Midnight Manor

The gravel crushed underneath my car as I slowly drove through the forest track towards my Great Aunt Wendy’s manor. As I neared, I turned off the radio and looked at the monster that stood before me. The brick was falling apart on the exterior, and vines had covered the place as if they were trying to hide something. I turned my engine off as I neared the front entrance and walked towards the looming doorway.  As I placed my hand to the door to knock, an elderly lady appeared in the doorway. She was short and frail, with thin white hair and wrinkles the size of mountains. Her warm brown eyes looked up to me and a small innocent smile appeared on her face.

“You must me Bonnie,” she stated.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Well come inside dear, there is no use you being out there.”

Walking into the manor, I was confronted with a large black marble staircase with red carpet that ran down the middle. It looked like the type of thing that belonged in the movies, not an old lady’s home.

The little lady shuffled towards it, “first I shall take you to your room for you to settle, then we shall go enjoy some tea, yes?”

“I would much appreciate that ma’am,” I answered politely.

As we climbed the staircase, she started talking to me about what I was to do around the manor.

“You are to clean and look after the upper level, I would usually do it but my age has finally started to catch up to me.” She explained.

Following the red carpet, we turned left at the top of the stairs and entered a long hallway. The walls were white and there were six black doors, three on each side and a large window at the end of the hallway. Outside the window moonlight shone down on the forest trees that were frantically waving, like a women in panic.

“This is your space,” the women said, “The bedroom is the last door on the left. Next to it is the bathroom that you will be using. The rest of the rooms are empty.  But I must ask of you to not enter this door here, even to clean, it is not to be opened.” She pointed towards the first door to my right.

“As you wish,”

She nodded her head and smiled.

“Tea will be ready in ten minutes, settle in and I’ll collect you and continue showing you around.” She said and walked back down stairs.

When I walked past the forbidden door to my bedroom, I couldn’t help but wonder about why she had been so insistent that that door must not be opened.

When I entered my room, I couldn’t believe the sight in front of me. There was a king size bed that stood firmly against the back wall. The sheets were white and the frame was black. There were large draws and bookshelves that covered the walls. The room was a lot bigger than what the outside made it seem. Along the side of the room was a window that gave view of the forest that surrounded the manor. Shivers ran up my spine as I looked out, the forest made me feel uncomfortable. Closing the curtains, I unpacked my suitcase and started putting my possessions away. As I opened one of the draws, there was a small knitted boot the size of an infant’s foot. Heavy rain hit the window and the sound of thunder erupted outside. Just as I was about to pick it up, a loud knock sounded in the door causing me to jump back. The lady stood in my doorway and looked at me.

“Anything wrong dear?”

I looked down into the draw again before looking back up into her sweet brown eyes.

“No ma’am” I said hesitantly.

She looked down at the draw and her eyes darkened, but quickly changed back to normal as she looked back up to me.