Nate was only 10 yet there he was, home alone. His father was gone, regrettably called at the last minute by work to stay an extra shift, and his mother gone to a place he still couldn't comprehend. But it's not that Daryll was a bad father, he really did try after the loss of his wife, he just didn't quite know what he was doing yet. It wasn't as though Nate has never been left alone, in fact it was pretty common. His dad would be missing as he came from school but there was always dinner prepared in the microwave and a note carefully written on the whiteboard stuck to the fridge always ended with an "I love you son". Nate couldn't complain about being bored either since Daryll got him anything he wanted, even to the point of almost spoiling him, and his best friend was just across the street. He was far from being neglected.
Back to where Nate is now though, it was just another Friday night alone, empty plate on the sink, teeth brushed, a couch, and a t.v. flickering away in front of him. There was no school the next day so his father always allowed him to wait up if he wanted, but he usually fell asleep by the time Daryll creeped in at the latest hours of the night. Tonight was going to be different though, Nate would finally decide to go to those places in the house he never dared to out of fear. His best friend Zach, who was a year older than him, always called him chicken for it(though secretly scared himself) and they would just end up chasing each other out into the yard. Tonight he would do it, he would visit those two places in the house and prove to himself he wasn't chicken. First stop was the attic, a place many young children never dare venture to in their own houses.
He always avoided it because it was dusty, it had spiders, the stairs up creaked, and in short, it was scary! But off he went anyway, down the upstairs hallway, past his father's room, and stopped at the old door painted a light blue. Opening the door was the easy part, entering was another thing, especially with Nate's eyes plastered shut. He felt at the walls nervously til he found his target, a light switch, *click*. The light provided some comfort as little feet crept up the stairs, one tentative step after another. Soon he reached the top, ready to face his doom, knees shaking and fists clenched only to face disappointment instead. Other than a few boxes and their fake Christmas tree, the room was bare. Closer inspection of the boxes revealed old pictures, clothing, little dolls, and books, all once owned by a woman he hardly recalled. Leaving the things where they were found and sneezing from a thick layer of dust, Nate descended to his next destination, his father's inner sanctum, the basement, also typically avoided by naive kids.
The basement was similarly disappointing with similar results, initial anticipation, cautious descent, and another unexciting room. All there was to be seen was a workbench accompanied by a wall of tools, the washer and dryer, a dormant furnace, and...a bookcase? It looked rather out of place even to this 10 year old kid, with it's intricate carvings on shiny mahogany surface. Odder yet was the lone book in housed. Nate read pretty well and turned his head to see the title which read "ENTER". Nate's common instinct shouted in his ear to take the book. Inquisitive fingers reached out and tugged on the book to find it rooted in place. I wasn't that heavy was it? Two hands in position, Nate tugged and the book tilted with a weird sliding noise only to stop in place and causing Nate to fall flat on his back. The bookcase slid away quietly and the terrified boy ran to the other side if the room.
Nate got a hold of himself and looked up to see a glass door where the bookcase once was. Curiosity got the best of him and he approached the wondrous door. This must of been the secret room his dad used to mention when he went down here to be alone every now and again. The door was cloudy leaving him unable to look in but had a brass handle with no lock. An initial pull didn't work and he found the it slid aside like the bookcase to reveal...