Room of Secrets

September 19th, 1852 Rutherfordton, North Carolina

My Grandma was a wealthy woman. She had inherited family riches passed down four generations over when her great grandfather established his locomotive company way back when. I'm not sure about her exact net worth, but if it was passed down this long it must have been pretty big. Of course she also had investments in most— if not all the valuables that laid about the house.

Her house, or shall I say Kleinberg Manor, had many rooms for there were multiple on the bottom floor as well as the top. All the rooms were open to those who lived there and her guests, but she was always adamant about no one entering one room that was locked off from everyone. This room had a fancy concrete sign above it in cursive letters that said, "The Room of Secrets". I must say, it was enticing, but everyone obeyed...

Except me.

Often I would come to her house to simply spend time or to help dust and sweep. It could get dusty, but it was hard to get the place dirty unless there were guests since she was the only one, aside from some servants living in it.

But one day as I was sweeping the bottom floor of the house, I passed by this lonely room. I tried not to let my curiosity get the best of me, but I took a few steps back and looked at the door. I just gazed and gazed and after a bit of gazing I got this strange feeling like the room itself was drawing me in.

I took two steps towards the door.

Clip. Clop.

I started at it again and took a few more steps.

Clip. Clop. Clip.

My hand, barely shaking, reached towards the door knob, and my fingertips touched the cold metal. With a slow turn, I felt a quick smack on the back of my head.

“Ow!”

It was one of my grandmother's maids, Mayola.

“What are you doing messing ‘round with that room?” She asked as her dark hair fell from under her handkerchief.

I replied as I felt my face turn red, “I was just- I was just curious.”

“Boy, you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat and on top of that your grandmother is gonna angrier than a-”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry Mayola. I'll go on.”

“Oh, you better!” She said as I walked away, hurriedly. “Next time I'll tell your grandmother!” Then she shook her head with a sigh and a tsk-tsk and proceeded to sweep where I was.

Later that night at dinner we had a stew and peach cobbler for dessert. Very delicious, but truthfully I worried the whole time that Mayola might’ve told my grandmother about the door, but thankfully all seemed well.

I got a warm glass of milk to take to bed that night from Mayola. She said it would ‘put me to sleep and ease my curiosity’. While it was warm and made me cozy and sleepy, it did not keep my mind from roaming endlessly as I sat on my bed in my nightgown.

What could be in that room? I thought. Maybe it's more endless treasures? Maybe it's family secrets? Even bad ones maybe? Maybe it's both? What could it be? I can't stand just wondering. I have to know!

After a bit, but admittedly not along it, of back and forth thing in my mind, I thought, What if I wait till everyone goes to sleep? Then no one could catch me. Then I thought, What if the door is locked?

I didn't think about that too much earlier because of my curiosity…

I found an old hair pin sitting on the nightstand, likely from one of the servants. I decided to take that with me. My dad taught me how to pick a lock. I considered myself a pretty good lock picker.

So that was it. I waited. I waited for every single sound, the sound of footsteps or even the dropping of any water that could be heard from another room to stop.

I waited a bit, I almost wanted to give up because I got very sleepy, yawning and yawning in my eyes grew heavy, but finally it went silent and my curiosity about that room kept me awake. I grabbed my lantern on my bedside, tiptoed to my bedroom door, slowly turned the knob and walked out. I walked down the long hall on the nice, but creaky going floors as I tried to make it to the Grand Staircase.

I thought I heard footsteps but it was just me and this happened multiple times because of my anxiousness. I made it to the staircase. I laid my hand on the rail and slowly went down the stairs. Then I turn to my left and put my lantern in front of me so I can see better and then finally make it upon the room.

I take a quiet gasp of air and I reach out to grab the knob. It was cold just as before. I turned it as before. I was right it was locked.

I pulled out the hairpin flustered, hoping that no one heard me even turn it or was now about to hear me jiggle it all around. I put it in the keyhole and started moving it hoping that it would pop it open.

Pa-ting! Went the door knob.

I let out a very silent, “Yes!” But then I covered my own mouth. I put the hair pin in my pocket and then was the moment.

I pushed open the door and I walked in and it was completely dark. But my lantern showed light on multiple candles across two very long tables. I opened my lantern, took one of the candles from one of the tables and lit it from my lantern. Then I put the candle on all the other ones that I could see until the whole room was lit and I put the candle back. It was still somewhat dim but much much better.

I left my lantern on the end of the right table and proceeded to look around the room. It looks like a library with many many books. I have never seen one like it. But I noticed that on all the spines of the books, they didn't have normal titles, they had names on them. Like human names such as Susie, Carol, Tom, any name you can think of. Then by their name it had a town or city name beside it, and then a number. But there were many of these books. There was one for Tom from the same city that went up to 1034.

It was a very odd room, I believed maybe it was people's records of lineage perhaps. I thought this was boring, that is until I picked up a book. I went to a shelf on my left and picked up one of the books, and as I opened it, it came to life.

Yes, it came to life, like a movie.

It was very dreamlike. This one was a story about a little girl doing her first equestrian classes. It was wonderful. And then it ended.

I picked up another one and this one was about a boy who was afraid of the monster outside his window. It was rather terrifying, but it was from a young boy but so is someone who was older and didn't seem too scary.

I continued to sift through these books. I I read, or should I say watched so many books I couldn't even keep track of the time. I did this until I finally got to one that had my name and my town. I was very curious to see this one. And then I opened it.

It was one about me sailing the ocean and wanting to explore the world— which was familiar, oddly familiar.

It was what I dreamed about last night.

I put it back and it dawned on me that this was a room full of peoples dreams and even nightmares.

I was speechless and I was stuck between excitement and fear. Should I have kept exploring? Should I continue to look at mine? Or even look at those of my family members and friends and all those that I know?

Then I heard a loud—

SLAM!

I yelped, jumping and I fell to the floor.

“The door!” I screamed.

I ran to it and tried to wiggle the knob. But it wouldn't budge. I gave up trying to hide, I banged and banged on it with my fists calling out, “Let me out! Let me out!” I leaned my ear to the door to hear who could have closed it. That's when I heard my grandmother's voice, “I hope no one came in here. I bet it was that pesky boy leaving the door open. I suppose I'll have to ask him when he wakes up in the morning. I have no doubt in my mind that it was him.”

I heard her walk away and then I slid down in defeat, and I waited hoping that she didn't believe that I just went home early, rather that I made a dumb mistake.