When Walls Talk

Chapter 1

Looking back at the day it all began I still have no clue as to why I opened that door. I replay the same scene in my mind over and over. I was newly moved into my home and I was going to place some of my belongings in the bedroom closet. I opened the creaky wooden door only to be met by a much smaller door at the right side of the closet. I'm easily spooked and moving into a relatively old house all alone was creepy enough as it was. I was not looking to open Pandora's box, but I ended up doing just that.

I remember just staring at the door for a moment, wondering if I should just shove my stuff in front of it and forget all about it, or just take a peek inside. Something unexplainable came over me and I decided on the latter. I was hoping it would be something wonderful like in Alice in Wonderland, but I had no such luck. The door opened without much protest and I took a look inside. It was completely dark so I used my cell phone as a light. It hardly helped and I felt compelled to go inside. I had come that far, so why not? As I crawled through the opening I felt the wall for a light switch. I met one a few inches to the left of the door. Much to my surprise when I flicked the switch up, the whole space was illuminated in an earthly glow.

The room was not large, but it was not empty. At the back of the room there was a desk and a chair. I walked over to it and sat down. On the desk I found a journal, placed ever so neatly. It was as if who ever left it here had plans for it to either be found, or to come back soon. With my new sense of confidence I opened the journal to see what exactly it was that I was dealing with. I went to the very first page and tried to make out the small handwriting that was scrawled there.

"I knew when I stumbled upon this room I would never leave. It's absolutely magic. The walls talk and listen. I guess the saying 'it's like talking to a brick wall' is irrelevant here."

The walls could talk and listen? Was this an old meth lab or something? I closed the journal, switched off the light, and closed that little door behind me. I did not know what that room was, but I didn't really want to find out. Eventually, a week later my curiosity got the best of me. I had been hanging up some clothes and I felt as though the room was calling to me. Before I knew it I was back in that room again, sitting at the desk, staring at entry number two.

"These walls are wise. I can talk to whomever I want. Well, whomever has passed anyway. Today I found out from my long dead great Aunt Maggie that my grandfather had helped defeat Robert E Lee in the Civil War. I feel so proud to have descended from such a lineage. It's a shame women cannot serve. I now feel as though I could. I cannot even imagine what else these walls can tell me."

Hmm...So I had gathered that this journal and it's writer were from long ago. And that the writer was a woman. But how old? What was she like? I had so many questions. My first thought was to ask the walls. But how stupid. Walls cannot talk. Could it hurt to try though?

"Hello, Walls." I said in a very shaky and unsure voice. I waited for a reply, but nothing came. "My name is Sofia Michaels. I uh...wanted to talk to you about this journal I've found. It says you can talk."

"Sofia. What a pretty name." I heard a booming voice say from all around me. I nearly pissed my pants in fear.

"Oh, my, God. You CAN talk?! I...just...wow."

"Calm, child. What have you come for?" The Walls asked. What had I come for? I was just a 24 year old business woman who had no business speaking to walls. Who knows why I was there. I didn't even know.

"I don't know. I wanted to ask you about this journal. About the owner of it. Did you know her well? Who is she?"

"Ah, I see." The room bellowed. "I knew her well. We spent much time together. Before I indulge you with more, you must know the rules of this room."

"Okay...what are they?" I was too intrigued to be scared anymore. I wanted to know as much as I could. The girl with the diary was right, this place was magic.

"Number one. You must not speak of this room to anyone. That is why you must get a journal. That way you can let out anything about this room in there. Number two. You must be specific in your questions. Ask one at a time. Number three. If you wish to contact the dead, be prepared for what they need to say or what they will tell you. Number four. Anything bad that happens to you will be on your own accord. Understood?"

"Yes. What do you mean by 'bad things'?

"Mishaps." the room replied. I did not think this would be an issue for me. So I pressed on about the diary girl.

"Who was the owner of this diary?"

"She was a daughter of the first owner of this home." Wow, these Walls were not kidding about the specifics part, I really had to ask what I wanted to know. Before saying goodbye to the Walls I gathered that the girl was but 17 years old. Her name was Emily Robertson and she came to talk to the walls every day. She also logged her important encounters in her diary.

I was so excited at my new find. I knew I would be back questioning the Walls just as much as it seemed Emily had. I somehow felt connected to her, although I am not sure why. Perhaps it was because we shared a juicy secret that only we knew. I was also informed that Emily was the first, and most recent user of the room. That made me the second ever.

Over the next month I would go to the Walls and ask trivial questions. I was afraid to contact any dead people from my past. Sure, there were tons of people I wished to contact, but I was too scared. I stayed away from the room until I just felt a NEED to be in there. It seemed like a great place to think out loud but have a non-judgmental person answer back.

