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The Keyhole
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“Is anyone there?” His voice echoed as he looked around the dimly lit motel. No answer. He took out his handkerchief to pat himself dry as he reached the front desk. Connor gave a long sigh as he drummed his numb fingers against the counter. Still no answer. His eyes quickly darted around the walls which were filled with various pictures. He smiled at their family pictures for they reminded him of his own. He quickly fished for his wallet and groaned at his empty pockets. He sighed, figuring it was still in the car and turned back towards the entrance again.
“Yes?” a deep voice suddenly answered. James Connor nearly gasped as he quickly spun himself back to face a man around his mid-50s. He could not help but notice the man's odd birthmark that covered the entire left-side of his face. The man’s eyes were not exactly welcoming but were not cold either. Instead, he had a soft melancholy expression that almost saddened Connor. “I’m guessing you need a place to stay?” Connor nodded as the man reached for the drawers.
“Thank you,” he kindly replied, trying not to stare directly at his birthmark. The man made an uneasy face and shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he flatly apologized. “There is no room available for you.”
“Pardon me?” Connor was confused; he had not seen any other vehicle for miles now, let alone a parked one. “Sir, I cannot drive around in this weather. Surely, there is at least one room available?”
“The motel is closing down by the end of this week, my friend. All the rooms here are now demolished."
“Is there no other way that I may spend the night at this place? Please, it would greatly be appreciated," he eagerly asked. The man studied him for a long moment and slowly shook his head. Connor helplessly watched as the man turned his attention to the wall. He could not quite put his finger on it but he sensed something was bothering him. The rain was getting even heavier.
“Please, sir…” he nearly begged, clinging onto the chipped old wooden desk. “I can sleep on that chair over there if necessary!” The man studied him strangely, then shook his head again.
“No, I cannot let you do that.” Connor took a deep breath and tried to be at ease. He could not believe how cold and bizarre this man was. If he could not see the pouring rain, he must be able to hear it. He muttered several inaudible remarks before heading back towards the entrance. “Where are you going?” the man suddenly asked.
“Heading back to the car, I will be spending the night there. Good night." Connor coldly replied as the man suddenly stopped him.
“Wait, what I meant was that I can’t let you sleep here in front of the reception desk. But, there is one room vacant if you must stay.” Connor stopped in his tracks and gave a smile to show his appreciation.
“Sir, I can't thank you enough." The man’s eyes saddened even more-so as he reached for a single key hanging along the wall. Connor reached out to take it, when the man suddenly withdrew it back from his reach.
“Before I give you this room, you must promise me one thing.” Connor nodded; he was very eager to get himself some well-deserved sleep. “There is another room across this one where you must stay away from, do you hear me?” The man's eyes pierced into his. “Whatever you do, ignore the room across from yours or I will kick you out regardless of the weather. Do I make myself clear?” Connor sighed as he continued on. Why in the world would he bother to look around this dusty old place anyway? Only children wandered off to unknown places, he was a tired businessman who just needed a place to sleep.
“You have my word, sir.” The man’s hard expression gradually softened as he placed the key out in front of him. Connor almost thought he saw a hint of sadness. "My wallet is in the car, I will be back." The man stopped him again.
“I cannot charge you for this room. The promise is enough; just make sure you keep it.”
“But sir I-“
“I insist.”
"I-"
"Yes, I insist." Connor raised an eyebrow, he did not want to bargain with this man again. Connor thanked him and followed the man's gestures for him to follow him.
Connor followed him up the stairs, almost in tippy-toes, trying avoiding the loud creeks it made. The steps were weak and looked as if they could barely support his weight. Connor wasn’t big in that sense; he was just the right size for his tall 6'2" frame. The man gestured for him to pick up the pace as he impatiently waited for him on the third level. Connor skipped along several steps at a time and, in no time, was standing next to him. He studied the dimly lit hallway and began to loosen up his tie as the man abruptly came to a halt.
“Here!” the man pointed to the door. Connor thanked him and was reaching for the door when the man suddenly slapped his hand away. “This is the door that you must never touch or go near!” he hissed. Connor quickly apologized and took several steps back. “This is your room….” The man pointed to the door right across from the other.
“You have my word.” The man eyed him skeptically for the last time before finally making his way down the stairs again. When the man had disappeared from his view, Connor turned the key against the keyhole until it clicked. He slowly walked into the small, damp, room which only consisted a bed and a night-stand. It was simply the right room for the price he had paid. He shook his head; ‘Beggars can’t be choosers,’ he thought as he took off his long beige dress-coat to hang against the nail-driven wall. He then quickly unbuckled his belt, took off his tie and collar, and gently lay himself down on the sunken mattress, too exhausted to change or do anything else for that matter. The sound of heavy rain continued to increase as he turned on the lamp beside the night-stand. Tomorrow, he would be back in New York after his last business meeting. He pictured his wife and his darling seven-year-old daughter and smiled for the first time that evening. It had been months since he’d last seen them and not a moment had gone by where he did not miss them. He pictured his wife in his arms again and sighed… falling asleep in her warm embrace.
