Under The Kitchen Sink

Spoiler, but a scare warning: MC and other characters talk about being knocked out and a near death from a spider bite. Very mild. Fictional story but based on Orthodox Christian spiritual warfare.

It was a Saturday afternoon when I was thirteen. My friend Lyla and I were playing hide and go seek at her house. Lyla was my new friend, but she was fun to hang out with

I also had a friend named Aiden. He was my best friend since I was little, like REALLY little. He looks the same age as me, but he always acted a lot older. He was scared about me going places I shouldn't and that I should be careful. But he said that a lot with Lyla because I never told my mom about me visiting her. But I thought as long as I got back between the two hours I got off school and she got home from work, she would never find out.

Lyla counted while I tried to find a hiding spot in her big, empty house. My feet echoed as I ran around and then I found a room under the stairs. I giggled as I closed the door and hid in between some old clothes, a vacuum, a laundry hamper, and the washing machine.

"...28, 29, 30! Ready or not, here I come!"

"Ain't no way she is going to find me here. I bet she's afraid of the spi-"

"I found you!" she yelped as she opened the door.

"What? How did you find me! This had to have been the best hiding spot!"

Lyla waved her hand and said, "That's not the best one, that one is quite easy to find."

I got up and dusted my pants off, and as I walked out, I closed the creaky door. Then I asked her, "What is the best hiding spot?"

"Now, why would I tell you that? Because then you would know how to find me. But do you want to know?" But the way she said it, it made me really want to know.

"Please! Please, please tell me! I won't hide there... I just want to see it!"

Lyla whipped her dark hair and tapped her finger to her chin. "You may not want to hide there, but you will probably stay there for some time when you see it."

I was confused, but it still made me want to go even more.

"Follow me, my friend," she said, reaching for my hand. We went past the front door of her house and through the entryway to her kitchen. I hopped on the white tiles as I followed her and she let me go.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Mmm-hmm!" I nodded, excitedly.

She then reached into the pocket of her black coat and pulled out an old key. Then she walked to the weirdest spot ever, her kitchen sink! She bent down to this big lock and fat chains and popped the key in and turned it like it was easy. Then she slowly opened the doors but with a smile that was weirdly excited for me to see it. And once the doors are opened I hear a loud whooshing sound and what looked like a big black hole.

“Woah! How come I've never seen this before? Has anybody seen it before?”

“Oh yeah a lot of people have, but only people who choose to listen to me instead of, well, don't mind that. Go ahead and go inside.”

“But where does it go? It won't hurt, will it? I don't want to do things that I know I shouldn't and get hurt..”

“You'll be okay.”

“You promise?”

Lyla said, “Look at all the fun games we play together behind your mom's back, trust me, this is what you want.”

I felt scared but I wanted to believe her. I took a few steps toward the sink, and the closer I got, the closer I felt like it was pulling me in, and it was harder to get away.

“Deedee!” I heard a voice from above me.

“Huh?” I look up and get a push back from the sink and the doors slam closed on their own. Before I looked at the voice, I got a quick look at Lyla, who quickly put down her foot, like she was going to do something, but she didn't want me to see it. I turned around, and in the window above the sink, I saw Aiden looking at me. He had reddish-brown hair, and when the sun hit it, it looked like it was a bright fire.

He said with a worried face, “Why are you here? I warned you not to come here.”

“Oh, we were just having a little fun…”

“You'll get hurt.”

Before I could say anything, he looked over to Lyla and said, “What are you doing?”

“Exploring, why do you have to ruin the fun.”

He answered, “You are a stranger.”

“A stranger? Me and Deedee are best friends, better friends than you. Clearly, she makes more time for me than you. Besides, how long have you known her for?”

“Since she was baptized.”

Lyla seemed really mad at his answer. I didn't know what to say, I didn't want to hurt Aiden's feelings, but I really wanted to have fun. When I looked at Aiden again, he already looked like he was sad because of what she said, and I was scared that what she said was true. I didn't want it to be.

I glance over to the big, old clock on the wall and realize that my mom would be home any minute. I look at them both and say, “I have to get home!”

Aiden told me, “Maybe you should tell your mom about this.”

I shook my head and said, “No! She would get so mad at me.”

Aiden didn't seem to like that I said that but said, “Your choice, Deedee, your choice.” Then he walked away from the window.

I ran home as fast as I could, and thankfully, I got there just in time. I don't think my mom knew at all where I had been. I just acted normal and we enjoyed dinner together. She even asked, “So how was school today, Honey? I heard you had a hard time on the test.”

I knew I could have done better, but I felt so sleepy, and I think it was from not telling Mom about Lyla and keeping it a secret made me tired and not think well.

“It was decimals,” I told her.

She put her fork down and said, “But, you're so good at decimals.” She looked confused and said, “Deedee, you seem to be having a hard time in school lately. Not just with the test, but with things you know, and know really well.”

I felt warm. I had to come up with something without telling my secret. “I've been doing extra homework. So I stay up late and get sleepy.”

