[ WP ] Today , you went into the room your parents told you to never go in .

There was no lock on the door. It was the same as every other door in the house, wood painted white, round brass handle. The only thing that kept Alice out was the message, repeated so often it had eroded its shape onto her brain, “ Never go in that room. ” There was no reason given, no threat made, just that simple instruction. 
 
 She almost had though, once. Curiosity had driven her to it, then fear and obedience had stayed her hand on the doorknob and she stood, conflicted, heat seeping from her fingers into the cold metal. 
 
 When her father found her she thought he was going to hit her. He didn ’ t, he just bundled her off to her bedroom and shouted the same instruction again and again, “ Don ’ t go in that room, stay out of that room, you must never go in that room. ” His anger scared her, but what scared her even more was the terror that hid behind her father ’ s words. 
 
 When her mother got home she wasn ’ t angry, but she shared her husband ’ s fear. She sat on the bed next to Alice, looked her intently in the eye, and said, “ I need you to promise me you ’ ll never go in that room. I can ’ t tell you why, but please, promise me. ” 
 
 Her desperation left Alice no choice. 
 
 “ I promise. ” 
 
 After that day, her parents stopped telling Alice to stay out of the room. They stopped talking about it altogether. There was still no lock, no bolt, no sign, only Alice ’ s promise keeping her out. 
 
 Alice kept her parent ’ s trust, but her curiosity had not abated. She knew her parents never went in it in the daytime, so she kept herself awake in the darkness, listening for her parents footsteps and the creak of a forbidden door. And one night, that was exactly what she heard. 
 
 From the crack in her bedroom doorway, she saw her father enter the room, golden light briefly spilling around his silhouette before the door clicked shut. She crept along the corridor to try to listen to whatever strange antics her parents were up to, but there was no sound from the room. In fact there were no sounds at all; the distant rush of motorway traffic, the rustling of trees in the wind, the hum of the kitchen fridge, had all faded to nothing. 
 
 Alice felt a shiver go down her spine, there was a chill in the air. 
 
 From then on, she always knew when her parents were in the room. She would wake to utter darkness, her skin tingling. There was no obvious pattern to her parent ’ s visits, except that they often seemed tired and drawn before they went in, and refreshed the following morning. But they never looked each other in the eye on those mornings, and as time went by they became increasingly distant from each other and from Alice. 
 
 Then they disappeared. 
 
 They went out one day and never came back. Alice searched for them, the police searched for them, the whole community searched for the well-loved young couple who would never abandon their daughter. But no one ever went in the room. 
 
 Alice knew what she had to do. She had put it off, but she had no choice. She stood with her hand on the doorknob, heat seeping from her fingers into the cold metal, fighting an instinct that had been cultivated her entire life. Then she twisted the handle, and pushed open the door. 

