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The Story:
My father’s old office is stuffed with papers, dry rotted furniture, and rodents. His death left me with a mountain of work that has to be done, including cleaning out and selling his office building.
Stirring up several years of dust has made the air smokey, and the wooden floorboards creak as I step across them. Everything here is old and dry, having given up any hope of restoration or reuse long ago.
On the second floor, I find more boxes and papers. A mouse scurries across the floor as I keep walking. A closed door at the other end of the room requires little imagination as to the contents it conceals, judging from the rest of the building.
I try the doorknob, but it’s locked—the only locked door in the whole building.
“Miss Filagry? Hello?”
A voice calls to me from the building’s entrance.
“Yes, I’m coming.”
I hurry downstairs to greet a smaller gentlemen, who is wearing a black suit and a blue ball cap. He pulls out a letter from his pocket.
“Emily Filagry, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I have a letter for you. We had explicit instructions to only deliver it directly to you.”
He hands me the envelope and walks out into the rain. The paper has yellowed, so it must be old. It is from my father.
I rip open the envelope, excited to hear more precious words from my father, but there is no letter. Instead, it only contains a golden skeleton key. I already know where it goes.
I run back upstairs, nervous as to why my father placed so much importance on this room. As I approach the locked door, I realize a newfound fear of what is on the other side. But my father would never hurt me, would he?
I slip the skeleton key into the keyhole and turn it until I hear a click. With a slow twist of the doorknob, I give the door a slight push, letting it open itself.
Inside, a woman sits at a computer, typing away. Nothing else is in the room, other than her, her chair, a desk, a computer, and an empty chair for guests.
“Sit down, please, Emily. He’ll be with you shortly.”
“Mom?”
What do you all think of this story? If you want it to be included in the voting for the next short film, be sure to let me know in the comments below!