His heart was pounding.
He was sure he had seen the doorknob turn.
Uninvited Guests
By Keira
Knock, knock, knock. Sam Abbot knocked on the door to his aunt’s house in Birmingham, England. As he waited, he thought about his parents. Sam missed them so much. The door to the house opened. A strange woman opened the door and stared at Sam. Before he could even say anything he was pulled in by his aunt. After he was inside he tried to actually see his aunt. He was taken aback when he realized how strange she looked. She wore a long dark dress with a brown corset and gold sequins. She had bare feet and a vine garnet in her hair.
“Are you sure you are my nephew?” she said in a cold voice. Sam was in too much shock he could not even speak. He could not believe that this was his aunt. “You look like your mother. Your mother was definitely unwise considering she ran away, got married, and moved to London. Surely she must have gotten herself killed.” This was too much for Sam to hear. She had crossed the line already.
“Surely, you are done insulting my mother who made her life much better than you have. You just stay in your house, you live like a hermit….,” Sam couldn’t continue because right before his eyes his aunt seized his throat.
“You won’t insult me in my own house with your smart mouth. I do not have to keep you here as I am sure that you perfectly well know. You can not do anything about whether I keep you or not,” she snapped. She then released his neck from her icy fingertips.
“I don’t care whether or not you turn me out. If you care, you will treat me like your own child,” Sam said.
“I really hate children,” his aunt said with a smirk. “Now, as for you, I do not know what kind of respect you showed to your own mother, but that doesn’t concern me right now. You will not last very long here.” Sam tried to think how this woman, cold hearted as she seemed, planned to take care of him. While he pondered this, his aunt took his bag and put it inside what looked like a closet. “You will sleep in the cellar; a creature like you should live underground. I have no idea what you would do to my home if I let you sleep upstairs. If you should do anything to my home it might as well happen in the cellar.” When Sam went to see the cellar it was not as bad as his aunt had made it sound. It was a little cluttered but he did not mind. It meant that he slept a whole floor away from this horrible woman. Why would he complain? There was an old pair of skates, a sled, and a box of old and dusty objects. Then one object caught his eye. It was part of a ripped piece of a picture. He recognized his grandparents in the picture.
“Why couldn’t I stay with them?” Sam wondered aloud to himself. He went through all of the boxes until he finally found the other half of the picture. He found tape and put it back together to form his family. He sat for hours just looking at the photo, then he leaned back on the box he had been sitting on, and banged his head on something hard. “Ouch!” he moaned. He realized he banged his head on a door. He thought this was strange but he was so tired, so he just lay down on the squeaky bed, covered himself with the thin and useless blanket, and cried himself to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Sam woke to the sound of screaming. He tumbled out of bed and stared towards the door. He could have sworn that the door had shrunk at least two sizes. “What on earth?” Sam said. This was definitely not normal for him, especially in the middle of the night.
“OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!!” someone yelled at Sam. His aunt pounded through the cellar door, down the twisted steps, and pushed Sam aside. He fell backwards. She went and opened the door a crack and slipped herself inside. Sam stood back up and caught his balance. She immediately came back out and shut the door. “Okay it should be calmed down by now. Go to sleep,” she said.
“You expect me to go to sleep after that?” Sam asked in disbelief.
“Yes, I do. That is if you want breakfast in the morning. Sleep tight!” his aunt said. Sam’s mouth hung open after she went up the stairs and closed the door. Sam obviously did not sleep.
“Wake up, Sam!” his aunt shouted at the crack of dawn. Once he was dressed he came up the steps and she looked away from him while she put cold oatmeal into bowl and put it at his place. “Eat. You will need your strength today,” she said.
“Why?” he asked. He really did not want to hear the answer, though he asked anyway.
“I am going to the grocery store today and you will have to help me carry everything,” she shot back.
“Oh, and this is supposed to give me energy?” he asked, staring down at the completely raw oatmeal.
