Tag Archives: secrets

Big House Secrets: Short Story #2 – 2 dice

Standard

Dice rolled – Flashlight and a keyhole

We just moved into this new house, in a new town, in a new neighborhood, with new people.  The house itself is really big, two stories with a basement.  I heard my parents talking about it before we moved in and it’s supposedly like two hundred years old.  The living room is fairly large but has the used, worn , cozy quality of an old house that has housed many years of teaching, family, love, and stories.  Down the hallway sits the bathroom, nothing to special but again, like the rest of the house, pretty big.  There’s the kitchen that has an island of old hard wood.  A big double sink sits under the window with more cabinets then we can fill.  A coat closet is sits right ‘neath the stairway.  The most peculiar thing though is its locked… The house didn’t come with the key for the closets so we may never know what lies inside. 

Upstairs is all the bedrooms.  Mine to the far end of the hall, my parents lay to the right of the staircase, and two more lie on the left wall.  While getting acquainted with my new room, I unpacked all my clothes and hung them up in my closet.  I found something that looked out of place.  Another door.  I jiggled the knob but it didn’t open.  I left it be for now with plans to return. 

-#-

I stole a flashlight from the garage and run to my room bright and early the next morning.  I didn’t bother removing any of the clothes I just crawled through to the back wall.  The door is defiantly locked, it requires an old skeleton key.  I have never seen one  in real life, a key or this old kind of key hole for that matter.  I’ve never actually picked a lock before, so I don’t know just how to do it.  I’ve gathered a few things that could fit in the hole.  Trying and failing with each one, I crawl out to see if I can find just the right thing.  Everywhere I look, nothing strikes me as helpful.  In my drawers, in my cabinets, in my file cabinet, under my bed.  Under my bed.  Under my bed I find exactly what I’m looking for.  The bed came with the house so I wouldn’t have spotted this odd difference earlier.  There’s a spot of carpet torn to pieces around a squared edge.  I craw under my bed for a little privacy to this strange find.  I peel up the carpet square.  Underneath is a hole.  I run back to the closet to grab the flashlight and crawl back under my bed.  Inside the hole I can see something that looks like a metal box of some sort.

Think, think! 

I look up at the wall, there’s what looks as if it’s a drawing.  A series of arrows point around my room.  I scribble them down on my hand and crawl back out.

The first arrow is very big, I see it as a sign that we should start at the front door. 

I run down to the front door, where my parents are walking out.  I start and walk the length of the hallway turn in the ways of which I am directed by the arrows on my hand.  Until I hit a dead end.  I stand starring at a picture of an old key.  An old oil painting of an ancient skeleton key. 

Then it hits me.  I look around and make sure everyone left.  The picture pulls easy from the wall.  Behind the picture there is a small latch, so I pull on it and it opens just as easily as the picture fell from the wall.  Inside the little door is a key, of course.  I slowly remove it, careful, big eyed.  To try it on the coat closet or run to my room?  I run to my room. 

Back under my clothes in my small little closet I stick the key into the hole, and it slides and fits perfect.  I hear behind the door, the click of the lock.  Slowly the door knob turns in my hand. 

Stairs down to somewhere never explored.  Flashlight in hand I wander down.  I know this isn’t leading to the basement, the stairs go on to long. 

Finally I’ve reached the bottom of the stairs, and there’s nothing.  It’s a dark room appearing empty. A big room underneath my house, a secret tunnel? 

I walk the length of the room, to find nothing yet.  This may not appear to be much.  But I have a secret hide out that no one else knows about.  And then I see it!

Over in the corner, piles and piles and piles of sheet music.  The pieces are turning brown with age and neglect.  Afraid to pick them up I bend down to get a closer look. 

I spent all day looking through the music, surprised I haven’t been found yet.  Underneath the piles another door.  Whoever built this house had to be hiding something, I’ve found so many secrets.  this door opens like a cellar door and I carefully open it.  Shining the flashlight in the room, I see a…. grand piano. 

I don’t even bother running down to look at it.  I sprint back upstairs and find my laptop.  I lay on my bed trying to find who in the world lived here, built it, kept it. 

This may be an ongoing search, but I just found the coolest new thing.  And I don’t think I’ll tell anyone. 

I think I may have to start taking piano lessons….

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Mega lame story…