A static screech pipped from the white vent and the music kicked back on. The pounding on the door immediately ceased and slowly he lifted his head back up, eyeing the door. His body was shaking out of control but he knew she was gone. For now. He sprawled out his legs and lifted his body up. The chain rattled as he took a few steps to the door and hesitantly began to collect the books. As he held them in his arms, he looked at the doorknob.

     “Maybe I should look out? See if she’s there?” he thought to himself but shook off the feeling.

     It was a trap that his parents once did. Normally after they leave from their morning visit, the door is locked from the outside. However, one day, they did not lock the door and he noticed that. He thought, perhaps they were busy and didn’t remember. It bugged him all morning until he bottled up the courage to over to the door.

     He grabbed the doorknob that was cold and rusted and twisted it. He pulled the door open and felt the cool breeze smack onto his face. Slowly he popped his head out of the door and saw the long dreary hallway with tall walls covered in paintings in gold rims that stared at him with grim eyes. 

     He breathed in the heavy air and smelt the dust from the lack of cleaning. The hall was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen in his life and thought he was royalty. A prince trapped in a castle with several monsters guarding the door, hoping someone would come rescue him.

     He grinned at the thought and stepped back into the room. He didn’t know his parents were watching the entire time, waiting for him to scream for help. When he closed the door, it didn’t take them long to arrive. 

     This was the day, the Closet was introduced. Once he set the last book back onto the nightstand, he glanced at the other side of his bed. Tucked into a corner was the Closet clothed in darkness until it was needed again. The Closet was something he feared. His parents would force him into the Closet, lock the door and leave him in it for hours to even a day. This was how he knew he did bad things.

     He shivered at the thought of being in there and the places it led him. Suddenly he heard the cranking engine of his food box and knew it was time to do his daily routine. He trotted into his bathroom that had a bathtub, a sink, and a wardrobe where all of his plain clothes resided. The chain around his ankle was at its limit whenever he journeyed to the bathroom. It tugged at him if he ever wanted to touch the farthest wall from the door.

     He began to draw water from the bathtub when suddenly he heard a thump from downstairs. He stopped the water and heard the thump again, this time with a stronger force. Every so often there would be a thump from downstairs. He didn’t know what it could be or who was doing that but his mind did wander a bit as he turned the water back on.