(no subject)
Title: The Door
Author: fandango77 (drusillas_rain )
Story Notes: PG-13, 492 words
A/N: Finally complete, after sitting in my “need to finish” folder for the past year.
Prompt #3: Door
Summary: Shelly and her brother Luke discover a strange door in the attic. Thirty years later, it still calls out to her.
Shelly sat in front of the door, her back pressed against the opposite wall. She spent hours staring at the ornate, round handle, the grooves in the wood, the different colours of once glossy paint, now chipped and dusty.
Every year on her birthday, Shelly would return to the door, wondering if this would be the day she finally stepped through. Its gaudy purple, green and orange pattern was always at the back of her mind, and even though it had been thirty years since the first time she laid eyes on it, it was still as frightening as ever.
When she was five years old, her family had moved into this house, her older brother Luke dragged her on adventures, and they explored the neighbourhood and new school. They were forbidden from entering the attic, but one rainy afternoon, he dragged her up the rickety old ladder.
It turned out to be an incredibly boring adventure. All they could found were boxes of papers, cobwebs, dust, and fabric. Shelly was about to go back to her room to play with her dolls, when something caught her eye.
Right against the wall was a door, painted bright colours, with an ornate handle.
Luke had been instantly thrilled by the discovery, and opened it. The room filed up with a thick fog, and Shelly thought she could hear the ocean.
Grinning down at his little sister, Luke started to step through.
“Wait,” Shelly cried.
“What?” he asked looking at her in annoyance. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
He reached out for her hand, trying to reassure her, but Shelly pulled back.
“I’m going to call mom.”
“Aw, Shelly, it’ll be fine. Look, you stay here, and I’ll be back before mom and dad even notice. Okay?”
Luke smiled reassuringly, and then stepped though the doorway. She never saw him again.
A year after Luke’s disappearance, Shelly’s father finally listened to her, and followed her into the attic. Armed with a compass, flashlight, and peanut butter sandwiches, she showed him the door.
But it wouldn’t open.
When she started to cry and pull at the door handle with her little hands, her father gathered her up in his arms and explained that a bad man had taken Luke away from them, and was now in jail. At the library, Shelly looked up the word predator, and finds articles detailing the recovery of two dead boys. Her brother is not among them but there are headlines with his name.
Luke Warner, Still Missing
Mother And Father Plead With Predator
One of these days, when the time is right, she’s going to pack up a compass, a flashlight, and bottled water, and she’s going to go through the door. And when she finds Luke, she’s going to scream and yell at him for not keeping his promise of coming back quickly. And then, they’re going to have some grand adventures in what must be a wonderful new world.
Author: fandango77 (drusillas_rain )
Story Notes: PG-13, 492 words
A/N: Finally complete, after sitting in my “need to finish” folder for the past year.
Prompt #3: Door
Summary: Shelly and her brother Luke discover a strange door in the attic. Thirty years later, it still calls out to her.
Shelly sat in front of the door, her back pressed against the opposite wall. She spent hours staring at the ornate, round handle, the grooves in the wood, the different colours of once glossy paint, now chipped and dusty.
Every year on her birthday, Shelly would return to the door, wondering if this would be the day she finally stepped through. Its gaudy purple, green and orange pattern was always at the back of her mind, and even though it had been thirty years since the first time she laid eyes on it, it was still as frightening as ever.
When she was five years old, her family had moved into this house, her older brother Luke dragged her on adventures, and they explored the neighbourhood and new school. They were forbidden from entering the attic, but one rainy afternoon, he dragged her up the rickety old ladder.
It turned out to be an incredibly boring adventure. All they could found were boxes of papers, cobwebs, dust, and fabric. Shelly was about to go back to her room to play with her dolls, when something caught her eye.
Right against the wall was a door, painted bright colours, with an ornate handle.
Luke had been instantly thrilled by the discovery, and opened it. The room filed up with a thick fog, and Shelly thought she could hear the ocean.
Grinning down at his little sister, Luke started to step through.
“Wait,” Shelly cried.
“What?” he asked looking at her in annoyance. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
He reached out for her hand, trying to reassure her, but Shelly pulled back.
“I’m going to call mom.”
“Aw, Shelly, it’ll be fine. Look, you stay here, and I’ll be back before mom and dad even notice. Okay?”
Luke smiled reassuringly, and then stepped though the doorway. She never saw him again.
A year after Luke’s disappearance, Shelly’s father finally listened to her, and followed her into the attic. Armed with a compass, flashlight, and peanut butter sandwiches, she showed him the door.
But it wouldn’t open.
When she started to cry and pull at the door handle with her little hands, her father gathered her up in his arms and explained that a bad man had taken Luke away from them, and was now in jail. At the library, Shelly looked up the word predator, and finds articles detailing the recovery of two dead boys. Her brother is not among them but there are headlines with his name.
Luke Warner, Still Missing
Mother And Father Plead With Predator
One of these days, when the time is right, she’s going to pack up a compass, a flashlight, and bottled water, and she’s going to go through the door. And when she finds Luke, she’s going to scream and yell at him for not keeping his promise of coming back quickly. And then, they’re going to have some grand adventures in what must be a wonderful new world.