The time finally came where I was in the room more than out of it when I was home. It was what I thought about when I woke up, all day at work, and it was the first place I wanted to go when I came home. I had finally plucked up the courage to ask to speak to a loved one. My brother, Asher, had died when he was just five, and he was the first one I wanted to speak with.

"Asher?" I sat anxiously waiting to hear his voice answer back.

"Sofia!!! Oh my God! I miss you so much!" I heard his cute little voice answer back with such energy and excitement. I started to cry.

"Asher, baby, I miss you too. I love you so much. How are you?" I didn't really know what to say, so I started out with the basics.

"Sissy, I'm alright. But Cancer got me! I didn't think it would. But gosh, it did!" he replied. This made me tears come faster and my eyes grow even redder.

Before his death Asher had be convinced he was fighting an evil named Cancer. It was easier to leave it that way instead of getting technical telling him that he had severe lung cancer. That was all thanks to my ever smoking father. It was something my mother was never able to forgive him for and it eventually led to their messy divorce when I was 19.

"Aw, Ash, I'm sorry. I'm so happy I get to talk to you. Are you with the angels now?"

"No! Everyone lied. People told me if Cancer won I'd be with the angels. But NO! I'm stuck here with grumpy people who are no fun. Nobody wants to play with me and I was just so bored until you asked to talk to me." He said. I did not know what happened after death, but I guess it wasn't the glamorous heaven everyone imagined.

We bantered on for another three hours. It felt so good to talk to my little brother again. He was just as I remembered him, young and crazy. Saying goodbye to him was hard, but I knew if I really wanted to I could just talk to him again.

Chapter 2

That's exactly what ended up happening because I found myself having chats with him every single day for the next two months. One day before summoning my brother for our evening chat, I decided to ask the Walls some more things I was curious about.

"How is it that you can channel the dead?" I questioned.

"Evil." the word seemed to echo in my head. I felt myself shudder and I suddenly got a bad feeling towards this room.

"Where is Emily?" The question just slipped out. I was not going to ask the Walls this. Emily's journal had ended abruptly, and I wanted to know why.

"Dead." came the simple answer from all around me.

"How did she die?" I asked uneasily. I had tried looking her up, but found nothing.

"Heart attack."

"okay...What caused it?"

"Shock, fear." Was all the Walls said. I was done with this shit. I wanted to talk to my brother some more so I summoned him.

"Sissy! You're back!" I heard his voice say.

"Of course. Now I have some really important questions for you, okay?" I began. Once he agreed to help me I bombarded him with all the questions I'd been keeping inside. I found out that the 'grumpy people' he was with were dead relatives. He was unable to contact anyone in his 'world' that was not related to him in some way. And that he loved talking to me every day because he misses me.

While this was nice to hear, it didn't help me figure out a way to contact Emily. I knew I could probably ask to speak with her, but I was afraid. And I also wondered what 'evil' the Walls were talking about. I had so much to learn yet.

Days turned into weeks and I was no closer to finding out about Emily. However, my work performance had been slipping because I was spending too much time in the room. I had started talking to my grandparents, who informed me that they were trying their best to keep Asher busy, but he was a hand full.

“Walls. I want to know what happened to Emily. Can you tell me what happened to her?” I finally plucked up the courage one afternoon to ask. It was eating away at me and gave me a really uneasy feeling.

“Yes. I can.” They replied.

“What happened to her? Tell me everything you know.” I said firmly. There was a pause before the Walls talked.

“As you wish. Emily Robertson became obsessed with this room. Much like you are. She eventually spent every waking moment in here. She lost all of her friends and dropped out from her school lessons. Her living family hardly ever saw her. The only ones she was close to were her dead family.  She lost her connection to the living. You see, that is what happens when one spends too much time obsessing over the past. One day she asked to join her relatives. They complied. I do not believe Emily knew that when summoned like that, they had to answer to her. The shock of seeing her loved ones gave her a fatal heart attack. Her body was never found because the relatives took it back with them.”

This was nonsense. People cannot just materialize out of the walls. I do not care what I have seen so far, but this was so far fetched. And I wasn't obsessed...was I? I guess I didn't really think about how much time I'd been spending in this room. My work performance had been slipping, and I did come every day. But all I wanted was to talk to my brother. He was lonely and we had so much to catch up on and say. Who wouldn't take advantage of this opportunity?


Chapter 3

         After hearing what the Walls said happened to Emily, I told my brother that I was going away for awhile. I was becoming obsessed and I knew it. Part of me found it hard to care, though. Who wouldn't be obsessed, I kept telling myself. This was something so many people wish they had. I had to admit though, it was getting to a point where I felt so much better in the room than out. A few times I caught myself thinking “Maybe I'll just stay in here for a few days. Bring some food and my blow up mattress, you know camp out.”