She didn't seem to like that very much. “Listen, Deedee, I want you to be doing your homework when you get home from school, not late in the night. You need your sleep, and you should have plenty of time after school to do it, right?”

The whole time she talked, I kept thinking about Lyla's kitchen sink. What was under there? Where did it go? Was it really as bad as Aiden made it out to be?

“Deedee, Deedee?” My mom snapped me out of my thinking. “Look, Hun, you need to finish up and go get some rest. Homework in the afternoon and sleep at night. That's all.”

—------------ —------------ —------------

I got on the bathroom stool to brush my teeth and I went to say my prayers. As I did I had a really bad feeling that I didn't usually have. I felt bad about how I treated Aiden earlier. I hoped he still wanted to be my friend.

I turned the switch on my small, blue lamp, and as I went to bed, I threw the covers over my head. My blonde hair got in my face as I curled up, confused about my day.

"Psst!"

I didn't think anything of it and closed my eyes tightly.

"Psst!"

That time was too loud. I threw my blanket off to look around my room. Then I saw someone in the window again, but it wasn't Aiden.

Lyla stood on the roof outside my window and said, "Hey, you're up!

"Lyla? What are you doing here? It's past my bedtime!" I began to speak in a whisper as I looked really quickly toward my cracked bedroom door. "My mom might still be up."

"Bedtime, shmedtime! It doesn't matter as long as you don't get caught. Don't you want to see that portal?"

"But Aiden said not to."

Lyla rolled her eyes and said, "Aiden isn't saying that because he is worried, Aiden just doesn't want you to have any fun."

"But-"

"Come on! You don't want to be a scaredy cat, do you? You can do what you want! You wanted to see the hiding spot yourself. Remember?"

With the last word she said, her eyes lit up, but it wasn't in a good way. I really wanted to see what that black hole was. Maybe she was right.

I can do what I want.

-------------------- --------------------- -------------------

We were back in her kitchen. She had led me out of my house by a rope she tied to the roof and I had no idea where it came from.

"Are you ready this time?" she asked.

I nodded, even though I was really scared and my heart beat faster than it had beaten.

She opened the cabinet doors again and I was greeted by the loud sound and twirling portal. I slowly tippy-toed toward it. Closer and closer and closer...

Then Lyla pushed me.

"UMPH!" she grunted.

I screamed the loudest scream, and I don't think anyone heard me. As I began to fall down into the dark space, I saw a ledge and held onto it, trying not to let go because I knew if I fell any further, no one could help me. I turned around and the last thing I saw was Lyla, but it wasn't Lyla, she had turned into a nasty creature with horns and a long tongue, and her eyes did the same thing they did when she came to get me from my house.

"That's what happens when you mess around where you shouldn't while passing on."

And she closed the cabinet.

I screamed and screamed and screamed, but it just echoed at me. I yelled for someone to help me. But no one was there.

"I should have listened to Aiden," I yelled again, now crying loudly. "I should have listened."

The last thing I could think of was to say a prayer. I knew I felt guilt the last time I prayed, but I knew I still had to. I pulled down my nightcap with one hand but quickly put my hand back on the ledge.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner."

SLAM!

The cabinets swung open, and there I saw what looked like an Angel.

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Aiden."

"But you don't look like...." then it made sense.

He acted older; he knew me since I was baptized, and he was always trying to keep me safe."

"You're my guardian angel?....AH!" One hand slipped and I was holding on by one hand.

"Take my hand, and I can help you."

I struggled to pull my hand up. I pulled and pulled, and finally, I slapped mine into his, and he pulled me out within the blink of an eye.

And again the cabinet slammed shut.

He grabbed me to help me brace for the impact as we hit the floor.

I gasped and slowly got up, feeling like I was just beaten up. "What just... What just happened? Where is Lyla? What did she mean by passing on?"

"Deedee, you saw. Lyla isn't a human girl. She's a, she's a demon and she went back where she belongs. And I am your guardian angel assigned to you. I've been trying to keep you safe. You almost died. You are knocked out at the moment, and soon you will wake up."

I thought my next question would be, "How did I die?" But he answered before I could ask. "The first time you came towards the portal, you were near a nest of spiders, poisonous ones. And because you had disobeyed and how close he had become to Lyla, you put yourself in a very dangerous position. But I pulled you away. This time around, one bit you, and it was almost enough to kill you, but thank the Lord you prayed when you did before it was too late or we'd be in a different situation."

I thought about it. If I had passed, it would have been three days and then it would have been the tollhouses. And I certainly wasn't ready for them yet.

I was shocked. "But this is all happening right? How about hide and seek what happened with that?"

"It still happened, but you were the only one who could see Lyla and me as well. But the portal itself exists, but not in the way you thought may have at first."

I stood there and sat back down. "What do I do now?"

"What I've told you to do is be honest and listen to those who are trying to protect you."

We stopped talking for a minute. I needed to take a moment to think about what happened. We both looked at the moon and my last question was, "When will I wake up?"

"Just keep looking up." He said. "Your mom will come to find you here safe."

"And will I see you again?"

He looked at me and smiled and said, "Just continue to live as you should. I will always be here to protect you."