Chapter 18

Morning Light

After a while, I started to feel calmer. The strange noises at the door had stopped completely. For almost an hour, I sat very still in my chair, watching the door and listening. My heart was still beating fast, but my breathing had returned to normal. The fire made small sounds in the room, and there was a warm light in the kitchen.

Then without warning, a cold feeling ran down my back. I could not hear anything new, but I felt eyes on me. Something was out there, watching and waiting. Very slowly, a new sound grew in the silence. At first, it was so quiet I thought I might be imagining it. Then it became louder and clearer. It was a terrible noise that sounded like many animals crying out in pain together. The sound seemed to rise up from under the floor, as if coming from deep underground—perhaps from the Hole itself.

I heard a sound and looked down. My book had fallen from my shaking hands onto the floor. I did not pick it up. I just sat there and did not move until the first light of morning came through the high windows with their strong metal bars. The sound had stopped during the night, but I had been too afraid to move.

As light filled the kitchen, my fear slowly went away. My mind became clearer, and I felt that I should not have been so scared. Had I really heard those sounds, or had I fallen asleep and dreamed them? I picked up my book and walked to the door. I listened carefully. There was complete silence.

After a few minutes, I took a deep breath, turned the key in the lock, and slowly opened the door just enough to look outside. There was nothing unusual outside—just the wet morning view of our wild garden and the trees. The ground was wet, but I saw no signs that anything had been there during the night.

I closed the door again, feeling the cold morning air. As I walked quietly up to my bedroom, I wondered about the link between my strange journey, the animal at the window, and the sounds in the night. Was the Hole a way between worlds? I had many questions but no answers. I knew one thing for certain—I would need to explore the Hole again, but next time I would be ready.