Don’t Open That Door

“A mother and daughter move into a beautiful new home… but something upstairs doesn’t want them there.”

When Kristan and her daughter moved to the Bridgetown neighborhood, they loved the house. It had seven rooms and was huge. Kristan’s daughter Bianca went upstairs to check out each room. The last room had a foul smell, something like a dead animal. The window was open, and it was extremely cold in the room. There was a desk, a rocking chair, and a standing mirror.

 Kristan was making dinner and baking pumpkin pie in the kitchen when she called, “ Bianca, come downstairs to eat!” Kristan liked the three downstairs rooms and insisted Bianca pick her room from these rooms.

“But Mom, I like the upstairs room. Can we move there, please?” 

Bianca asked.
Kristan replied, “Bianca, honey… alright, let’s make a deal.”

 During the day, we spend time upstairs, and to sleep, we go downstairs. Okay, Mom, it's a deal!” Bianca would start school on Monday, and Kristan was beginning her software engineering job, where she developed and designed websites while working from home. 

Since then, she has made a small gym into a large open area. She split 30 minutes of her workout day each weekend, and Bianca did jump roping as her workout exercise. It was already Monday. Bianca left for school as a third-grader, and Kristan grabbed her green coffee mug and rushed upstairs to work. Kristan's phone rang, and her coworker Betty checked on her to see how things were working. Sometime later, one room's doors slammed, and Kristan got scared. The doorbell rang, and it was a mailman. Kristan was happy to receive the check in the mail. Then, Bianca was back from school. They both shared their exciting news and were ready for a nap. 

Kristan didn't like the top floor that much. That evening, they awoke to a sharp sound from an upstairs room. Kristan went to check, and she saw that the mirror stand had fallen and shattered. She cleared all the pieces and tossed away the broken mirror stand. She wanted to lower the window. But it remained open and stuck. It probably needed repair, Kristan thought. Then suddenly, the printer started on its own and printed blank pages. “Surprisingly, Kristan said, I switched off the printer. How did that happen?” The clocks were showing the wrong time. Kristan replaced the batteries and fixed the time. They ate dinner, and after a while, they heard the piano keys playing independently. As Kristan approached, the piano keyboard stopped playing.

 It was the night she didn't say anything to Bianca about weird things happening around the house. The next day, Kristan went upstairs to see if the window had come down with the help of a hammer; after a fourth try, it came down, and now Kristan felt more safe and comfortable. She was waiting for Bianca to get home and to eat. This time, she made a veggie chic sandwich, a fruit punch drink, and vanilla pudding, Bianca’s favorite meal. Kristen bought two sets of new gym shoes. They both try on new shoes and start working out. Kristan lost her balance and twisted her right foot ankle a while ago. “Bianca is in shock, Mom. Are you alright? “Kristan said, “I’m fine! It's a small sprain, and she brought an ice pack that reduced the pain but still hurts.”

Almost a week has passed, and she strolls, and when going up, she complains about the pain. Kristan decided to shift her work downstairs and locked the upstairs rooms. Bianca wishes to have a pet at home. They have a dog as their pet, and each evening, when the day breaks, the Meeko barks and barks, looking straight upstairs.

When her feet got well, they took their pet Meeko to the park, and the family and their pet had more fun together. Bianca drew a picture of the backyard with an apple tree and also colored in. Kristan drove to the supermarket to buy some groceries, and Bianca shopped and added all the items to the cart. Meeko enjoyed the ride!

Meeko went upstairs and got inside the room, and Bianca followed him and sat on the rocking chair. The chair rocked faster and faster. She giggled, and then she fell off the chair. “Ouch! “she said.” That chair, I don't like this room.” Meeko wiggled his tail and looked out the window.

Kristan, Bianca, and Meeko took a family picture together, and then Kristan heard knocks on the door. When she peeked through the entrance window, no one was there. Kristan ignored the tactic, and Meeko became more restless.

Bianca and Kristan sat together on the swing as Meeko suddenly took off, barking wildly at something unseen. Upstairs, the knocks came again—louder and faster. Then the lights flickered once…twice… and went out completely. The house fell into darkness. Meeko growled low and furious, his eyes fixed on the stairs.

“What do you think is in the upstairs room?”