The Seventh Door

The Last Room in the House The house had only six rooms. That’s what the

listing said. Six rooms, recently renovated, quiet neighborhood. On the first night,

Mara counted seven. She tried to laugh it off. Old houses played tricks—mirrors,

closets, angles that didn’t make sense. Still, the seventh door

bothered her. It sat at the end of the hallway, narrower than the others,

painted the same soft gray. No handle. No keyhole. The next morning,

it was gone. The hallway ended where it always should have. Six doors.

No space for a seventh. Mara blamed exhaustion and unpacked her boxes. That night,