Warning: It’s not a good idea to respond to calls for help coming from behind doors that were made specially for the Halloween season.
Why? Well, when you read what happened to me recently upon responding to calls for help coming from behind the rather scruffy door in the image below, you’ll believe me.
“HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE. HELP!”
Those were the words I could hear coming from the other side of the October door.
With its light blue paint having almost peeled away and signs of having been kicked from the scuff marks along its bottom, the door looked unloved and old. People passed me and the door by without taking any notice. Was I the only one who could hear the calls for help?
I watched as the flap of the letterbox lifted and two eyes appeared. They looked shocked when they saw me.
“I’m trapped. Please, you need to get me out. Just turn the knob to the left, then to the right, and once more to the left, and the door will open. I’ll be truly grateful for your help. It’s jammed. I’ve been stuck in here for over forty years.”
As the flap closed, I questioned what I had just heard. Forty years? That should have told me not to open the door, but the writer inside me said this would make a great story.
“Hold on. I’m coming in. Step away from the door,” I announced, as I approached it.
“Left, right, and left again,” I muttered under my breath, as I tried the door knob. The door opened without any problems, but I hesitated before stepping into the black void that now faced me.
“Hello,” I called out, as I took my first step inside.
Nothing but silence met my ears. Even the world behind me seemed to go to sleep. I hesitated and wondered if I should take a step back; to maybe get some help?
“In here,” came a voice, “please help me.”
On my fifth step in, the door slammed behind me.
Turning, I ran towards it, but it wouldn’t open. I told myself not to panic and to feel for the door knob, but there wasn’t one. Then, I heard a terrifying sound from something behind me. I banged on the door hard with both hands, hoping that somebody on the other side would hear me.
“HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE. HELP!”
As the sound behind me got nearer, I had a strange feeling that somebody on the other side of the door had heard me. Then I remembered that the door had a letterbox. I bent down and pulled open the flap. My eyes opened wide with shock.
I hadn’t expected to see myself staring back.
***
This week’s door is located in Llandeilo, South Wales, in the United Kingdom.
Have you ever come across a door that isn’t all it seems?
Linking to the weekly photography challenge ‘Thursday Doors,’ hosted by Dan Antion who blogs at No Facilities. Click here to join hundreds of other participants with your Thursday Doors.
If you’re enjoying the pieces of flash fiction I’m including with my Thursday Doors posts then you may like Glimpses, my first book of flash fiction and short stories.
The above piece of flash fiction features in Glimpses.
Glimpses
28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
Paperback – £4.99
Kindle – £0.99
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