Chapter 4: The Girl Behind the Impossible Door
“I'm the real Maya.””
The words echoed through the living room.
Denise grabbed her daughter and pulled her away from the strange doorway.
“No! Don't listen to it!””
But Maya wasn't looking at her mother anymore.
She was staring at the little girl standing at the top of the second staircase.
The girl wore the same black hoodie.
Had the same braids.
Even the same small silver bracelet around her left wrist.
Maya's bracelet.
Maya lifted her trembling hand.
The girl in the doorway did exactly the same thing.
Jordan stepped between his sister and the opening.
“Dad, what is that?””
Marcus pointed the flashlight toward the strange staircase.
“I don't know. But nobody is going near it.””
The little girl at the top began crying harder.
“Jordan, please.””
Jordan froze.
It was Maya's voice.
“Please don't let it take me.””
He looked toward the real Maya.
She was standing beside their mother, crying silently.
Then the other girl spoke again.
“Jordan, remember when you broke Mom's favorite vase? You blamed me.””
Jordan swallowed.
“What?””
“You told Dad I did it. I got grounded for three days.””
Jordan's face changed.
That had happened when Maya was eight.
Nobody outside their family knew about it.
The girl continued.
“You promised you'd never lie about me again.””
Jordan took a step forward.
“Stop.””
“Jordan, I'm scared.””
“Stop talking!””
Marcus grabbed his son's arm.
“That's enough. Don't engage with it.””
The figure lowered its head.
Then it whispered something that only Jordan seemed to hear.
His expression went blank.
“What did it say?”” Marcus demanded.
Jordan didn't answer.
“Jordan!””
The boy slowly turned toward his father.
“It said something about the night Maya was born.””
Denise looked confused.
“What about it?””
Jordan glanced at his sister.
“Dad, do you remember the hospital?””
Marcus frowned.
“Of course.””
“No. I mean... do you remember the first night we brought Maya home?””
Marcus nodded slowly.
Jordan continued.
“I remember you telling me to sleep in the guest room because Maya wouldn't stop crying.””
Maya wiped her cheeks.
“What's wrong with that?””
Jordan looked toward the impossible doorway.
“The girl said she was crying because she could hear somebody upstairs.””
Denise's expression hardened.
“Jordan, you were five years old. You don't remember that.””
“I do.””
Marcus shook his head.
“That never happened.””
Jordan looked at him.
“Then why did you tell me there was somebody in the attic?””
Silence.
Marcus's face went pale.
Denise slowly turned toward her husband.
“Marcus?””
He didn't answer.
The strange hallway behind the doorway grew darker.
The girl at the top of the staircase disappeared.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then a faint voice drifted from somewhere beyond the opening.
“Daddy?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
His flashlight slipped slightly in his hand.
It was a voice he hadn't heard in twenty-three years.
His younger sister's voice.
A voice that belonged to someone who had died before he ever met Denise.
“Daddy, why did you leave me here?””
Marcus stepped backward.
Denise grabbed his wrist.
“Marcus, look at me.””
He shook his head.
“That's not possible.””
“Look at me!””
He finally turned.
Denise held his face between her hands.
“Whatever it says, you are not going to answer.””
Marcus nodded.
But the voice continued.
“You promised you would come back.””
His breathing became uneven.
Jordan stared at his father.
“Dad, who is that?””
Marcus couldn't speak.
Maya looked at the dark doorway.
Then she noticed something.
The little girl had returned.
But this time, she wasn't standing at the top of the staircase.
She was standing halfway down.
And she was holding a photograph.
Maya recognized it immediately.
It was the photograph of their family outside the house.
The one with the fifth figure in the upstairs window.
Except now, the figure in the photograph was gone.
In its place stood another person.
Marcus.
His father.
Maya pointed.
“Dad, look.””
Marcus turned.
The figure in the photograph had his father's face.
But his father's eyes were completely black.
The little girl smiled.
“There's room for everyone.””
The hallway lights flickered.
A loud cracking sound split the room.
The strange doorway began to widen.
Its wooden frame stretched outward as though something behind the walls were pushing against it.
Marcus grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it against the opening.
The chair struck something solid.
A sound like a deep breath came from behind the door.
Then the chair was thrown backward.
It hit the wall and shattered.
Denise screamed.
Jordan pulled Maya toward the kitchen.
“Move!””
They ran.
Marcus stayed behind, trying to pull Denise with him.
But she suddenly stopped.
Something had appeared on the floor.
A small white envelope.
It lay directly in front of the strange doorway.
Denise recognized the handwriting.
Her grandmother's.
She bent down and picked it up.
“Denise!”” Marcus shouted.
She unfolded the paper.
There were only three lines.
The first child was not Emily.
The second child was not Maya.
And the one who opens the door will be the third.
Denise read the words twice.
Then she looked at her daughter.
Maya was standing in the kitchen entrance.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Mom?””
Denise slowly lowered the paper.
“What?””
Maya pointed at the doorway.
“There's another one.””
Everyone turned.
At the top of the impossible staircase stood a second figure.
It looked exactly like Jordan.
Green varsity jacket.
White T-shirt.
Same haircut.
Same expression.
But unlike the other figures, this one was smiling.
Jordan stared at it.
Then he looked down at himself.
His jacket was still lying on the couch.
The figure upstairs lifted its hand.
And in Jordan's exact voice, it whispered:
“Dad, I think you should tell them what happened in the attic.””
May you like
Marcus dropped the flashlight.
Because the thing upstairs had just mentioned the one secret he had spent his entire life trying to bury.
