Darkness

I loved my new room. It was tiny, only my bed fit and a small shelf at its foot. All I could see was pink and white flowers when I lay down to stare at the freshly wallpapered sloped ceiling. I looked up. Beside the tiny window framed with lacy, cotton curtains, a little brown wicker lamp dangled from a white-painted pipe that went from floor to ceiling. All the spiders were gone. The ivy growing outside of the window seemed to be dancing with joy as the breeze fluttered its leaves.

I looked to the right. She had even painted the wooden slat door that housed a tiny, fold-up ironing board. This must have been a kitchen back in the day, or a maid’s room. All my knick-knacks and games were neatly displayed on the built-in shelf, my books lined up according to size, and my dolls proudly sat next to them.

The tiny door at the far end of the room beckoned me to open it. Before my mother had redecorated this room, the door was covered by boxes of junk which were draped by pumpkin-orange and  blue-striped curtains. The brightness of the green plaster of the walls and ceiling always kept me up at night. I thought there were little monsters behind those curtains and they were responsible for the decor.

I crawled to the foot of the bed and reached over to the door. It was blocked by a Delft-blue and white patterned plank that was held up by two large, grey stone bricks. I moved the plank away from the door causing my stuffed animals to slide down onto the floor. I tried the door and it only opened about an inch. The plank needed to be moved entirely. I raised it over my head and placed it on the bed. The door creaked as I pulled it completely open to reveal a cement wall with an empty black space over it. I stuck my head between the space and the wall. Nothing. Just darkness.

I slammed the door shut, convinced the monsters had left the boxes and were in that space. I needed to get a good lock on this door. Or maybe a flashlight so I could scare them off.

I lay back down on the bed and took a deep breath. The sunshine peered in through the window above and cast a glow in the room. My mother had transformed this place to call my own while I was away camping. It was a large closet housed within my parent’s room that I didn’t have to share with my two sisters or three brothers. All mine. Including monsters.