Daring To

Miles longs to see what's behind the door at the top of the stairs. 300-word flash

Daring To

Miles climbed the stairs. Each one creaked in a different voice, but he was determined. The staircase was long and shadowy, but he was not prepared to stop.
At last, he reached the door at the top of the stairs. The knob on it was glass. He reached out to turn it. It was stiff and old, but finally, he managed to turn it enough to open it. The hinges protested, but Miles was too enthralled to notice.
“It’s amazing! I’ve never seen stuff like this before,” he whispered. The minute he stepped through the door, he began to sneeze repeatedly. Wiping his nose on his sleeve, Miles began to explore. Wringers from washers, treadles from sewing machines, moustache cups, even somebody’s wooden teeth! He felt compelled to pick up everything that drew his eyes.
“They call this a box room, and I haven’t seen a box yet,” he said. As if he had conjured it up, a wooden box with a lid came into sight. Fascinated, he cleared off the top and tried to open it. It opened easily as it was hinged. Inside were bundles of rags and paper.
“Why would someone keep balls of paper and cloth?” he asked. There was only once answer he could think of. He picked up one. It was heavy and hard. Closing the lid, he set the bundle on top. As he slowly unrolled it, his eyes grew wider.
“An old-style electric train engine!” he gasped, hugging it to him. After that, he couldn’t have stopped it if he tried.
“Miles, what are you doing?” he heard from the open doorway.
“Look what I found, Mom,” he announced with joy.
“Wow! Let’s take it out. We can set it up to run in a circle in the living room!”