My name is James and I’m a curious boy. I’m 13 years of age, and am always feeling the indescribable urge to know as much as possible about everything. I’ve lived in the Parish house of St Jude’s Parish Pittsburgh, along with the Parish Priest, a well known exorcist, the Parish cook and a bunch of seminarians.
The Parish house is a storey building with lots of rooms and I am charged with keeping them clean. All except one particular room, located at the far east of the building. The Parish Priest had forbidden anyone from getting into the room, only one person could go in and that was the Priest himself. I had been told by the cook that the room contained artifacts possessed by evil force, It had been gathered over the years by the Priest. As evil couldn’t be destroyed, only imprisoned, they were brought into the room for safe keeping.
The cook went further to warn that whoever goes in aside the Priest would die a horrible death. I had been told this story when I was 10 and it had really scared me off the room. Three years later, I’ve seen the Priest go in and out of the room countless times and he looked the same. As in, he didn’t look like he had come in contact with any powerful elements. My fear of the room began to dwindle and now, the only reason I don’t go near it is because the Priest said not to, not because I am scared of evil.
That was until tonight.
The Priest has gone on a mission work to Atlanta and is expected back tomorrow, the seminarians are preparing for an upcoming theological exam, so they are in the library. That leaves the cook and I alone in the house. But then, the cook is busy in the kitchen, making plans for tomorrow breakfast no doubt, seeing as we just had dinner. This means I’m all alone. My plan is to go to my room and see a movie on my phone, after my night prayers of course. As I leave the living room, through the tiled passage, I’m about to enter my room when I stopped.
At the end of the passage, where the forbidden room is located, it’s door stands slightly open. That is odd. Then I remember the Priest had left for Atlanta in a hurry. I had seen him walk out of the room, it could be he had forgotten to lock it in his haste. I have to lock it for him. I turn towards the room and begin to walk slowly, my bare feet making no sound in the tiled floor. As I get closer, I hear voices within. They are muffled and intelligible. As I get closer still, they become louder but I still can’t figure out what they are saying, it is as I get to the door one word jumps out.
“…James...”
My name.
Without thinking, I push the open door and poke my head inside. The interior is dark and feels empty, the voices have disappeared.
“Hello…” I whisper, I can’t risk the cook hearing my voice.
“Anyone here?”
Still no reply, but I can feel a presence, as though the person is hiding from me. If it’s a burglar, I want to be the one to catch him. The Priest might buy me a bike as a reward. So thinking, I feel around the wall and flap the switch, flooding the room with bright lights.
“Jesus…” I mutter under my breath, entranced as I walk in, leaving the door open for fast exit.
The floor is covered in red rug, there are shelves and tables containing lots and lots of artifacts. There are the weird ones like a bleeding horn, what could be the skull of a dog with one of it’s eyes intact. Then the normal, which includes a little girl’s doll house, a piano and a sword. At least I feel they are normal until I see real smoke emitting from the chimney of the doll house.
Suddenly, I begin to hear the voices once more, they seem to be coming from directly opposite me. Where an object is covered in tarpaulin. The voices are muffled, but I can’t be mistaken. I walk forward, intent on catching the culprit, I grab the tarpaulin and yank it off.
“Gotcha..” The word freezes in my throat.
It’s only a mirror.
‘Where the hell is the voice coming from?’ I wonder silently, staring at my reflection in frustration, right now, I’m ready to swear I heard those voices. Suddenly , to my shock, my reflection fades from the surface of the mirror. It is blank for a second, then the image of a couple slides in. My mouth falls open in shock.
“Mum? Dad?”
They are my dead parents.
That fades as well, to be replaced by another man with a walking stick. Then a young beautiful woman, a boy with a football... I don’t need anyone to tell me these are dead people. It had shown my image as well, does it mean I would die? Fear clogs my throat, I don’t wait to find an answer. I turn and race toward the door. Just as I am getting to it, it slams shut in my face. I turn the knob, shaking it for it is my only way out, the door doesn’t budge. That is when I begin to hear a creaking sound behind me.
I turn to see hands protruding from the mirror, skinny hands with white bony fingers sliding out, then legs, followed by an empty skull for the head. The rest of the body climbs out. The entire room is reacting, the shelves are trembling, rattling their contents. The doll house is on fire, the horn increases in bleeding, the piano is playing by itself. The being stands at the other side of the room, staring at me.
“James..” My name floats on the air from it to me.
And that’s when I pass out.