The Door In The Wall

Chapter 1: The Door In The Wall

When Billy's parents told him that they were moving house, he lied and told them that he didn't mind. He'd heard his mum and dad talking on a few occasions about money troubles and how they needed to move further from town, somewhere smaller. Billy wasn't a spoilt kid and so didn't cause a fuss when he was told they had to go.

The next few weeks were busy for the family, what with having to pack things up and sort out the new house. It was quite run down, his dad had told him one day, and so they'd be fixing it up as the months went on.

"So long as we have a roof over our heads, and have each other, what else do we need?"

Billy thought about how he needed a garden to play in, but didn't mention it.

Moving day arrived and it brought with it a large moving truck, along with two big guys to carry their furniture. They didn't say much, though one of them winked at Billy when they came inside to see what was to go, and both said 'Yes' when bacon sandwiches were offered. Beds, sofas and the dining furniture was soon loaded, along with dozens of boxes with each one marked for what ever room it was for.

His mother had one last check to make sure everything that needed to go was on the van, and then they locked the door and said goodbye to the house. It was a bit sad, thought Billy, but he had decided to start looking forward to his new home and his new bedroom which his father had said he can decorate in whatever colour he likes.

When they arrived at the house, everything was done in reverse. They said hello to their new home, then his mother unlocked the door and went round each room making sure nothing had been left by the previous owners. While she checked, the men from the van started to unload all of their things and were directed to whatever room they needed to be in.

By early evening the van, and the men, had gone. Billy sat in his new room unpacking boxes of books and toys, and put them on his shelves that had come from the old home. The walls were bare, with bits of paint coming away here and there, but his dad had told him that he could put up posters and drawings until they had the time to paint it properly.

When all his stuff had been put away and his bed had been made, Billy told his parents that he loved the new house and then said good night. He didn't want them to know that he wished he was still in his old bedroom, where the paint on the walls wasn't peeling away.

Through the night Billy woke up and panic took him as he needed a few seconds to remember where he was. He always slept with the curtains open and the moonlight came through onto the walls and the floor. He watched the shadows from the tree in the garden dancing on his floor, and then he noticed it.

At first he thought it was a shadow playing a trick on his eyes, but getting out of bed he got a better look. There was a door handle in the middle of the wall which he hadn't noticed earlier. 'How odd,' he thought. 'I can't believe I didn't see this'. He tried the handle, but it wouldn't move. 'Anyway', he thought, 'if it opened I'd end up opening the whole wall!'

Deciding to ask his dad to have a look in the morning, he got back into bed and, before long, slept again.

The handle was gone in the morning.

Billy saw as soon as he woke that it had gone. 'I'm sure I didn't dream it', he thought. He was quite a logical child though, and soon convinced himself that it was imagination. He then forgot all about it for the rest of the day, and most of the following night, until a sound made him wake again in the early hours. The door handle was back in the centre of the wall, but this time there was a vertical cut in the peeling paint to the left of it, which came from the floor to about the height of Billy's knees.

He knelt down near the thin crack and touched it gently. Billy thought that he felt a slight breeze come through, but couldn't be positive. He got back into bed, and made sure to tell his father the next day.