Twelve Doors

Chapter One

I remember.

I remember the sound of the lighter clicking as my father lit up his cigar inside the house while he sat in his blue rocking chair and read the Sunday newspaper. I also remember the sounds and smell of pancakes,bacon, and eggs sizzling in the pan, as my mother patiently cooked breakfast for just the three of us without a care in the world.She was a housewife, like any other woman in the forties. She was also very pretty with wavy strawberry blonde hair and baby blue eyes that looked as though she could be an angel.My father, who was a lawyer had gorgeous brown eyes and red hair along with a cleft chin. They were both well known and well off here in Redcliffe. Infact, you could say they were the talk of the Town.

" Hey, honey, did you hear? There's a new store opening up on 19th and Fredrickson Road, right near the old library. I think this might be perfect for growing our little community ." My father, who'd always love change and bright new ideas said. My mother disagreed. " I think our community is perfect the way it is, Richard. Besides, we've already got enough as it is for a small little town." He sighed before putting the newspaper down on his lap. "Cmon Sarah, just look at this place?" my father moaned with despair to my mother who was stuck always stuck in the past. She never liked change as it meant having to do something different. "Well, tired of seeing the same thing over and over. We could be making a fortune here. Besides, this town is dead" My mother glared at him, even if she knew he was half right. However, there were a few good things that we did have, like the ice cream store around the corner and the park. " You're forgetting that we have to deal with Taxes and all that other crazy thing. Besides, I love Julie's Grocery down the street, it's just the perfect size for what we need right now."

"But Julie's is only a small shop, and besides, it's not going anywhere." My father argued back to my mother about the town and Julie's. Julie's was my maternal aunt's grocery shop that she had started way back before I was born. It had the usual items that you would see in a mom and pop store , such as bread, milk, apples, and my favorite lollypops called Coupies. They were this sweet tasting lollipops with mixed flavors of strawberries and bananas, or pineapple and grape. My favorite was the blueberry and chocolate called Blue chocolate. a weird name, but a tasty treat for a small five-year-old. My parents argued back and forth about the development of the town and the way it was going. I didn't completely understand it, due to the fact that I was still young at the time and being young, you were innocent of things. Until something happens.. and that moment happened right then and there. In the middle of the argument, the door slammed open to reveal a tall lanky man with messy hair that went down to his shoulders, and eyes that looked cold, even though he had this warm feeling to him. " Mr. Daniels," I said in an excited tone, racing up to meet one of the fathers clients and favorite person. He smiled at me and began to ruffle my hair. " I need to talk to you about a few issues Richard." My father urged me to go play outside while they "talked". I went outside to go play on the homemade playset that my grandfather had crafted in his workshop before he died. I don't remember much about him except he always smelled greasy, and was very robust. He had this gray colored stubble that felt prickly I played on the set for what seemed to be the very last time. It happened too fast that I don't think I had the time to process it all together. The sounds were loud enough that you could hear it from the creek a couple of miles down, and I could swear they happened about six times before I could see him come out. " Where's mommy and daddy? " I asked anxiously. Mr. Daniels kneeled down to my level so I could see eye to eye with him, but for some reason, I couldn't see anything in his eyes, no emotion, no fear, just eyes. " Don't worry, your parents will be alright. In fact, they asked me to take care of you for a while so they can have a break." I knew something was up, but to be honest I was naive enough to get into a car with someone.

" and then?" Dr.Frederick said, looking at me, waiting to see if I remembered anything else. " I don't know, all i remember left is the flashing lights, and that's it. I don't remember what happened in between that." He sighed, knowing he hadn't gotten much out of me. " Alright, we'll finish this tommorow. Good night Miss. Darcy." He said.
"Night to you too Dr. Fredrick".

Katherine grabbed her raincoat and headed out into the cold street of Colorado. She walked down the street to her apartment.