The door was wide open
Unlocked Doors
They say there is a ghost in the school, in the dormitories to be exact. But in a catholic school for girls surrounded by churches, nuns, and gothic buildings, Sulli expected such legends.
However, the first time Sulli saw the long haired silhouette just outside her room’s doorway, a rush of hot fear swept over her spine. A scream tried and failed to crawl up and make its way up to . But it never came out.
Her door was wide open but she remembered closing it before she went to sleep. She didn’t lock it though. She never did.
Frozen, she stood watching how the ghost girl watched her. Her entire being didn’t respond to the instinct of running to the bathroom behind her and locking the door until dawn. Even her breathing stopped. The beating of her heart against her chest was the only sound in the starry night.
“You should lock your door,” she said.
That voice wasn’t familiar to her so it couldn’t be any of her classmates. None of her classmates looked like her anyway, even if she wore the exact same uniform. In that utter darkness, where she couldn’t possibly make out her features, she knew she had never met someone like that apparition.
Finally Sulli felt like she was breathing again. The ghost girl cocked her head to the side, the shadow still hiding her face. The ghost’s eyes emanated a heat that surrounded Sulli. She felt hot even when she wore short cotton pants and a tank top to sleep.
A sound escaped Sulli’s full lips. Not the scream of terror she had been waiting for but a strangled gasp. The ghost girl must have identified the noise as the cue to leave. Without another word she turned and left. The lights of the corridors flickered as they did every night when she passed by. The room suddenly felt less heavy, the doorway seemed to brighten.
In the serene night it took Sulli exactly two minutes to move her feet toward the door and slowly close it. The loud clap was a whisper and the sound of the deadbolt sliding into place was just a hush.
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