A small child walks silently to you. She is so frail, no expression on her face. Your eyes meet with hers and you see such immense pain. She reaches for your hand. At first you feel the need to pull away. But curiosity gets the best of you. You lay your hand inside her tiny, cold hand.
Without a word she turns, pulling you towards darkness. Her pace, steady and slow. As if she has made this journey a thousand times. Or maybe....never at all? You begin to think to yourself....."Why is she here? Why does she dwell in these shadows?" Quickly she turns to you and says in an innocent and almost "wise" sounding voice...."I am the keeper." She just as quickly turns back and begins pulling you deeper into the darkness.
The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. You feel so much pain and anger in the darkness. As if it is swallowing you whole. It's as if you breathe it in with every breath you take.
Suddenly you stop before a large wooden doorway. There are many locks on the door. The door is filled with deep scratches and dents. You can tell that many have tried to enter with no luck. You look down at the child....she is fidgeting with her long golden hair. You ask..."Are we supposed to try and break this door down or something?" She just smiles and softly whispers to you..."You were invited here...you may enter at any time you like." With that said she steps forward and disappears into the doorway. You look around you, you are alone in the darkness now. But how are you supposed to just walk through that door? Reluctantly you step forward, waiting to bang your face into the wood. You close your eyes, hold your breath and keep going forward.
When you open your eyes you see that you indeed walked right through. The air smells musky. There is a strange chill in the air. You begin to focus in the darkness. You are in a long hallway. Almost looks never-ending. There are doors everywhere. Some covered so deeply in cobwebs that you can barely see the door anymore. The silence of the darkness before is replaced with loud chaotic noise. Car horns, cars crashing, babies crying, people arguing, screaming and shouting. You look to your right. Against the wall, the small child is leaned. Watching you silently. She whispers "Don't be afraid." and approaches you once more.
"Where am I?" you ask. "She is letting you in...letting you peek. We don't get visitors here often." she says as she takes your hand once more. "What are these doors? Why are there so many that are covered in cobwebs?" you ask as you pull back at her hand, not letting her lead you away. "Those doorways are gates...to memories. HER memories. Each one has a specific purpose. Those with the cobwebs are the forgotten ones. No one ever goes into those. It just isn't allowed."
With that being said she pulls harder at your hand making you follow. Suddenly you can hear a faint soft cry. A small child crying. You can feel such sorrow in her tears. It's quite strange though....you can hear her quiet cries over the loud chaos. "Who is that child crying?" you ask. "We don't go by names here, only ages. That is 9. We have to keep her locked up. Last time she was let loose....she created such chaos." You feel saddened and slightly scared but you follow the small child as she leads you further into the hallway. Not knowing what you are about to see. But curious.