“If you are complaining I do not have to feed you anything,” she threatened. Just as he was ready to say something back the doorbell rang. Sam growled to himself and bitterly finished his meal. “I just do not understand why you waste your valuable time bothering all of your neighbors for such a cause. I am not interested,” Sam could hear his aunt taking to two very young girl scouts at the door. He heard the door slam shut. His aunt came back in and took slow, short sips of her coffee. Sam noticed that his aunt was actually dressed like she was from their human planet. She was wearing a navy blue denim skirt, a pair of wedge black sandals, and a bright pink shirt. She apparently did not want to look like she was from Mars the day she left her house. Her temper was thin that morning so Sam did not say much, hoping not to make her really mad at him. Sam held in what he wanted to say when his aunt insulted his mother again. Sam was not thinking when he asked about the screaming door in the cellar. His aunt changed from bright and perky to fearful and scared.
“What door?” she asked nervously.
“You know what I mean!” Sam said, surprised that he was in control of the conversation.
“Okay, if you want to be as stubborn as your own mother, then fine! It holds the secret to my past, present, and future. That is all I can and will tell you about the door,” she said. She turned to go upstairs when she saw Sam going down into the cellar.
“Oh, and you must know this. Never open that door. I will know if you do. It is also a wise choice not to because behind that door is a matter of your life and death,” his aunt said.
“What could that be?” Sam thought to himself. His aunt’s clues to the door did not lead up to anything that Sam could think of.
Sam went out to the car (he was surprised she even had one). While they were in the car Sam asked about the door again. His aunt was not focusing on her driving and pulled to the side of the road, barely missing a collision with the car in front of her.
“Okay that is it! If I trusted and told you a very big secret I would not have to be so mean to you,” she said. She took a deep breath. “I am a goddess. I control people and things with my mind,” she said. Sam’s mouth hung open as if he had been petrified.
“What is with the door if you really are a god,” Sam asked.
“Goddess, I’m a goddess because I am a woman. A god is a man.” she corrected.
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Sam reminded her. He was getting extremely impatient with his aunt, who kept ranting about the differences between gods and goddesses.
“In almost four days the sun and moon will be in perfect alignment, and I will be at my most powerful,” she said.
“An eclipse?” Sam offered. His aunt nodded, indicating that he was correct.
“That is my only time to possibly affect our lives. I really do love you Sam; it is just that I did not want you to suspect me. I wanted to make you think that I was a bitter woman,” she admitted.
“Well, that proves that you are a very good actress,” Sam said hoping to amuse her. She laughed.
“Plus, I discovered that I have a real mean streak,” she said.
“I really do not mean to be pushy but, can I please know what is behind the door?” Sam asked hopefully.
“I would like to tell you it is just that you aren’t a god,” she said sadly.
“Okay,” Sam said, but to him this response was anything but okay.
After they got home, Sam went to the cellar. He was awfully bored. There was still a long boring day ahead of him. It was still early in the morning. As soon as he thought about heading outside to play it started to rain, a really hard rain.
“Sam, come here for a minute,” he heard his aunt call. “I think that I would rather have you sleep in the room upstairs. That is, only if you want to,” his aunt offered. Sam pondered the thought for a while then agreed to move upstairs. “Just come up with your suitcase,” she said smiling.
“It will take a while to pack up,” Sam said. He had spread his clothes out in the basement.
“Oh, no problem, I’ll just use my magic!” she said smiling. With the snap of her long thin fingers she had everything he owned into the suitcase and floating in midair towards Sam. Sam caught it and his aunt winked at him, smiled, and then followed him up the steps. The room Sam was moving into was very dull and tasteless.
“This is um…. nice…. I think,” he lied. The room was grey, white, and depressing.
“Your not telling the truth are you?” she asked, giving Sam a look of confusion.
“Has this happened before?” Sam asked.
“No, I read your mind,” she said.
“Really?” he asked, interested.
“No, but I do know how dull this room is,” she said, giggling.
“Then why is it the guest bedroom?” Sam asked.
“What is your favorite color?” she asked.
“I like green, but why are you……?” Sam said, not finishing. In less than a moment the depressing room turned into a dark green room. Sam smiled at her. Then his aunt did something that Sam never would have imagined, she wrapped her arms around him. While he was embraced in her arms, he thought of his mother.
