I move to the door, darkness pressing down on me.
Not even the moon can shed a tear of light onto my desperate situation.
I slowly pull open my door an inch.
Nothing but a void stares back at me, silently laughing in my face as I strain to see through it.
There is no certainty to what could be lurking downstairs in that abyss, but I must find out.
I pull the door open the rest of the way, slowly but steadily, and step out into the hall.
The air is a little more chilled as I progress toward the stairs, but I brush it off.
That’s how it’s always been here, warm upstairs, cold downstairs.
I touch the wall, searching for the railing.
Upon gripping it I notice that it is ice cold.
Cold is normal, freezing means we have a problem.
Last time the door was left open a little too long and my fingers got stuck to the railing.
Door must be open.
Glancing down the stairs I can see the pool of light created by the street lamp spilling into the open door.
As I thought, wide open, but something was amiss this time…