“Don’t open that door.” Millie warned her father in a grave tone. They had only lived in the house for a few weeks so her father had expected some form of acting out but he wasn’t prepared for this. It didn’t help that there was a new moon tonight which made everything in her room that much darker as she spoke.
“Oh?” Her father asked with bemusement. “And why is that?”
“Because there’s a monster in there.” Millie answered matter-of-factly.
“Is there?” Her father tried to stifle a laugh. This wasn’t the first time his daughter’s over-active imagination concocted an outlandish tale and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. She didn’t usually make a fuss for bedtime though, her stories were usually reserved for getting out of chores and were normally less grave.
Millie nodded her head solemnly and cast her wide eyes back at the door; as if waiting for it to move. Something in the way she sat so resolutely still and her face remained so serious sent a shiver up his spine and in spite of his own disbelief; he followed her gaze to the misshapen wooden door of her closet.
Their house had a steeply angled roof resulting in the upstairs rooms being normal height on one side and almost too small for their own six-year-old daughter, on the other. The closet door was nestled against this slope; which made it look more like the top of a coffin; if it had been split in half, than a regular rectangle. The tiny wooden door was adorned with an ornate brass knob, which was placed oddly in the center; just like a nose on a face. In fact, the top half was split into two sections, giving it uneven eyes, while the bottom half was a solid square. The grains of wood that ran up and down within the square made it look like a mouth, baring its teeth
His imagination was getting the better of him because he could see nothing but the snarling face in that demented door. He wondered if this was what his daughter was talking about. Just her mind playing tricks on her in the dark. It certainly creeped him out enough so he couldn't blame her if the door was upsetting her. He was losing track, letting her get into his mind. He had to convince her there was nothing to be scared of.
“You have it open during the day.” He challenged, hoping to make her see reason and understand that nothing was living in her closet.
Millie rolled her eyes as if this was the dumbest thing he could have said to her. “Because the sunlight keeps it away.”
“I see.”
He looked back at the face. No, the door. He scolded himself, but since he’d found the face, it was all he could see now. The thing stared back at him, challenging him not to see it. He could almost hear the sound of its teeth-gnashing and a low guttural growl. He wanted to change course but he couldn’t stop himself from pressing further, from finding out if she was seeing what he was.
“What does this monster look like?”
“It’s big and scary.”
“No, what does its face look like?” Her father heard the desperation in his voice and immediately hated himself that he fell for a child’s fantasy. That’s all it was, just an overactive imagination and he was foolishly letting it feed his own.
“Um, it’s got a big mouth with long teeth and its eyes are weird.”
Her father looked at the face again, its different sized triangle eyes staring blankly at him while its square mouth bared its many teeth. “Weird how?” He demanded. Sweat forming on his brow.
“Daddy?” Millie’s voice quivered with fear now at her father’s frantic questioning.
Millie’s father snapped out of his state and he had the good decency to be embarrassed with himself as he saw how terrified his daughter now was.
“I’m sorry, Sweetie.” He said and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s nothing.”
He cast a nervous look back at her closet and smiled with relief when he just saw the oddly shaped door for what it was. He’d let his mind get carried away for sure and he almost cost himself a good night’s sleep by working Millie up too. He mentally kicked himself.
Millie flopped over, back to the closet door, and pulled her blankets all around herself like a cocoon.
“Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Millie.”
He flicked off the light and just as he was about to close her door he heard a strange slow creaking noise.
“Don’t open the door!” Millie screamed.
Her father immediately snapped the light back on and ran to her side. The closet door remained shut, just as he’d left it.
“It’s closed, I swear. It’s just the house settling.” Her father reassured her as he cradled her in his arms but his own heart raced uncontrollably. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the door was actually open, just a sliver.
Curiosity bubbled inside of him, warring with his own internal fear. It was stupid to let himself get caught up in a common childish fear…and yet, that door called to him like a Siren’s Song.
“Don’t go over there, Daddy!” Millie warned from her bed.
Her plea stopped him in his tracks and he realized that he was already halfway across her room. His hand was stretched out towards that slanted door. He shook his head, trying to clear his muddled thoughts. He quickly slapped the door closed; his hand recoiling as if it had been burned. Or perhaps because he was worried that something might pull him inside.
Monsters aren’t real. His internal voice screamed at him and he chuckled to himself at the absurdity of it all. He had really let a boogeyman fear get to him.
“Monsters aren’t real. Go to sleep, Millie.” He flicked her light off and left her alone with the face in the door.
He hesitated a moment before finally walking away. After all, it was just their imagination, playing tricks on them. From inside Millie’s darkened room, the doorknob rattled quietly and then the closet door slowly creaked all the way open.
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