It started on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The sky was all grey, and thunder was rumbling like a growling dog far away. I was bored, so I was just bouncing my rubber ball in the hallway when I noticed something weird.

Behind this old, dusty bookshelf, the wall didn’t look right. The shelf wasn’t even touching the wall properly. That seemed super strange. So, I gave it a big push. It made this loud creaky sound as it moved. And then I saw something — a secret door!

My mouth dropped open. I had never seen that door before. Actually, my parents had always told me to stay away from this part of the house.

“Never touch anything in that corner,” they used to say. But they never told me why.

And now, there it was. Right in front of me. And I swear it felt like it was calling my name.

At first, I told myself, “No way, Salaar, this is probably a bad idea.” But I couldn’t help it. I had to know what was behind that door. I reached for the handle. It was freezing cold, like ice.

I opened it super slowly. It made the creepiest sound ever, like in a scary movie. Behind it was a staircase going down into the dark. I stood there for a second, and then started walking.

It was chilly. Really chilly. I started counting the steps — 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 … I don’t even know how many more there were. My legs were shaking a little. I slipped near the bottom and bumped down the last few steps like a sack of potatoes.

“Ow!” I sat up, rubbing my back. I was in a huge underground room. It was full of old, dusty furniture and spider webs everywhere. The whole place smelled weird, like wet dirt and something ancient.

Then I saw it. An old coin lying on the floor. It looked kind of shiny, even though it was super dusty. I bent down and picked it up.

The second I touched it, lights started blinking. And then — “BANG!”

Something slammed shut really loud.

“Who’s there?” I whispered.

Nobody answered.

Then I heard voices. First really quiet, then louder. There were creepy laughs, and also crying and yelling. My heart was thumping like crazy. I crawled under a broken table and hid. I stayed there for a while before I peeked out.

And then I saw something I’ll never forget. A tiny toy bear was sitting in the corner. Its fur was all messed up and dirty. Its eyes were glowing red. Then its head turned toward me. Slowly.

“Hello, Salaar,” it said in this broken, scratchy voice.

I screamed. Then I heard another voice, one I knew, “Salaar! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes. My mum was standing over me, shaking me awake.

“It’s time for school,” she said, smiling like nothing had happened.

It was just a dream… right? But later that day, when I walked past the hallway, I saw the bookshelf again. And behind it I saw the secret door... I don’t think it was a dream at all.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 14, 2025