Random door in my attic

“Okay, Camilla, what about this house?”

We were just talking about what house we should move to when Leo had suddenly barged in.

“Mom! Dad! Can you PLEASE let me borrow the glue stick for my science project!? Pretty pretty please!?”

I looked over to my son. He has been working on a science project for his school. For his project, he was working on Darwin's evolution theory.

“Okay Leo, but promise that you will return it when you’re done, okay?”

“Okay! Thanks a lot, Dad!"

He then scurried off with the glue stick, leaving me and Camilla to discuss on our own.

“ So anyways, what about this one?”

Camilla had just got a new job as a barista in a cafe, but it was within another city. In addition, we had already enrolled Leo into a grammar school. It was the best we can give for such a genius, but, by sheer coincidence, the school is in the same city as the cafe. If I wanted to give my wife and child the gift of new opportunities, we had to do one thing.

Move away from our humble abode.

The plan was simple. As soon as we had found the perfect destination to live in, we would begin to pack up our furniture and belongings, then move away when the summer holidays rolled by.

"Hey Lucas? I think I've found the perfect house for us."

I turned around to the phone in my wife's hands.

"Let's see. It's detached, has a modern living room, two bedrooms, two toilets…"

As she went on about the house's features, I noted its appearance. It

was a single-family house, constructed with two floors. There was a lawn in front of the domicile, which was decorated with various flowers and a cobblestone road leading out into the other parts of the suburbs. Next to the house and the lawn, there was a garage. That's handy, I thought. We had always parked outside the road.

"...And an attic within the roof. All of that for exactly $199,999 worth. It's actually quite cheap compared to the other houses!"

Considering what Camilla had just said, I gave her my own consent.

"If that's so, then it's worth it. After all, there is so much to this house for such a cheap price."

She looked over to me, with an ecstatic expression on her face, before declaring, "Great! Then let this be our new domain!"

And with that, we had opened a new chapter within our lives.

The rest of the remaining days within our house went by in a blur. We dealt with the home inspection and appraisal. They both went smoothly. Not only that, Leo had actually won the science fair! He had managed to not only impress the students, he had managed to also teach them something new. Talk about a great final day of school.

Soon enough, the summer holiday rolled by. And that means it's time to move.

It was hard trying to get the courage to finally leave the home we had lived in for 13 years. I was upset, to say the least, but I knew I had to also cheer up my family. I had decided to take a family selfie with the others in front of our will-be-former abode. It was perhaps the most beautiful picture I had taken in years.

The drive took 2 hours to get to our home.

When we had arrived it had just rained, synchronising with the beaming sun, forming a rainbow. I usually considered this a lucky omen, as it was a family tradition.

"Ooooh! Those flowers look so good! Can I pick one?"

Camilla then calmly replied to Leo.

"No, Leo."

"Awww… "

"Don't worry though. We can take a trip to the nearby meadow. You can pick flowers here."

"Yeah!"

I got to admit, that was pretty adorable of him.

Anyways, we were just about to enter our new home when I suddenly heard a voice. It sounded a little concerning.

"Um, excuse me?"

I looked around. I saw a woman, within her 30s, standing on our pavement in her tracksuit, her hair in a ponytail.

"You know that house is cursed, right?"

That kind of question was a little off-putting. To imagine trying to enter somewhere only for some person to plead it's cursed is kind of wrong. So I rebutted.

"Madam, if you really believe that our new home is cursed, at least give us some evidence!"

"Well, the previous owner had just vanished! I mean, like, no one just heard from him. It is like he disappeared! And the owner before him has also vanished as well! What if that happens to you!?"

"Well if that's so, then my wife would call the police to search. They would find me in no time!"

With a mutter under her throat, the woman jogged away.

When we entered our new home, something felt a little.. off. It is as if the previous owner had just walked out of their home to another place to live. The place still had some decorations, such as a taxidermied trout, but they were well beyond repair. Nearly like they expected us to give it a remake.

I had always wanted the opportunity to try out customising a room. And that dream had come true. I was so focused on redesigning the rooms that by the time I had finished, they barely resembled themselves. The walls were now coated in vibrant shades of various colours, and the tiles that made up the floor had been replaced by planks. Needless to say, I did a pretty great job.

Eventually, the sun settled down, letting the night overtake the blue skies. As usual, we brushed our teeth, and changed our clothes. As me and Camilla went into our beds, we began to discuss about the attic.

"Hey Lucas?"

"Yes?"

"You know the attic?"

"I know. Perhaps we could make it a storage room? Or maybe a recreational room for Leo?"

"Perhaps a recreational room."

"Okay Camilla. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I laid in my bed, just about to let sleep overtake me, when I suddenly thought of something.

What happened to the previous owner? Is that woman really correct? Is the house really cursed?

I forced myself to stop pondering about such nonsense then went to bed.

When morning broke through our window, I began to wonder about what thoughts I had last night. Why did I think of that? There is nothing to worry about. With that thought in my head, I prepared for the garret with uncertainty in my head.

As soon as Leo had been sent off to school, I began to ascend up to the attic. It was a little hard to adjust going up the stairs, considering that we had always used a ladder to get through the panel to our previous loft.

The first thing that gave me a glimpse of our new attic wasn't the sight, but the smell. It had the scent of overcoated paint, yet it had also smelled like wood chippings. Odd, I thought. Never felt like a attic can be decorated yet undecorated at the same time.

