Guess What Next..!

I realized something was wrong as the door of the room closed with a loud bang. I ran towards the door, started to scream and bang the door. Even with a lot of effort, it did not open or break. Finally giving up on screaming, I tried to find another way to get out. I could see spiderwebs all around me. Shelves were covered with a thick layer of dust. The room was pitch dark, just dim candlelight could be seen from the gap below the door. There was no network in my phone too and then to add to my list of problems I realized the room was windowless so there was no chance of escaping.

My knee was still hurting. I could feel the blood from the touch of my fingers. I sat in a dark corner sobbing and losing hope. I remembered and regretted my day’s action that had led me to this situation.

It all began when I had decided to shovel my driveway. It was a cold winter morning. It had snowed heavily the previous night. I wore my hand gloves, winter jacket and with a shovel in my hand headed towards my driveway. After a lot of hard work, I completed my work. When I was returning to my house, I saw a strange man, his face covered with a mask and winter wear, walking towards my neighbour’s house. I got suspicious as that house had been locked away for several years and the owners had abandoned it a long time back. With the shovel still in my hand, I trotted towards the front yard of the house and hid behind a bush. It was a two-story house. The windows were mostly darkened and most of the glass was broken. I saw the man entering the house. The door closed with a disturbing creak. Taking silent steps, I walked towards the nearest window. From the broken glass, I could see an oil lamp lit and some candles glowing. I spotted some bags on the kitchen countertop. No one else could be seen inside the house.

Confused about what to do next, I started to look around my surroundings. My eyes turned towards the door. It was slightly left open. I entered the house quietly. I shivered with fright. The condition of the house was rusty, spooky and creepy. With courage, I walked towards the kitchen area to investigate further. There were some cans of noodles and bottles of water. The cold freezing wind, from between the gaps, blew from one end of the house to the other. I was about to check the cabinets to find more clues when suddenly I tripped on something kept on the floor. I let out a scream. I hurt my knee badly.

Some of the broken wood from the flooring had pierced into my leg. It was very hard to get up, but I had to as someone was coming down the stairs, after hearing my scream. I started thinking fast. After moving my hand blindly around in the dark, I found a door. Luckily it was open. With the effort of my hands and the other leg, I somehow managed to enter the room. The next moment the door closed, locking me inside the room.

Almost an hour had passed since I was locked in. My throat had turned dry and I was feeling thirsty due to constant screaming. A cloud of constant fear surrounded me. I was clueless, frightened and helpless. All I could do was cry. I tried to lay down on the cold floor and sleep, to ignore the pain of my bleeding injured knee for some time. But it was much harder than I thought as the creepy sounds of the neighbourhood animals kept me awake for quite a lot of time. After a lot of effort, I dozed off to sleep. Soon I entered dreamland. I was dreaming that I was eating hot yummy noodles.

Of course, I could not taste them but I could smell them. All of a sudden it was all dark and black. But the aroma was still there. It was growing stronger and stronger. I could not control it anymore, and I woke up with a start. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was not in the darkroom but instead in the living room of the same abandoned house. I also realised that I was not alone.

There was the man whom I had followed earlier. Beside him were two kids probably of age eight. There was also a lady and a sweet old woman. By then I was completely confused. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out of my mouth.

The lady came forward and offered me some noodles. Without much thinking, I readily accepted them as I was extremely hungry. When I was done eating, I gathered courage and asked them about the reason for their presence in that deserted house. This time the man spoke up. He began with his story.

The family used to live in a small hut and were downtrodden with poverty. Somehow, they used to manage in the tiny space. Though the hut had a poor foundation and structure, it had managed to survive the rains of the year. What made it fall was the harsh cold snowstorm. Already weakened by the rains it could no longer bear the snow and it collapsed. Luckily all the family members were safe. But with nowhere left to live and with very little money they began to find shelter.

After a lot of searching, they found my neighbour’s house. Even though it was old, it was steady and so they started living there. Later when they saw me, they were scared that I would call the police, so they locked me in the room. But when they heard me crying, they unlocked the door.

When the man finished speaking, I could not control my tears. When I calmed down, I quickly ran to my house and brought some food and water for them. I wanted to help them as much as I could. That day I understood how lucky I was to have a home and also what many people have to face during these difficult times.

Lola Nagle