I shook that thought from my head as quickly as I could once I realized what I had been thinking. That was the trouble though, sometimes I felt like I was in a trance. Like the room was controlling my thoughts. Yes, it was definitely best to take a week off. Prove to myself that I'm not obsessed, and catch up on missed work.

Everything had been going alright until day three. I was sitting on my bed watching TV when I heard a screeching noise coming from the closet. Well, rather the room connected to the closet. I sat there trying my best to ignore it; pretend it wasn't real. But as it always did, curiosity overcame me and I went to investigate.

Once inside the room, the screeching stopped completely and all was calm. Was that just my imagination? Was there really any screeching at all?

“Walls, did you hear that?” I asked in a rush.

“Hear what? I have heard nothing.” They replied. What in the world was going on here?

“You have to of! The screeching was so loud I'm sure the neighbors heard!” I yelled exasperated.

“That was your subconscious. It longs for this room.” The Walls said simply.  I was in over my head.

“Explain everything you know about this room, now. I do not care how long the explanation.” I said, near tears. I really did feel out of control and I hated it.

“As you wish. This room was created with the house. The builder was a psychic medium. He was a horrible man who just wanted money and power. He build this contact room for his own purposes. However, he died before he ever got to use it and the Robertson family moved in. That was when young Emily took to it. She, like you at first, did not know of it's power. Emily was a loving girl and dearly missed those who had left her life. She came here to cry and vent. She stumbled upon the power of this room by accident while she was 'speaking' to a lost loved one. As soon as they answered back, she was off. You already know what happened to her. This room has a hold over the user. The more frequent the use, the stronger the hold. The room latches on to life. Much like passed spirits.  Breaking the bond with the room is nearly impossible. It will grab a hold of you with all it's got if it feels you slipping away. You will never escape the draw of this room until it has taken your energy from you. Ultimately, you will die.”

I stopped breathing. This had to be wrong. I could not be destined to die here! I had to get away!

“I won't let that happen!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “My life belongs to ME!”

“Oh, child. Your handed your life to this room the moment you spoke to your dead brother.” The Walls said.

At that I darted out of the room as fast as my legs could carry me. I threw myself onto the bed and sobbed uncontrollably into my soft satin pillow. This could not be real. I could stay away from that room. I WOULD stay away, no matter what.

Chapter 4

Another day passed without a sound from the room. I had decided that no matter what, I would never, ever go back to that room. I'm sure Asher wouldn't even notice that I didn't come back. He had been alright with me gone before, he'd be okay. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

The week I told Asher I would be gone came and went with no more incidents. On the 8th day, my world was flipped upside down once more. I was reading the latest James Patterson mystery when I heard my brother's voice calling to me from within that awful room.

“Sissy! I'm scared. Where are you? I need you. Don't you want to talk to me anymore? Don't you love me?” His voice cried. This went on for an hour and I couldn't take it anymore. I could not stand to hear my brother so hurt, I loved him dearly. I would just say goodbye, that's it. Then I would leave. It would be hard, but it was something I had to do to get my life back.

“Asher baby, don't cry. I'm right here but I have to make this quick. I can't come talk to you anymore. I came to say goodbye.” I tried to keep my voice even and calm, but it cracked when I said the word 'goodbye'.

“Sofia no! You can't leave me here alone. I need you. If you loved me, you'd stay. You'd be here for me! You always said you would!' I could hear the hurt in his voice and it absolutely broke my heart.

“Ash, I can't. This isn't good for me. This room has taken over my life. I can't do this anymore. I love you with all my heart, you know that. I don't know what I have to say to make you believe me.” I said, defeated.

“Say you'll come be with me.” he said, sniffling. I couldn't resist this. When I stop to look at my life, what did I really have? The Walls were right. This room would ultimately take my life. Even if I walked out today, I know I would come back. It was useless. I had to accept my fate.

“I'll come be with you.” I spoke softly, tears rolling down my cheeks. As soon as the words were spoken, Asher appeared before me, just as I remembered him.

“Take my hand Sissy and we can go.” He extended his tiny hand for me to take it. I stared at it for a second, not sure what to do.

“I...I can't, Ash. I'm so sorry. I love you.” I was crying my eyes out as I left the sad, disappointed entity that was my brother behind in that room. I slammed the door shut behind me. I gathered my most important belongings and headed for the garage. After my stuff was safely in my car, I found some gasoline and matches. I set the whole house on fire, got in my car, and drove straight to the fire station to report it.

When I returned to check the damage, the whole house was gone. Absolutely everything was gone.

I drove away, and never looked back.