“You are just like my mother,” Sam said. Once she let go, Sam opened his suitcase.
“You had best unpack before we eat lunch. I will go start cooking,” she said. Sam unpacked then came down the steps and sat down at the table. After his aunt put a teaming hot bowl of soup at his place, she sat down across from him at the table. “Now Sam, in exchange for your new room and my love and care, I need something from you,” his aunt said, seriously.
“Sure, anything,” Sam said, spilling tomato soup out of his mouth and onto his white shirt. Sam looked embarrassed and his aunt giggled, then got serious again.
“You need to swear to me that you won’t say anything about my secret to anybody. On the solar eclipse, which is nearly upon us, I will leave the house through the door in the cellar. I will return when it is over,” she said.
“Where does the door lead to?” Sam asked.
“Sam, I just can not tell you. You are not a god. I could get into trouble. Now when I think that you are ready to face the truth, I will tell you,” she sighed.
“I want to know!” Sam said.
“YOU ARE NOT A GOD!!!!!!!!!” his aunt screamed. She stood from the table and slammed her cup of water down on the table, to indicate exactly how angry she was.
“Fine! Then I will stop asking you about it once I know!” Sam shouted. Both of them had completely lost their patience with each other.
Sam stormed upstairs and slammed the door shut. Later, he went to the cellar. He was looking at a box of paintings, when he heard a sudden creak. He did not even have to guess where it came from. The door was making noises. His heart was pounding. He was sure he had seen the doorknob turn. The door was opening and Sam screamed.
“HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME!!!!!!!” Sam shrieked as a dark cloaked figure stood over him. He fell to the floor.
“OH, NO! Get away from him!” his aunt screamed. The figure flew back into the door. Sam was breathing so hard he thought his heart would burst into pieces. His aunt offered her hand to help him up.
“What on the human earth was that…thing, or whatever it was?” Sam asked in terror.
“A dark creature that tried to invade your soul,” she answered calmly.
“Are you saying I could have just had my soul taken from me?” Sam asked terrified.
“I know that you really don’t want to hear it but, yes,” she replied, regretfully. “You must stay upstairs inside your bedroom were you will be safe. I can’t afford to take any risks after that attack.” she said thoughtfully. “I must go upstairs and prepare to leave before the eclipse. Oh, and you should come with me if you want to stay away from those things,” she said.
While Sam sat on his aunt’s bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about whatever was behind the door. Sam could not believe that his aunt would be so unfair as too keep a secret that involved those weird cloaked things.
“I am a goddess and a mind reader too,” he heard is aunt call, reminding him. Sam rolled his eyes. She came out in a long black dress and a gold crown upon her head. “I am formally dressed for the occasion,” she announced.
“What occasion?” Sam asked.
“The one behind my secret door,” his aunt said. “Now, I am sensing that you are still thinking about what is behind the door but, you…...” she started.
“Not a god or goddess. I know, I know,” Sam finished for her. At this remark his aunt turned to the mirror so that her back was to Sam.
“I’m sorry, but it is just the rules. I can not make any promises before the eclipse is over,” she said sadly. Sam followed her down to the cellar. She turned to him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Okay, you can stay up in your room until I am back. You could stay in the living room and read or watch television. I love you,” she said. She took a really deep breath, “I am ready now.” She opened the door and disappeared.
“I love you,” Sam thought of the words and realized it had been such a long time since he had heard them. Sam wandered around the house looking for something to do.
“Am I really just going to sit here and stay bored,” Sam said out loud. Sam thought about what to do. “Nope, I am going to go and see what is behind that door in the cellar,” Sam decided. As Sam approached the door he did not think about what his aunt had said about the door. “Who cares if I am not a god or goddess? I am going to find out what is behind that door,” he said to himself. Sam took three deep breaths and stepped towards the door. As he opened the door Sam’s mouth hung open. Can you guess what he saw? Well it’s a…oh wait I can’t tell you! Whoever is reading this story: YOU AREN”T A GOD OR GODDESS ARE YOU????
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