The Invisible Door
The ornate door was exquisite. It was solid oak, carved with a scene that looked like it had popped off the pages of Pride & Prejudice. The flowers bordering the edges were painted gold. The golden doorknob, embossed with a wild rose, felt cold in Evelyn’s hand. She had played in the attic a thousand times as a child, and was sure that she had never seen this door before. Curious. She turned the knob and was disappointed to find it locked. She would have to remember to look for the key. Evelyn turned around and surveyed the rest of the room. Oddly clean and dust free for an attic, but then Grandmare had been meticulous about cleaning. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of old books and clothes.
“Evy, where are you?” Evelyn opened her eyes at the sound of her sister’s voice calling to her from downstairs.
“I’m in the attic, Mia,” Evelyn shouted back. She heard her sister’s footsteps coming down the hallway and watched as Mia, short for Emelia, bounded up the stairs to the attic two at a time. As Mia reached the top of the stairs Evelyn asked “Do you remember this door,” as she pointed to where she had seen the door.
“What door?” Mia had a puzzled look on her face.
“That one,” Evelyn said turning to face the door. Only problem was, that the door was no longer there. She was sure she had seen it. Where could it have gone? She turned back to Mia and let out a sigh. “I swear there was a door right there a minute ago. It was carved oak with gold accents. I tried to open it, but it was locked.”
“It’s been a long couple of days Evy, maybe you fell asleep standing up, or imagined it?”
“No, I…” Evelyn’s voice trailed off. She was sure she had seen the door. Mia was right though. The past week since Grandmare had died was long and difficult. She felt as though she hadn’t slept for a month. There had been arrangements to make, food to prepare, family to call, mom to take care of, and when she closed her eyes at night sleep just wouldn’t come. She looked her sister in the eyes. Mia smiled.
“Maybe it is just invisible sometimes. Or maybe it only shows itself to one person at a time.” Mia grabbed Evelyn’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s go check on mom, dinner should be ready.” As the girls walked down the stairs together, Evelyn looked back at the wall where she had seen the door, but it was still empty. She shrugged her shoulders as she closed the attic door behind her and started down the hallway after her sister. Maybe mom would know about the door, she had grown up in this house. Mia turned to look at Evelyn as they started down the grand staircase to the first floor. She smiled reassuringly and said, “Let’s ask mom if she has ever seen a door in the attic.”
Evelyn smiled. You would think that the two of them were twins, especially with matching names like Emelia and Evelyn, but Mia was three years older than Evelyn. Their mom had been pregnant with twins when she had Mia, but the second baby miscarried during the first trimester. Mom had always told them that Evelyn just wasn’t ready to come then, but she was sure that their souls were still twins.
As they walked into the dining room, Evelyn could smell the garlic bread. Mom smiled at them and gestured for them to sit down where there were three plates of lemon chicken piccata and garlic bread. There was no mistaking that the three women were related. They all looked like sisters with the same aqua colored eyes, chocolate brown hair, and pale complexions. They were also all exactly 5’4” tall barefoot. As they sat down, Evelyn smiled at her mother and asked, “Do know what’s behind that carved oak and gold door in the attic, mom?”
“What oak door?” Her mother replied, but Evelyn would swear in court that a look of panic had briefly crossed her mom’s face before she spoke. Curious. Very. Curious.
My Hamster Tater Tot.
