The Fruit Room

I was afraid of some things in my childhood home. Like the dingy, dark, musty basement. The door to the basement was in the center of our home. I liked it shut. It scared me when it was open. I imagined all kinds of things. Creaks and other sounds that conjured up the wildest, frightening imaginations. The wooden steps, without a railing to hold on to, seemed long and dangerous. 

I was afraid every time my mother sent me down to the Fruit Room to fetch a bottle of peaches or pears. I remember getting to the bottom step and running as fast as my legs could take me... through the main room, past the old coal furnace (and that's another very scary thing!) through the dilapidated kitchen, down the short hallway, past the bathroom to the fruit room, which was at the very corner of the basement. I don't think there was a window in that room, because it was very dark. It seems like I had to go to the center of the blackened room and pull a string on the light in order to turn it on. That seemed to be the case in the entire basement which made it more challenging to see. Your eyes would have to adjust to the dark before you could see even enough to feel your way to the light string. With bottles of fruit in hand, I'd run back through the basement the same as I came. I couldn't get back to the safety of the upstairs fast enough. I was too scared to even look behind me. I dreaded the chore of having to go to the basement. I can feel panic coming over me as even as I write. 

Fruit rooms, or storage rooms, are in basements. A very scary place for me. I have never liked basements until four years ago when we built our new home. It is a walk-out basement, full of light. Double french doors lead to a patio, making it even more light and friendly. The basement is completely finished with a family room, game room, theater room, kitchen, bathroom, mud room, and guest bedroom. Our storage/fruit room is located underneath the front porch area. It is fairly small, but large enough for what we need. The entire room is encompassed in cement. We had the finishers build shelves so it feels finished. There is a light switch in the furnace room for the storage room, so getting light is not a problem either. I don't mind going to the basement anymore, although I don't usually go down there unless the kids are up to play, or we have guests, or we go to the theater room to watch a movie. You won't find me down there alone!

Some things will never change. Even though I don't mind the basement in our new home, I won't be down there alone. Basements will always scare me a little. 

Writing prompt # 1: Something that scared you when you were young...are you still afraid?

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