The Secret Door
“Don’t forget to do the laundry!” my mom shouted from downstairs, slamming the front door shut as she went outside. I grabbed the basket and dragged it into the basement.
I placed the detergent on the shelf, and stared at the wall ahead. A faint stream of faint light caught my eye. “It's behind the old bookcase!”
The mysterious light intrigued me. After working the wooden shelf away, I found the source - a keyhole of an old, stout door with a partly chipped, worn out pattern on the sides. The rusty surly old doorknob felt scratchy and cold on my fingers when I touched it. I held my breath out of excitement. Did I discover a secret passage? Was this the one that I found last time?
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“Come on please!?” pleaded my cousin. “I promise I will never bother you again!”
“Fine…. But don’t be mad at me if it doesn’t open.”
I crouched down towards the small, covered door and sliced the wallpaper covering the door. As I opened the exposed doorway, I saw some sort of tunnel with another door at the end.
“Welp, get in!” I said.
“A- Actually I think I might stay here..”
“Awwe! Are you scared?” I mocked “That’s okay we don't have to!”
Annoyed, my cousin walked away as I closed the door steadily.
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I pulled on the knob, it wouldn’t budge. I glanced through the keyhole. A faint stream of bluish light was visible. Was this a portal? A secret room? Another world?
I spun around, trying to spot the key. Was it on the bookcase? The cabinet? Under the washing machine? Ideas popped up in my head like small balloons growing in size until in an agitated frenzy, I scoured the whole basement. Finally, I found a key in a dingy corner beneath a stack of books.
It was old fashioned, skeleton style, covered with a thick coat of rust. Some of it crumbled like sand when I brushed it with my finger.
Heading across the basement on tiptoes, I grasped the key as if afraid it would fall into pieces. “Here I go….” the key would not fit in. I nearly cried with anger and disappointment. A whole hour spent in a worthless endeavour.
But I couldn’t give up. The light had shifted its angle a little, and I was burning with curiosity to find what was the source.
“My brother might have the key! He found an old one in the basement too, and one in the attic. I just need to find them,” I perked up and dashed upstairs into his room. “ He usually keeps his “secret treasures” behind the mirror or under the carpet,” I remembered.
Soon, I left triumphantly with the two keys in my hand, skipping steps and pondering about what could be behind the door. Of course, I knew the house wasn’t haunted like in “The Canterville Ghost”, but I still hoped to find a secret room or a tunnel passage at least.
Back in the basement, I tested out the first key. It would not fit. So would the second key. I stomped my foot on the floor in anger. Where was that key?
Or…. maybe some magic phrase would work! “Abracadabra, open up!” I croaked. Of course, the door didn’t budge. I leaned against it, wiping my brow, thinking what to do. The excitement made way to bitter disappointment.
I heard a creak. I jumped. Slowly, the door swung open, and I found myself in a cement pit with a rusted metallic ceiling and two handles. I pushed it up and with a horrible squeaky sound it opened. Sunlight flooded the basement.
My brother was standing frozen mid-pose in the backyard. “Wow! How did you do that?!” I blinked hard and rubbed my eyes.
So I had not discovered a passage, or portal, or a secret room - just the trapdoor from the basement into the backyard. “You created a door!” My brother looked genuinely impressed. “No, it was already there,” I sighed. It was so disappointing! Half the day spent in useless efforts! “Did you do the laundry?” I heard my mother's voice through the kitchen window.“Oh… Well, on an upside,” I contemplated pouring detergent over the dirty clothes, “We have a new key in our collection.”
By Izzy Pope, aged 10
2021