Fear of the Unknown

I go down the stairs

They lead to a place

I don’t want to go

It’s cold

It’s lonely

The basement

No, even worse, the crawlspace

I hate it

I don’t want to go

The stairs creak under my feet

The carpet is soft

But it can’t muffle the sound

Of the house groaning

Under my weight

The basement is dark

Cold as a freezer

I cross the room

And open the door that leads

To the crawlspace

Here the carpet ends

And the concrete begins,

Cold and hard,

Stealing any warmth I may feel

I look in

It’s a dark cave

Pitch black

I’m overcome with fear

I can’t even see the fingers

In front of my face

I switch on the light

And hesitate

As the fluorescent light flickers to life

Shadows are cast off the wall

From the mountains of boxes

Staked neatly against the cold wall

It’s dead silent

All I hear is the pounding of my heart

And my raspy breathing

I swallow my fear and go in

Cold hard concrete hits my feet

And musty air chokes me

Damp moldy air

I hate it

The crawlspace continues on

Past where the boxes lay

I know where it goes

But I can’t see the end

Only darkness

Fear of the unknown