Lurking in the Shadows

Ch. 3: The Cabinets

     I trudged out of my room, running into my door on the way. Mom was in the kitchen with pancakes from a dinner nearby and she looked up when I entered.
     "Hey kiddo," She frowned when she looked at my face. "You look rough, bad night?"
     I nodded wordlessly and sat at the counter, yawning. The pancakes smelled delicious and Sarah raced down the stairs, probably knowing mom had food. She began scarfing down her pancakes, mumbling a thanks through a mouthful of them.

     "Who's ready to do some unpacking?" Mom sang after breakfast, skipping to the living room; Sarah and I groaned but followed along behind her.

     By midday, we'd managed to unpack most of the boxes and mom suggested that we take a break.
"Can we go to the park?" Sarah begged.
"Sure. Do you wanna come, Nicky?" Mom asked me. While it was tempting to enjoy the cool fall air, I decided to organize my room and enjoy the peace and quiet. Climbing the stairs, I walked to my room and began unpacking the boxes.

     After unpacking and organizing my room for over an hour, I walked downstairs to get a glass of water. I froze in the doorway. Every cabinet and drawer was wide open. The silverware was in a heap on the counter.

     "Mom?" I called, a ball of nerves growing and tangling in my stomach. "Sarah? C'mon guys, this isn't funny." I hadn't even heard them come in, which was surprising considering the fact that Sarah couldn't walk quietly to save her life.

     I walked through the kitchen and closed every drawer and cabinet before getting to work on rearranging the silverware back in the drawer. The quiet room filled with the sounds of metal forks and spoons hitting each other as I set them in their places. When I finally finished and shut the drawer, I turned around and felt the blood drain from my cheeks. The cabinet doors had been flung open again but now the microwave and oven doors were open as well. I didn't waste time shutting the doors this time, I dashed upstairs and shut myself up in my room. Just like last night, I hid under my blanket as if it were a shield from whatever kept opening those cabinets. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, trying not to think about what in God's name just happened. I certainly didn't want to think about how those doors opened when I had my back turned.