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The Closet Door


I live in a house that was never quite finished when it was first being built, and so there are a couple of things in it that are out of place. For example, the spare bedroom has an unfinished wall, the 2-by-4s and insulation left exposed. The bathroom floor is just cement with no tiles and unpainted walls. And, in my own room, nobody had put a door on my closet.

Now, I’m not superstitious and I’ve never been too afraid of the dark, but it freaked me out to sleep next to what looked like a gaping void of darkness at night. Maybe it was the childhood fear of ‘monsters in the closet’, but I’d gotten used to sleeping with my back to the door, so I wouldn’t have to open my eyes in the middle of the night and see the black hole that was my closet, half expecting to see glowing eyes or a looming shape in there at any moment. This was especially annoying in the summer months, when the side of the bed I slept on got hot quickly, so I finally decided to do something about it.

The laundry room of my house had been turned into a sort of storage room for pieces of plywood, nails, and other hardware. After shuffling around through the mess, I found my saving grace, a door that looked like it would fit over my closet. It was old and definitely needed a new paint job, but it would do. The only problem was the doorknob, which was rusted and had a lock on it. It was probably meant to be a back door or something, but it wasn’t that big a deal. The way it would go on my closet, the actual locking mechanism would be on the inside and the keyhole would be on the outside, but it’s not like I’d ever lock myself out of my own closet unless I had the key.

After a good couple hours of struggling with screws and hinges (I was too stubborn and broke to call in a professional to install it), I finished putting it up in my room. I gave it a few test-swings. A little squeaky, but otherwise good. Finally, I could sleep facing my closet without freaking myself out with thoughts of monsters and infinite darkness threatening to swallow me in my sleep.

That night, as I slept, something woke me up in the middle of the night. It was a squeaking noise, faint but noticeable. I sat up in bed and stared at my door. It was slightly open. My heart pounded, but I quickly calmed myself down. I wasn’t used to having a door. I must’ve forgotten to close it all the way and it had swung open a tiny bit, just enough to squeak. No big deal.

I hopped out of bed and shut it, giving the knob a few jiggles to make sure it had shut properly this time. Satisfied, I hopped back into bed and fell fast asleep.

A few hours later, I woke up again. My room was still pitch black, meaning it was still late at night. I didn’t know why I woke up this time, but I felt uneasy, as if I’d just woken up from a nightmare. I instinctively turned to my closet door. I don’t know why, but I threw my blankets off and walked towards it again. My hands shook and my heart pounded as I reached for the doorknob. I gave it a turn.

It was locked. From the inside.

–
Credits to: Kabber (http://kabber.tumblr.com/)

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