The door behind you
By Daniel Klim
A short story about a man dealing with the beginnings of untreated schizophrenia
“Pwease! One more story! Pwease!”
“No, sweetie. Goodnight.”
Stan closed the Suess book and set it on the nightstand. Their usual nighttime routine always ended with Lizzie asking for an encore.
“More. The Lorak!”
“We can’t do The Lorax now. We already did Thidwick.”
“Lorak!”
Stan sighed and tucked her in.
“Goodnight, kiddo.”
“G’night!”
Stan kissed her forehead, killed the lights, and went to his bedroom. He jumped on the bed and settled in instantly. He was snoring within minutes.
He didn’t get to enjoy it much, since he was suddenly startled by a feeling like someone jumping on the bed.
“Daddy! Wake up! There’s someone in my room!”
Blinking his eyes and reaching for his lamp, Stan looked down at his daughter hiding under one of his pillows.
“What? It’s late. What happened? Who’s there?”
“My room! Now it’s scary. Can I sleep here?”
“Yeah, but- what? Who’s in your room? No one’s there.”
“You don’t see.”
“What happened?”
“A big scary man. I was sleepin’. He was just lookin’ at me an’ I got scared.”
“Let me see. Stay here.”
Lizzie pulled the bedsheet over herself as Stan marched to her room to see. Now alert, he swung Lizzie’s door open but saw only a dark, empty room. He turned on the lights but still saw nothing.
Stan came back to Lizzie and reassured her that everything was safe.
“Tank you. G’night.”
“Goodnight, Lizzie.”
Stan went on the next day, wishing he wouldn’t have to go through that again. To think someone was that close to his daughter and caused her to be so frightened.
It was hard for him to focus at work the next day. Maybe parenting wasn’t for him. Maybe his daughter was too good for him. Stan wrestled those thoughts all day, unaware of what was to come.
For the next two nights, Lizzie burst into her father’s room in the middle of him sleeping, warning him of the “big, scary man” that would lounge around, watching her. Both times, Stan had to prove to her that there was no danger.
* * *
On the third night after the first, everything was peaceful. Lizzie wasn’t yelling, and it seemed like Stan could finally get a good night’s rest. But while sleeping, his eyes opened slowly. It felt like he wasn’t alone. He looked up and was stunned and began shaking.
Lizzie was standing between him and the hallway. Her eyes were rolled back, and she was white in the face. Stan could definitely, very clearly this time, see a large, dark figure standing in the hallway. Staring straight at him.
“Lizzie. Behind you! The door.”
He massaged his eyes and looked up to see the man appear closer, beside his daughter. Stan gasped and rubbed his eyes harder. This time he saw them even closer. Right next to him. His eyes teared up as he rubbed and opened them up one last time. He looked up and saw that he was all alone in the room.
daniel klim
Daniel is a 20-year old writer from Illinois who enjoys poetry and short stories. He has three published poems and is influenced by Gillian Flynn, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Nas.