Monster

There was only one rule: don’t open the door.

Every other room in this curious place we could explore at our leisure. For several months now, Emily and I had come here together. This was a special place to Emily. A place full of memories. A place where she could really relax and be herself without fear of judgment.

In one room, we found an exact replica of the room she had grown up in. You should have seen the joy in her face as she told me in great detail about her childhood. In another room, wax figures of the most important people in her life. We spent a lot of time in that room, talking about each one at length. By the time we finally moved on I felt like I knew Emily’s family almost as well as my own.

And so it went, room by room. A swimming pool. A school classroom. A softball Field.

But every time we came near that door it was the same. Emily would turn pale. She did her best to hide it though. With practiced ease, she would fake a convincing smile and say something like, “Oh, did you see this over here?” or “Oh, I just remembered, I wanted to talk about…” Until today. Today, it was time to finally open that door and confront the monster inside.

I held Emily’s trembling hand, her heart beating faster with every step. She couldn’t open it on her own. I put my hand on the handle, and she started to cry. “Put your hand on mine. We will open it together,” I said. On the other side, a little girl was sobbing.

“This will be our little secret,” the man said. “I promise it won’t hurt very long.”