JD's Daily Writes 21 Nov 24
Up in the attic, Adam flicked the lights on and looked around at all the clutter and junk that had been collected over the years. Covered with drop sheets and those with a thick layer of dust. Slowly he made his way around the attic, stepping over some items, and pushing past stacks of other items. He had always avoided the attic as a child, as it spooked him.
It still unsettled him now, many years later.
He had nearly made it a complete trip around the attic, looking for a door. Not seeing anything that even closely resembled a door. No frame, no doorknob, nothing.
“Was Grandad playing a practical joke on me, just before dying? That’s a bit off.” He thought to himself as he neared the attic hatch.
Just as he reached it, a door materialised in thin air behind the hatch, causing Adam to jump back, falling into a stack of cardboard boxes.
Struggling to get up for a few seconds, he finally got to his feet looking at the door. Or where the door was.
“What the hell?”
He stepped towards the hatch, and the door appeared again.
“Woah!” Adam exclaimed. “That’s so cool.”
He stepped around the hatch and approached the door. Noticing the lock on the left-hand side with gemstones around a circular opening. Designed to fit the key his grandad had given him.
Hastily he pulled out the key, looked at it, then looked at the lock.
“Grandad said not to,” he thought, “but he didn’t tell me all I needed to know. What am I protecting?”
He stared at the key then the door, back to the key, back to the door.
Finally, his curiosity won out, he stepped up to the door, lined the gemstones on the key with the matching gemstones on the keyhole, and then pushed the key in place.
Nothing happened.
Puzzled, he stared at the key for a few seconds before it dawned on him.“Turn the key idiot.” Adam laughed at himself as he turned the key.
He stepped back as he heard sounds coming from behind the door. Like cogs and chains moving, grinding. Peering around the side of the door, all he could see that was behind it, was more attic.
“Weird.”
The door slowly swung open, illuminating the area within in an eerie glow. Adam jumped back again, almost falling down the hatch, startled this time by his reflection in what appeared to be a mirror.
The only thing the door revealed was a mirror that filled the entire frame.
“Wow. That’s it. A mirror?” Adam felt disappointed, not sure what he was expecting, but it certainly was not a mirror.
He stepped towards the mirror and his reflection vanished.
“What the hell?!” he exclaimed, stepping back, his reflection appearing again.
“This just gets weirder and weirder.”
He stepped forward again, his reflection vanishing from the mirror. Then his grandad stepped forward.
Adam froze, mouth agape, as he stared at his grandad.
His grandad started to talk, yet Adam could not hear anything, could just see his grandad mouthing words. Adam shook his head, pointing at his ears to indicate he could not hear anything.
Grandad stopped talking and sighed, his shoulders dropping, appearing saddened by this. He stepped forward and put his palm up against his side of the mirror. Adam instinctively stepped forward and put his palm against where his grandad’s hand was.
A flash of light stunned Adam, blinding him slightly and making him step back several feet. The light burned into Adam’s eyes, and for a moment, the attic felt like it was spinning. The air around him thickened, pressing against his chest as though he were sinking underwater. Then, it all stopped. He looked back at the mirror apprehensively, expecting just to see his reflection. Instead, he could see Grandad and his attic.
“Weird. What is going on here?” He thought to himself.
He walked back towards the mirror, noticing everything was dark around him, he could not see the attic anymore.
“Ahh, the flash must have been the lights blowing.”
“But, then why is the attic where Grandad is, lit up?”
He recalled that he couldn’t see anything else reflected in the mirror when he first saw his grandad. Adam frowned, when he got to the mirror, he could no longer see Grandad, he could see… himself.
“What?” Adam was getting confused.
“Grandad? What is going on? I can’t see you now, only myself.”
Grandad/Adam looked up at him, smiling.
“I can’t hear you son, but I know you can hear me. I warned you. The youth of today, so curious and impatient. This whole process used to take a few days at least. You’ve broken the record though. Not even an hour since I died.”
Adam looked at himself, his grandad. So confused he could only just stare.
“What? I don’t understand!” He cried out.
“Nor do you listen. I can’t hear you son, but I gather what you are saying is, you don’t understand?”
Adam nodded, feeling disturbed at how his grandad could not only be so nonchalant about all of this but also appear, as him.
“So, bad news, we’ve swapped positions. You have taken my place in death. Good news, I’ve been given another shot at a full life, the wisdom of many lives, with the energy and drive of youth. I have been doing this for, oh boy, I’ve lost count, many many generations.”
Grandad smiled as he watched this information sink in. Adam could just stare at him, horrified, his entire life of bonding with his grandad, all the attention and advice his grandad had given him, all leading to this, this ultimate betrayal.
Adam shook his head no, he could not believe it.
“Oh believe it son. Thank you for your sacrifice.”
With that he shut the door, turned the key and removed it from the door, placing it in his pocket.
Then he walked down the stairs to start his new life as… Adam.
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