The Third Floor Window

It all began when someone left the window open. It was a cold, windy night, and I was just about to go to bed when I heard a sharp whistle come through the window.

“What was that?” Athena asked, shivering in her nightgown.

“I have no clue,” I said, as I started up the stairs to where the sound had come from.

Athena followed close behind me, still shivering in her small nightgown.

We heard another sound coming from the window, this time a loud shriek.

“That must have awoken our parents,” I thought as continued up the dark staircase that led to the third floor.

There we were, the third-floor bedroom. The curtains were fluttering in the wind, but all the trees outside were completely still. We walked up to the window and looked outside. Through the window was nothingness. Like a black painting with splatters of white and blue. Suddenly, we felt a freezing blast. We pulled our heads back.

“What was that?” I exclaimed.

“I have no clue,” said Athena, with the same amazed look on her face.

Suddenly, we heard a woman’s voice lulling us back towards the window. As if being mind-controlled, we stepped out into the window.

With that, we snapped back to reality. It was as if we were on a whole other plane of existence. Turning around, we saw the window slowly drift away from us. We looked down, below us we could see our house. Everything looked so small, and far away. Out of the house came our parents.

“ATHENA!! FAYRE!!” my mother called. “Where do you think they went?” she asked turning to my father.

“I don't know, they can't have gone far. I mean, we never even saw them leave the house,” my father replied.

“MOM! DAD! We're up here! Look up!” Athena and I yelled trying to get their attention.

Tears began to fill my mother's eyes at the thought of us being lost.

“MOM! Don't cry!” we cried out, just wishing they would look up.

“They can't hear you.”

Athena and I whipped around. Behind us was a young boy, who stood watching us.

“What do you mean?” Athena asked.

“They never do.”

We turned to see another young child standing there, this time a girl, about Athena's age.

“How did you two get here?” I asked.

“The same way you did,” the young girl responded. “The same way we all did, through the third-floor window.”

Athena and I stood up. Surrounding us on every side we're kids of different ages.

“Wha- what do you mean?” I said, stumbling over my words.

The little girl continued. “For the past 100 years, the window has been collecting the lives of children who once lived there. It was said to us, that on the 100th year, 2 children would arrive through the portal and set us all free. You are those two children.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!” I said. “You're saying that every year for the past 100 years, a child has been taken from this house, and no one has made mention to the police? And not only that, if it's been 100 years since the first person was taken, how have none of y'all aged?”

“After looking for us that first night we went missing, upon falling asleep, they lost all memory of ever having a child. Each family then moved, and a new family settled in.” She replied. She went on further to say, “and up here, we don't age. No one who has been lured into this trap has, and no one who will be lured into this trap ever will.”

“What do you mean, trap?” I asked, with uncertainty in my voice.

“Didn't you hear the lady calling you, luring you, into her trap?”

Before I could respond, a young child, maybe 4 or 5, grabbed onto my leg.

“You have to set us free, miss! Please!” he pleaded, with sad, begging eyes.

I picked him up and placed him on my hip, hugging him.

“I'll help you, I promise,” I whispered softly, to try and calm him down. In the back of my mind, though, I was freaking out, trying to figure how I could help, and what the little girl meant when she said we were destined to save them.

I began looking around the space for anything that could be used to escape. A trap door, perhaps, or maybe the window will come back, and we can escape. I walked to the edge of the space and dragged my hand along the walls that surrounded us. Halfway around the room, I tripped. Looking down I saw a small slab of rock. On the rock, there were two locks. One consisted of three colours, the other of 3 letters.

“Hey! Over here! I found something!” I called out.

The boy who had first talked to us came over.

“Yeah, we saw that a few years, ago. We never were able to figure out what it is,” he said to me.

I began to look around the room again. It off the corner of my eye, I noticed something on the wall. It was three coloured letters, made of dots, in order.

"A X C"

I looked back at the concrete slab. I looked back up at the letters.

“Pink, purple, blue,” I rattled off the colours as I turned the three dials.

I heard a mechanical click after turning the third dial.

“A, X, C,” I said, turning each dial to the corresponding letter.

I heard another click, but nothing was happening.

Suddenly I heard the same female voice that had liked us through that window. “Finally, someone has released me.”

Out of the wall came a beautiful woman with hair of gold, and a dress that matches the walls. She greeted us all with a smile, then proceeded to walk towards me.

“So, you're the clever young lady who freed me,” she said. “Thank you so much!”

“You're welcome,” I said. I knew my voice was quavering as I said it.

“Are you going to help get out little boy, who had asked me the same question, asked the lady.

“Yes,” she said in a kind voice. “Follow me, please.”

She started walking towards the wall.

“It's right through here,” she said, as she walked through the wall.

We stood, hesitant. She stuck her head back through the wall and told us to follow her. Athena and I looked at each other and then shrugged. Holding each other's hand, with our eyes tightly shut, we walked through the wall. When we came out the other side, I noticed we stood right in front of our home.

“We're home!” I cried, wrapping my sister in a sweet embrace. “Finally.”

(Photo credit to Chris Van Allsburg and "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick")