Gemotions

The silence of the house was the worst. It pressed in on her, a suffocating blanket. She had to fill the quiet with noise – the television, music, anything. The thought that she was alone in the house made her stomach lurch.

The hidden room was behind a wall in the kitchen. She stumbled upon it while trying to fix the leaky faucet. It was painted black, the walls absorbing the light. The room smelled of mildew and something else she couldn’t identify.

There was a chair in the middle of the room. A single chair. He wanted to leave it, but something in him forced him forward.

As she reached to touch it, she heard a giggle.