A Truth Locked Away

People that live in houses will typically know the ins and outs of every room. People are compelled by curiosity to explore every inch of the place they call home. A seemingly normal house in the neighbourhood had a peculiar room that the young child named Zach never knew what lies on the other side. The young Zach naturally wanted to know by any means necessary. The door that stood in Jack’s way of witnessing the contents beyond was insignificant. A door that just blended in with the rest of the house. Jack begged his parents to open that door, but his efforts bear no fruit as Zach’s parents simply do not possess the key to unlock the door. Zach would not kneel to such obstacle.

Over the span of months, Jack would try all that he could. He tried using a hairpin to pick at the lock. He scouted the entire house in hopes of locating the key. He even attempts to use a ladder to reach the window to the room from the outside. All lead to the same ending, Zach was not successful. Frustration began to pile high as Zach tried over and over with no progress to be shown. This led to Zach ultimately forfeiting on the prospect of discovering what lied beyond that locked door.

On one particular night, Zach drank too much water before bed and woke up during midnight to empty his bladder. The hallway was dark as the only light source was the moonlight shining through the window. Zach hurried to the washroom and felt the relief of a drained bladder. As Zach was ready to head back to his slumber, he noticed that the locked door was wide open. The curious Zach stealthily approached the newly unlocked door. Step after step, Zach could feel his heart racing and his body shivering from anticipation. Zach took a peek to witness an adult with long flowing hair looking out of the window. As Zach rubbed his eyes to see things clearer, he just saw the ceiling of his bedroom. Zach jumped out of bed to check on the door and it was still locked. This convinced Zach that the events of last night was a mere dream and shrugged it off.

Several years have passed, Zach was going to graduate from high school and embark his journey in college. Zach had mostly ignored the locked door since that night from when he was younger, but the day before his graduation, the door was wide open. The same curiosity from that night as a child surfaced once more as Zach marched towards the room. What lied on the beyond the previously locked door was a room that had different wall paper and a cradle with an unlocked chest. Within the chest held a compact disc and a luxurious necklace.

Filled with questions, Zach immediately demanded answers from his parents to which they simply lead Zach to the living room and played the disc. A video showed a news report of the aftermath of an unfortunate act of arson that claimed one life on the house the family currently resides in. The culprit of the arson was caught and rotting in a prison cell to this day. Left with more questions than before, Zach raised his eyebrow towards his parents as to why this was adamantly hidden for so long. Zach’s parents described a hidden side of the story of the arson.

Long ago, the current parents of Zach were previously partners in crime who stole valuables without a trace left behind as if the valuables vanished. On one fateful night, the duo was eying a place that only housed a mother and her baby. Once midnight struck, the duo snuck into the house and split up. One of them scouted ahead for any potential witnesses meanwhile the other rummaged through the house. A sparkly necklace made of gold was collected and the duo were on their way out when they smelled gasoline nearby. A massive combustion erupted from the outside as the rummager aimed to apprehend the perpetrator meanwhile the scouter felt obligated to rescue the mother and child. Reaching the bedroom was no easy feat as there was significantly more fire burning at the site, but the scouter pushed through to see a gruelling sight. The mother was barely conscious while desperately trying to crawl her way out of the room with her baby. A desperate attempt made by the scouter to carry the mother and the child was halted with the increasing intensity of heat surrounding them. Seeing her only chance of her child’s survival, the mother pleaded with the stranger to leave her and save her child. A difficult decision was made as the scouter escaped with the baby and left the mother inside to which she laid there accepting her fate as the flames consumed her. On the outside, the rummager managed to catch up with the culprit and tied him down. Their duties were complete, the police and fire department were called as the duo ran out into the shining night.

Days after the arson incident, majority of the house was burnt to a crisp without a sign of life. An effort made by both parents of their newly adopted child to restore the house. A breath of new life to a house with an inferno history. The parents intentionally kept one room locked which held the trauma of a fiery past. However, the parents never intended Zach to be kept in the dark of this matter forever and simply waited for when he grew old enough to understand. It was that day when Zach had coincidentally woken up and saw his adoptive mother mourning the death of Zach’s biological mother. Zach was knocked unconscious and brought back to bed as if the events were a dream.

Although the parents had always disregarded any guilt from their past criminal activities, the both of them reflected the most on Zach’s case. Expecting resentment and disapproval from Zach, the parents lowered their heads and apologised for their lies all of these years. Zach walked up to his adoptive parents and hugged them close explaining that life was the most valuable treasure anyone could possess.