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A NIGHT IN

THE MUSEUM

A COLLABORATIVE STORY

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It was the end of the day and the Louvre was about to close, Alex was

standing in the Pyramid reception area, under the great glass dome,

waiting for the last visitors to file out.

Around him the various museum staff were closing their stations as the

cleaners ambled around, mopping floors and emptying bins. Soon everyone

would be gone and Alex would be left alone in his own private museum.

A few hours later, Alex was walking around the museum. It was really late,

about 1 a.m., and the museum was empty, so the guard only heard the

sound of his own steps on the stairs’ marble. He was really bored. No one

would try to enter the museum because it was excellently supervised and it

would be pure madness, so Alex didn’t have anything to do. He would never

leave his job though because it was well paid and because there was an

indisputable charm in the perspective of wandering in the deserted

museum. It was everything to him. Sometimes, when the sun was setting

and he was looking at it from a museum window, watching as it lit the

building in an orange light, he imagined he was listening to the statues’

breath but, when he turned to see them, he saw that everything was still, as

always.

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The night was cold and dark, one of the coldest Alex had seen in his life. A

storm was raging outside with the rain falling hard at the windows almost

breaking them and thunder could be also heard rumbling in the sky. The

loud howls of the wind weren't hard to hear either. Then a frightening cry

was heard from the Egyptian room in the end of the long hall, which

connected each room. Alex, when he first heard the scream, was quite

scared even though he was a security guard, and he made a step and then

another, reaching the Greek chamber.

- Ηello

- Hi

- What’s up?

- S’all good. What about you?

- I’m fine. Can I ask you something?

- Yeah, of course.

- Why are you so beautiful?

- Hahaha. Well, when I was born, Zeus gave me all the beauty of the world

so here I am!

- What was your life like when you were young?

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- I didn’t go to school because I was a goddess. All my knowledge was

already in my mind when I was born. I had an easy life; I had anything that

I wanted…

- Trrrrr

- Oh my god. What is that sound?

- I don’t know but you should go.

- Ok. See you later I guess.

- You won’t see me again.

- But…

He was totally flabbergasted with what he saw: “Talking statues?? God that

was really amazing!” he thought. As he was curious to find out if there were

more exhibits alive, he ran back to the camera room. While running he

heard a soft voice:

-Hello.

-Oh my God! Are you alive too?

-Yes. Every night all the exhibits come to life.

-Really? I didn't know it! That's unbelievable!

-So, who are you?

-I'm Alex, the night security guard.

-I'm the Victory of Samothraki.

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-I know who you are: one of the most famous statues in ancient Greek

culture.

-Yes. I was created around 200 BC from parian marble. I was discovered in

1863 by Charles Champoiseau and I was sent to Paris in the same year.

Since then, I've been here, in the Louvre.

-Wow! Your story is great! That's why you're so famous not only in your

country but also worldwide.

-That's true. Every day a lot of people visit the Louvre in order to see me.

-Yeah, I know. But I want to ask you something else. Why do the exhibits

come to life every night?

-I don't know. It just happens. Maybe there is magic in the museum! But

now that you are aware of this situation, you must promise that you will

keep it a secret.

-OK, I promise. I won't tell anyone.

-Thank you very much. And maybe now we can hang out during your shift

and become good friends. Also if you want I can take you to meet all the

other exhibits.

-That would be awesome! So see you tomorrow night.

-I will be waiting for you.

Without stopping to recover from his emotions and take a breath, Alex kept

on running. When he got into the camera room, he immediately pushed the

small button on the right bottom corner of the TV. He couldn't see anything

out of the ordinary. The Greek room wasn't haunted. Nothing was moving in

there.

Suddenly a noise was heard from inside, like something was broken into

pieces. He looked at the camera again and saw a Greek vase on the floor. He

moved into the chamber which wasn't really far from his position, two

chambers on the left. And then suddenly, just when he thought no one was

there, he heard a whisper:

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- Hey!

- Who are you?

-My name is Rampin rider, you?

-My name is Alex.

-Mmm… And what are you doing here?

-I’m the night security guard, I work here, and you?

-I'm from the Archaic Period of Ancient Greece.

-Who brought you here?

-Parts of my body were found ten years ago in a ditch filled with statues. My

head was found on the Acropolis of Athens in 1877 and donated to the

Louvre.

-Sorry about this, but I’ve got to go, something urgent has happened.

-Ok see you later!

He was curious!! He had to find out whether in the other rooms he would

find new partners to talk to! How exciting!

- Hello Mona Lisa! How are you?

- Hi there! My back hurts a little after all these years here...

- Oh, really?? How many years have you been here? How old are

you?

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- I was born between 1503 and 1519 and I don't remember exactly

when I was brought here.

- Have you made friends here in the museum since you came?

- Yes, I have many good friends... like Aphrodite of Milos and

Victory of Samothrace and many others... They are all really kind

and we have fun together.

- Nice!! Have you always had a peaceful life here in the Louvre?