'It must be because I'm not used to sleeping in places such as this,' he thought as he placed his glasses back on the night-stand. He was relieved to have 3 more hours of sleep and rested his head back against the pillow. He closed his eyes and pictured his little Sophie beside him, and smiled... only to open them up again.
‘What was that?’ he wondered as he froze in place. He held his breath and listened carefully... there it was again. He could hear something but it was barely audible. The sound of soft music was gently playing in the hallway. He shrugged and turned back on his side, trying to shake off the uneasiness that he sensed. He tossed and turned as the music gradually began to grow louder and louder. He tossed and turned a few more times until it got to the point where he could no longer stand it. Not bothering to take his glasses with him this time, he bolted right up and headed for the door.
He shivered; it was a little chilly out in the hallway. He rubbed his hands against his arms and listened, for he could hear the strange music very clearly now. He knew very well where that sound was coming from. He quietly tip-toed towards the door which was right across his and stopped. The music was definitely coming from inside that room. He slowly reached for the door but stopped as the image of the old man appeared in his head. Connor shrugged, he figured that was why the old man had told him to stay away from that room. There was someone already in there... but who? Now that was the question. The man had been very reluctant to give him a room that night. If it had not been for the rain, he probably would not be standing here at the moment. Connor frowned again at another thought; why did he want him to stay away from them so much? Connor groused again and shook his head, not wanting to think about anything at this hour. All he wanted was some peace and quiet so that he could go back to sleep. Without a moment to spare, he gently began to knock on the door.
"Excuse me, I notice that you're playing music in there… which is fine but it is a little too loud. Would it be much if I ask that you turn it down just a bit?" He tried to mask his irritation by asking as nicely as he could at this hour. He shivered again; it was as if he was standing in a freezer. He waited for a response and knocked again when there was no answer. He waited a bit longer. There was still no response and the music was playing at the same volume. He sighed and knocked even louder, hoping they would hear him this time. That must have done it for he noticed the light turning on from inside the room. He stared down at the keyhole as the bright white light instantly pierced through it. His teeth started to chatter; the hallway suddenly seemed to be getting even colder.
Right when he was about to go back in to grab his jacket, he froze. He could now hear footsteps from inside the room and figured they were finally coming for the door. He silently waited, his arms folded tightly across his chest. He rolled his eyes as the footsteps kept moving, but were only moving in the same place. The music was growing even louder now. He could not believe them, were they doing this on purpose to annoy him because he had disturbed them? He wanted to open the door and barge in but he knew better. 'What in the world is going on in there?' he wondered as he bent his head down in hopelessness. Just then, he noticed the bright light coming through the keyhole again and scratched his head. 'Just one look...' he told himself as he bent himself down on his knees.
He squinted as the bright light instantly penetrated his eye and felt a sharp pang of pain in his head. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the sudden light. After a while, he studied the room as it came into focus and gasped. It was a child's room. The walls were covered with floral wallpaper with long baby-pink room was distinctly feminine, just like Sophie’s. He squinted even more as he tried to make out the various posters on the walls. He wished he had brought his glasses along with his jacket.
There, she stood; a girl around the age of 7 dancing with her pink ballet shoes in the far corner. He stared in awe as the light, golden-hair, twirled around her pale body. He followed the girl's graceful motions and found himself lost in her. She looked strangely familiar to him as he stared at her hair that almost seemed white in the light. She had her eyes closed as she continued to twirl around in place, following and pacing herself along with the music. He watched for quite some time, as the girl continued to rehearse through the night. He did not even realize that his teeth were still chattering. What kept drawing his attention to her was the fact that she seemed so sad... as if she was struggling with herself. When the music finally coming to an end, she slowly stopped and began to stretch in place to prepare for the next piece.
Connor suddenly sneezed. The hallway was now literally below the freezing point. The girl suddenly looked up and stared at the door which was directly in front of her. He nearly gasped as he saw her eyes... there was something strange about her. He felt her stare and quickly withdrew his eyes away from the keyhole. Was it possible for her to know that he had been spying on her? He shook his head; there was no way she could tell through the little keyhole. He waited for the door to open but it remained shut. He held his breath and tried to make out any footsteps but all he could hear was himself shivering. Curious, he stared back into the keyhole and gasped.