After I somehow managed to get over the confusing scent, I looked around the loft. To say the least, it was hideous. Patches of unpainted wood stuck out of white plants, and the planks had splinters poking out. I swore I saw a cobweb in one of the corners of the window.

It looked like the previous owner had just painted half of the room before quitting. No, vanished. Almost as if the woman was correct. Almost as if-

I realised that I was overthinking, and I needed to focus on other places.

I was just about to begin to take out my paintbrush to begin repainting when I saw something.

A door.

The first thing that felt wrong was the fact that it looked different. Mostly due to the fact that it looked more rustic than the others, with planks instead of panelled wood.

When I saw it, the first thing I thought was, what? If you were in my shoes, you would be thinking the same thing. Normal people like me would act confused when they see some random door in their attic. It's more relatable when they don't tell you about it before buying a house. So I did what anyone would have done and called over Camilla.

Her reaction was the same. Confused.

"Weird. I swear I didn't hear about some room in the attic… perhaps it's empty?"

As soon as she said empty, my mind just thought about exploring. I didn't know why I would think that, but I decided to go with that anyway.

"I don't know, Camilla. But I can go into it to check it."

"Okay, Lucas." She gave a little grin, with an idea already forming in her eyes. "We're going to take pictures, then show them to the previous homeowner. Perhaps we can also use it for a bathroom for Leo? I mean, even someone like him has to go to the toilet, and it's not like he can go up and down over and over again."

We made a truce. I would go in, take photos of the interior, and then show them to the previous owners, wherever they are. Perhaps they know it’s purpose.

Despite the fact that the door must have been around a hundred years old, it opened like it just got lubricant applied to it. Behind the gateway, there was darkness. Not just darkness, but something like the void.

Just nothing.

Using the phone's flashlight penetrated through nothing but even more of the "void". Whatever was in there, I just have to use the sense of touch and my acute hearing to my advantage.

And with that, I entered right-foot-first.

The first sound that entered my ears was the creaking of wooden planks, groaning with every step. Judging from the echo, it seemed like the room was quite vast. Questions began to form in my head as I stepped into the darkness. If this room feels so vast, then how could it have fitted in without jutting out? Why did the previous owner not tell us about this room? And was the neighbour actually cor-

Then, out of nowhere, the door slammed behind me.

The bang echoed loudly, with the gloom muffling and then devouring it entirely. Then silence. Nothing, except my yelp of shock and Camilla’s yelling.

“LUCAS! Are you okay?!”

Even though she was actually concerned for me, I somehow felt like she was the one who slammed the door.

“Did you slam the door on me?!”

“No! It just, um… how do I explain this?!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“As in, like, it just shut on itself! Didn’t put my hands on it, no wind gushing through, nothing!”

How weird. How could it shut on itself?

Looking back at the door, I decided to open it back out, so that she would know where I was.

Locked.

The door wouldn't budge a single bit. No matter how hard I shoved and pushed, it didn’t go a single centimetre. And yet it had no lock. The door had no lock, yet I couldn't even open it.

I was stuck.

“Camilla, I’m trapped within this place! Call the services!”

“Okay, Lucas! Now… oh my GOD! I accidentally left my phone downstairs again! I’m going to go down to get it. Just please wait, okay? You’ll be out in no time.”

Behind the door, I can hear Camilla’s footsteps treading down the stairs quickly. Then silence again. So I waited for her.

And waited.

And waited.

But then when I had checked my phone for the time, an entire hour had gone by. And she still hasn't come up yet.

“Hey Camilla! Have you got the phone?”

Nothing except my echoes replied.

“CAMILLA?!”

Nothing, again.

Feeling that she had left for help, I shrugged it off, acting like nothing was wrong. Another hour passed. Then another.

Soon, an entire day had passed and still, no one came. An entire day of waiting. An entire day wasted but waiting. To spend the time whilst I waited, I decided to take a walk.

A big mistake.

Soon enough, I had forgotten which direction I was going. I was now lost in this terrible void, of darkness and planks. So I went further into this empty space.

Still, there was nothing. But still, I found something. A skeleton. It was curled up in a fetal position, in the agony of hunger. Within it, I found a phone within its rotten hands. A brooch. Within it, “Together forever, Benito and Olive”.

Benito or Olive, one of them must have wandered into the gloom and starved in here. And that broke me. To starve in this wretched place will eventually take its toll and I will die. Lost.

Trembling, I began to scream.

“IS ANYONE HERE?! HELP! PLEASE, SOMEONE, ANYONE! HEEEEELP!”

Again, the land mocked me with the echoes of my wails as the only reply.

So I screamed harder and harder, but with nothing calling back. I was truly alone in this plane.

I desperately tried to scratch and stomp the planks, but to no avail. The only reward out of it were shredded nails and a throbbing foot. Tried to peer through the gaps to see what was below. Nothing but even more darkness.

I lost hope.

Grabbing a canteen from the skeleton, I just began to roam further and further into the murkiness.

And here I am, in this predicament. I should had trusted the neighbour.

It has been a week since I entered the room, and no progress has been reached. Condemned to traverse this shade. I am now lost, 7 days without food, barely able to ration water from the canteen, and utterly shattered. I am currently typing this with the last of my battery power so that I could at least warn people. So that will never go through what I had been through.

This will also be my last testament. It could be the final trace of my existence.

I just want to get out. I want to be back with Camilla and Leo. To celebrate the existence of their lives.

Please, I have to get out.

Please, I don’t want to die in this horrible place.

Please.