The Girl in room 17

My name is Lily, and I am 15 years old. I have lived at Rosewood Orphanage for almost five years. I don't remember much about my parents, and whenever I ask about them, the adults always change the subject. I have always been curious about my past, but nobody ever tells me anything. Sometimes I feel like everyone knows something about me that I don't know.

Rosewood is a really old building. It has big windows, long hallways, and wooden floors that make loud creaking noises. During the day, it is usually loud because all the kids are running around and talking. But at night, it is completely different. It gets so quiet that you can hear every little noise. Sometimes I hear footsteps in the hallway when nobody is there. The adults always say it is just the old building, but I don't believe them.

There is one hallway upstairs that I have always wondered about. At the end of it, there is an old wooden door with a brass handle. We are not allowed to go near it. The adults say it is just a storage room, but I don't understand why we aren't allowed inside. One time I asked one of the workers about it, and she got serious and told me to stay away from the door. That made me even more curious.

One night, I woke up around two in the morning. Everyone else was sleeping, but I heard three knocks coming from upstairs. I sat up and listened. Then I heard them again. Knock. Knock. Knock. I thought maybe one of the workers was upstairs, but then I heard a little girl whisper my name.

"Lily."

I got out of bed and quietly walked upstairs. I knew I probably wasn't supposed to, but I really wanted to know who was calling me. When I reached the end of the hallway, I saw the old door. I reached for the handle, but before I could touch it, the door slowly opened by itself.

I stepped inside.

The room was dark and dusty. There were old boxes and a desk in the middle of the room. I walked over to the desk and saw a bunch of papers. I picked one up and almost dropped it when I saw my name on it.

LILY MARSH — AGE 15

I started reading the paper. It said that I had been brought to Rosewood when I was a baby. I already knew that, but then I saw something that I had never heard before.

At the bottom of the paper it said, "She must never find out about Room 17."

I had never heard of Room 17 before. I was about to read the rest of the paper when I heard someone humming behind me.

I slowly turned around and saw a little girl standing in the corner. She looked about seven years old and was wearing an old white dress. Her hair was covering most of her face.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She didn't answer. She just pointed at the wall.

"What are you pointing at?" I asked.

She slowly looked at me and whispered, "You need to remember."

Then she disappeared.

I stood there for a few seconds. I was scared, but I was also curious. I walked over to the wall and tapped on it. It sounded hollow. I pushed on it, but nothing happened. Before I could try again, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

I grabbed the paper and ran back to my room.

The next morning, I looked at the paper again. But all the words were gone. It was completely blank. I knew what I had seen, but I couldn't prove it to anyone.

I told my best friend, Mia, what happened. She actually believed me. That night, we decided to go upstairs together to look at the room. We waited until everyone was asleep and quietly walked down the hallway.

The door was still there.

We opened it, but the room looked completely different. The desk and boxes were gone. Instead, there were pictures covering the walls. There were pictures of kids, families, and people I had never seen before.

Mia walked over to one of them.

"Lily, look."

I walked over and saw a picture of the little girl from the night before. Under the picture was her name.

Rose.

Then I saw another picture.

It was a picture of me when I was a baby.

I was standing next to Rose.

I stared at the picture because I had no idea how that could be possible. I didn't remember ever meeting her.

"That's me," I said quietly.

Mia looked confused. "How could you have a picture with her?"

"I don't know."

Then we heard three knocks coming from behind the wall.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

I walked closer to the wall. I was scared, but I wanted to know what was behind it. I pushed on one part of the wall, and it moved.

There was a small hidden room behind it.

Inside were old boxes and files. One of the files had my name on it. I reached for it, but suddenly I heard someone whisper right next to my ear.

"Lily."

I turned around.

Nobody was there.

Mia grabbed my hand, and we ran out of the room as fast as we could.

The next morning, the door at the end of the hallway was gone. There was only a plain wall where it had been. When we told the adults, they didn't believe us. They said we probably imagined the whole thing.

But I knew we didn't.

Later that day, I went back to my room and found my silver necklace sitting on my pillow. I always wore that necklace, so I knew I hadn't left it there.

I picked it up and noticed something scratched into the back that I had never seen before.

ROOM 17.

I stared at it for a long time. Then I remembered something. When I was little, I used to have nightmares about a little girl named Rose. I had always thought they were just bad dreams, but now I wasn't so sure.

I looked at the necklace again.

Maybe Rose wasn't a dream.

Maybe she had been trying to get my attention this whole time.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about the picture of me and Rose. Around midnight, I heard a noise outside my bedroom.

It sounded like someone walking slowly down the hallway.

Step.

Step.

Step.

I sat up in my bed and listened.

Then I heard three knocks on my bedroom door.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

I didn't move.

Then I heard Rose whisper my name.

"Lily."

I looked toward the door.

This time, I wasn't scared enough to hide.

I whispered, "I know you're there."

Everything became quiet.

Then the door slowly opened.

There was nobody standing outside.

But on the floor was a piece of paper.

I picked it up.

There were only five words written on it.

"Come find me, Lily."

I looked down the dark hallway.

I knew I should probably tell someone, but I also knew they wouldn't believe me.

So I put the paper in my pocket.

I didn't know who Rose was, why she knew me, or what happened in Room 17. But I was going to find out.

And this time, I wasn't going to let anyone stop me.

Because I had a feeling that Rose wasn't the only one hiding a secret.

No one would believe me.