A Place Left Behind

Zachary sat in his car with its headlights illuminating the front of the abandoned house. The raindrops clattered on the car’s roof. He let out a sigh, pulled on his hood and made a dash through the mud toward the dry patch on the front porch of the house.

He fumbled with his keys, sorting through them to find the old key that matched the rustic look of the door. Zachary reached two bronze skeleton keys. One thick and heavy. The other small with pink tape around the shank. The heavy key was a perfect fit for the front door lock. With a little jiggling around, the lock clunked over, and the door creaked open.

A flash of lightning gave Zachary a glimpse inside. The place was empty and cold with its barren wooden floors. He ran his hand across the wall until he found the light switch. The lights flickered on as thunder rumbled above, the old incandescent bulbs barely lit up the room in the darkness of the stormy night.

The house creaked and groaned as a gust of wind swirled by. Zachary made his way from the entrance of the house to the base of a staircase without a single misplaced step. He held the small key with pink tape in front of him. Squeezed it in his palm and took his first step up the stairs.

Lightning flashed and Zachary saw a photo on the wall. A mum held her baby girl while sitting on a picnic blanket. Soft laughter and the smell of pine. Zachary steadied himself with the handrail and kept pulling his way up the stairs.

Another flash. This time a wedding photo. A bride and… the other side of the photo was charred beyond recognition. The wooden stairs now bent a little under his feet with each step and his hand collected a layer of soot off the handrail.

He reached the top of the stairs and stopped outside of a dark door with a few tiny patches of pink paint clinging onto it. Zachary looked down at the key, and with a trembling hand, managed to fit it into the lock on his third attempt.

The lock clicked as he turned the key. Zachary rested his head against the door for a second before turning the handle and stepping into the room.