- Well, I spend most days of my life posing for the tourists who

come to see me here... I am sick and tired of doing this for so

long... Oh, I also had many adventures here in the Louvre...

- What kind of adventures??

- As far as I remember, Vincenzo Peruggia was the man who stole

me so as to take me back to Italy... I was also selected to be sent

into space for a NASA mission. This is something I would love to

do …

- I wish you good luck with that! I.... (BAAM!! )

- What was that??

- Maybe someone is coming...

- Well, I guess I should go back to my seat... it was really nice to

meet you!

- Hope to talk to you again

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- What's happening here? What’s this noise?

- It's the picture of July 28. The people are fighting for their liberty.

- Can you tell me which year this event took place? Also why this

happened?

- This event took place back in 1830 in France, and Delacroix got

allegorical. People fought for their liberty.

- Oooohhhh, I see. I didn't even know about this event. I can't stay

more here because I have to get back to my job. Thanks a lot for

the information.

- Goodbye.

Some days later Alex was in the museum, but he was very sad because his

brother had a terminal illness and the doctors gave him just two months left

to live. That night he had slept for many hours and dreamt that all the

statues had become animated. He woke up with a terrible sensation. So, he

decided to go for a walk in the museum. He saw these statues that were

present in the dream. He saw a particular statue that was called “The red

writer”. He looked at the statue for a long time. When its eyes started to

move and the statue became animated Alex was surprised.

The statue told him his name and Alex answered with a strange voice. With

its special powers the statue understood his problems and gave him an

explanation for his sadness.

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Alex was surprised by the statue’s power. So, he decided he had nothing to

lose and he could tell the statue about his brother’s story, which was the

real reason for his sadness.

When Alex finished talking, the statue thought for some minutes and said:

“Take your brother to me. I think that I can do something”. Alex accepted.

He went to the hospital, took his brother with him and ran away and after

some minutes he arrived at the museum with his brother and went straight

to the statue.

The statue had prepared something with its little bowls. So, it put this brew

on John’s chest. At 5.00 am with the sunlight the statues returned in their

positions. Alex went home with his brother who felt much better.

The following day the red writer told him the story of the curse in the

museum: a month from this day the statues would all catch fire. Alex had to

help the other statues in the museum and his new friend. The adventure

starts now!

The next night, Alex returned to see Mona Lisa and he told her about the

curse of the museum.

-Hi Mona Lisa!

-Hey! WOW! Are you ok? You look weird....

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- I'm a little worried… The red writer told me about the curse of the

museum, I didn't completely understand what he said but I am sure that he

told me that because of this curse, the statues of the museum would soon

catch fire… Is it true or not?

- Oh yes I’ve heard this! Unfortunately it's true.

- Is there any solution to stop this?

- Of course

- What??!!

- It's simple, you just have to find a gold medallion and put it in the

Egyptian room next to Tutankhamun.

- And do you know where the medallion is?

- I have no idea… Maybe the skeleton dinosaur knows because he has been

here for a long time, but he's not very friendly.

- What do you mean by "he's not very friendly"?

- You will discover by yourself…

- Tell me please!

- I can't. Just be careful and very polite when you talk to him, and if he

doesn't want to talk with you, don't insist, you will make him angry.

- Okay, thanks.

Alex left the room where Mona Lisa was and went to find the skeleton

dinosaur anxiously. When he arrived to the place where the dinosaur was

supposed to be, he found nothing. He looked around him and started to feel

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scared. He tried to call the dinosaur but he was so worried that no sound

came out of his mouth. He decided to leave the place and to go to the

Egyptian room but when he started to walk, he heard the

sound of heavy footsteps making the walls tremble. He looked back and saw

the gigantic thing in front of him....

At first when Alex saw the giant animal, he was speechless, but then he

thought about all the statues going on fire, and how important it was to find

the medallion. So he gathered his courage and asked the dinosaur where the

medallion was. The dinosaur refused to answer and cooperate, but Alex

didn't give up, and said:

"I know that you may not trust and appreciate human beings like me, but I

really need your help to save you all from the curse, and for that you must

answer my question please. At least do it for the others, not for me."

"You're right, I was being selfish; it's just that I’m not used to talking to

anyone. In fact I don't exactly know where the medallion is but you should

look around the pyramid and you may find a clue. Good luck! You know

where to find me, if you need anything."

So Alex went to the pyramid. The silence in the Louvre that night was really

scary... His breathing quickened and his chest tightened. He was walking on

tiptoes now. Suddenly he heard a terrible noise which made him stumble as

all his body started shaking - this whole adventure was giving him the

creeps! He turned around to see what had made him stumble and found it

was... the dinosaur snoring! For god's sake, he really had to calm down!

He took a deep breath, and proceeded to the pyramid, wondering how he

would explain this story to his family. He could never have imagined he

would have lived such a terrible adventure. For the moment it was scary but

later, maybe in a few years’ time, he would be proud of what he did to save

the museum. This thought was comforting. He kept walking…

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TO BE CONTINUED…