The eerie, cool breeze sent shivers down my spine as I gazed in awe at the mighty old-fashioned mansion standing uninvitingly before me. It felt like one of those moments in a movie where you’ll see tumbleweed going by and no one is to be seen. Confessing bitter truths, it is a fact that I am scared of darkness and my family is sick of mocking me for this.
In my grandparent’s farmhouse in the village, the electricity often goes for a stroll- even overnight! Whenever I go to stay at the farm, my grandparents usually wake up in the morning, to see a cuddly lump between them in the bed, namely me.
So they told me that I had to get over my fear before vacations started, or I could look for another place to spend the summer at. So here I am, with my overnight bag slung over my shoulder waiting for the caretaker of the house of horrors to come and open the door for me. This mansion is the only way to get over my fear of the dark. On the website they promised that spending one night in there will get rid of my phobia like throwing away a gum chewed for way too much time. After what seemed like forever, he finally arrived: an old hunchback with no hair and a jack-o-lantern smile which was way too big for his face showing his yellow, crooked teeth. When night time came, all the light in my room was gone, giving me the shudders. I could hear my gut shouting at me to run away from there and into a bright, happy place. Maybe a candy store! But as I yanked the door, I realized it had been locked. I had no choice but to face my fear and started to prepare myself for the worst. The room I was in was simple. It was of a decent size with black walls that made it look darker, one window, a bed with pillows, quilts and a cupboard to put all my things in. Adjoining it was a bathroom which had a really creepy mirror- ancient style with a thick gold border on the blood red wall. I figured I had no choice, but to sleep in the dark. All night, I kept expecting things to pop out and horrible things to happen. Finally, I fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of birds and the morning sunlight brightening the entire room through that one weasel of a window. I couldn’t believe it! I had gone through the entire night in the darkness and I was still alive! I realized that the dark couldn’t harm me, it just hid bad things that roamed around in the day. And I’m happy to announce; I’m no longer scared of the dark!
Avantika Bahadur,class 8,Modern School, Barakhamba Road