic sadness immortalized upon her ghostly white face. Her pale limbs struck such a deep contrast with the black dress she was wearing. The dark high-heel shoes on her feet floated several feet above the ground; a result of the noose which hung around her neck. After letting out a series of expletives we both managed to start breathing again and finally with a nervous chuckle I remarked; “Well, I never would've guessed Banksy would visit nowhere Ohio”.

“Jesus, I thought that was real” Stephanie replied still grasping at her chest. Nudging an empty can of spray paint labeled “midnight-black” with my foot I nodded in agreement and smiled at the words painted next to the silhouetted girl: “welcome to the unknown”.