Gemotions

The antique doorknob, cool and heavy in Elias’s palm, clicked with a satisfying finality. He pushed, and the door swung inward with a whisper of displaced air. His heart did a little skip as he stepped over the threshold. Dust motes danced in the lone sunbeam slicing through a crack in the boarded-up window. This was it! His own secret space!

He bounced on the balls of his feet, eyes darting around the previously unseen room. A half-finished chessboard sat on a small table, pieces arranged as if a game had been abandoned mid-play. He ran a hand over the smooth wood of the table, a grin stretching across his face.

“Well, hello there,” he breathed, already sketching out plans for the room's transformation. This was going to be brilliant. He couldn't wait to start.