The Locked Door

Prompt: The Locked Door (why is it locked and what is behind it?)

I ran past the basement door as quickly as I could, as I always do. It has been locked for as long as I can remember, my parents were very clear when they told me that it was never to be opened and that if I disobeyed there would be trouble like I had never known before.

That warning didn’t stop me one day during my rebellious teenage years. I remember trying the handle, it was really stiff and noisy. I’d given it a pull, but I didn’t get any further as my dad caught me. Oh my! Did I get a beating that day! I have never touched the door since.

Ridiculous really, I’m not a child anymore but I’m still scared of that door. I wonder what secrets are behind it that would turn a usually kind dad into a raging hurtful maniac. But I will never know. Packing up the house after my parents had been killed in a car crash last week had been traumatic enough. Whatever secrets they were keeping from me can stay that….secret. The next owners can deal with it.  I leave the house without touching the door.

Down in the basement a chained up, starving girl gives up hope of living. He hadn’t been down to feed her in days and her water supply had now run out. Forgotten and alone she curls into a ball and waits for death to arrive.