Charlotte, an inquisitive fifteen year old, has a narrow face; light ash hair, pale skin, rosy cheeks and an impulsive personality. She babysits for the Miller’s, who are eccentric. They have four rules, but the main rule is, Never Open the Locked Door.
She was curious about what was behind the door, but she respected people’s rules. But today something was different. When the parents left, they reminded Charlotte about the locked door. Inquisitiveness was getting the best of her. She spotted the keys on the desk, snatched them and dashed to the locked door. Suddenly, she felt a breeze coming from behind the old tattered burgundy drapes. She moved towards the door and froze. As she placed the key in the lock she heard voices, she quickly put the keys in her pocket. She saw the kids. “Charlotte, you’re not allowed to be here” Douglas said frantically, Charlotte interrupted, “your parents gave me permission.” “They would never give permission”, Douglas said. “She’ll learn,” Mara mumbled as they left. Those kids know something, Charlotte thought. She put the key in the lock and pushed the door open. She stepped into a very dark, cold and musty room. Charlotte scanned the room and didn’t see anything. She turned to exit the room when she felt a spirited gust of wind that propelled her to the floor. Scrambling to get up and out of the room, she frantically closed the door.
The parents returned and Charlotte went home. At home, Charlotte tried to assure herself things were fine.
Charlotte returned to the Miller's house. When she arrived the parents were sitting in the dining room. “WE WARNED YOU CHARLOTTE! WE TRIED TO PROTECT YOU!” the Millers shouted. “I'm done with this crazy family, I quit!” Charlotte spun around and left. When she arrived home she ran to her bed and cried. The week was stressful. She didn’t think that she would have to worry about paranoid parents, silly kids or the door. But she kept hearing the parents saying we warned you.
Lying in her bed, Charlotte started drifting to sleep when she heard what sounded like footsteps. The footsteps grew louder. “Who’s there” she said in a fearful voice. Suddenly she heard the creaking door open; she looked but no one was there. She got up, grabbed her flashlight and shone it towards the door. She saw nothing. She suddenly felt an excruciating pain in her back pulsating down to her toes. The pain got worse and she fainted.
The next day she felt surprisingly refreshed. She felt weightless and tingly like an outer body experience. When she looked at herself in the mirror she was transparent. She screamed, but she was voiceless. She looked around and realized she was in the room behind the locked door. The one room that was restricted, but now she understood why. Charlotte had learned one thing from this experience, curiosity is a disease, and she has concluded that there is no cure.