The room was now completely red... he could not make anything out at all. It was as if someone had splashed red paint all over an empty room. He felt an unexplainable chill down his spine as he stared into the empty red room again. Puzzled, he retracted his eyes away again and raised an eyebrow. 'Where did the room go? Where did the girl go?' he wondered as he cautiously looked back in and saw her room again; only this time, the light was gone. He gave his pupils some time to adjust to the dark and studied the room again. The room seemed different to him somehow… He tried to look for the girl inside the room but she was nowhere to be found. He sighed, figuring the girl was probably sleeping on her bed. He couldn't really tell, it was still hard for him to make anything out. He shrugged; not wanting to bother her now that the music was gone. He headed for his room again and relaxed as he rested his head against his pillow for the remainder of the night, forgetting all about the little girl who had danced all night.
"Well, well, up already? Did you sleep well last night?" Connor handed him back his key and nodded.
"Yes, thank you," he lied as he sneezed. Connor frowned, he had caught a cold.
“You stayed away from the door that I told you about?” Connor suddenly froze as he thought about everything that had happened last night and nodded uneasily. "Good, good," the man smiled for the very first time. Connor quickly thanked him and was just about to leave when he suddenly found himself heading back up to him again.
"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" the man nodded, still smiling. "With all due respect, sir, would you mind telling me why I was not to go near the door that you had pointed out last night?" the man's smile suddenly vanished as he quickly looked away. "Sir, I had no idea that it was o-"
"It was my little girl's room," the man suddenly answered. Connor froze as he reflected back on his words. Did he just use the past-tense; ‘was’?
"My little girl, Saira, was a very special little girl. She loved ballet... she just loved to dance around in her room all day long because..." the man suddenly stopped and tried to collect himself. Connor eyed him suspiciously as the man cleared his throat to try again. "She was different from the rest of the other children… but that did not make her any less special to me. But the others… they would never leave her alone. Connor apologized as he continued. "No, no... I should've done something about it then when I still had the chance." Connor felt himself absorbed into the man's sadness as he was with his daughter.
"One day, they all went on to play a little prank on her... a prank that went too far. We filed a missing report on our little daughter, asking the children if they had seen her but they all denied it, for they realized how serious this was getting. We finally found her in the school’s freezer the following Monday morning... It’s been more than 20 years but it still pains me greatly…" the man's eyes were now welled with tears. Connor's heart skipped a beat as he finished his story. There was something very wrong with this story, something very, very wrong...
"N-no she's not dead!" he suddenly blurted out before he could stop himself. The man slowly blinked his tears away. "I saw her last night! She was in her room!" The man's face suddenly grew pale. "She had fair light skin and whitish-golden hair. That's her right...? She wore those pink ballet shoes last night!" Connor waited for a response and nearly fell back as the man suddenly reached for his dress-shirt.
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT DOOR!" he roared as Connor flinched back, unable to speak. He could see the veins bulging from the poor man’s face as he continued, "I TOOK YOU IN FROM THE COLD AT NO CHARGE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN KEEP ONE DAMN RULE?!" the man suddenly threw him back as Connor tried to regain his balance. “Get out. People like you disgust me,” the man bitterly finished as Connor stayed put. He was not satisfied with his answer.
"The music! I-I couldn't go to sleep when I heard music coming from the room... I had no idea it was your daughter's room! I thought it was another guest." The man's eyes were now penetrating through his. Connor could tell that the man was using all the power he had to stop himself from striking him. "I swear to you that I did NOT open that room. I just... looked through the keyhole out of curiosity and saw her... dancing in her room." The man's eyes suddenly welled up in tears again. "Again, with all due respect sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your daughter is still in that room! See for yourself...” Connor slowly finished.
"No... they all made fun of her... my poor little Saira..." the man was now choking back tears as most fell from his face. Connor was now very eager to finish the rest of his story; He blocked out the man's senseless remarks as he continued. Connor was mentally healthy and never had any hallucinations before. He remembered last night clearly and the girl was there.
"She suddenly stopped when she heard me sneezing outside... and when I looked in again everything was red... I couldn't make anything out. Sir, what in the world is going on?!" Connor was now shouting at this madman who believed his daughter was dead when she was clearly still in her room.
"S-she was an albino. That’s why they always made fun of her and eventually had to get rid of her…” he slowly pointed to the picture of a man who looked a lot like him. He had an odd birth-mark that covered his entire left-side of the face except that he looked much, much younger. He looked as if he was somewhere around his early 30’s. He felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed a little girl that looked as if she was around the age of 7, smiling beside him. She had very fair skin and whitish-golden hair… Connor was now growing dizzy and could barely stand as he focused in on her eyes. “It was all because she was different; with white, very fair skin... whitish-golden hair and..." Connor suddenly froze as the man slowly finished his sentence. He pictured them again and shuddered, "with unusual red eyes."
-Moons Light
