The eerie experience makes me slightly apprehensive to see the next room, but curiosity is the best motivator. The next is right next to the door I just left. The golden letters ‘XXX’ hang on the door. Room 30.

A sense of peace washes over me as I enter the room. I cannot explain why I feel so at ease, as if I have been dropped into a warm bathtub. And then I know why. I find a little girl roaming the room. Her hair is like a waterfall of darkness. I try to hide from her, but I do not think she sees me as I move further into the room.

“Are you ready to leave, love?” a voice echoes from the bathroom.

“Yes, mama,” the little girl replies.

A woman finally appears in the room. Her skin pale white and her hair like that of the little girl’s. She must be her mother.

“Come, my love, we should get going. Mommy is waiting for us in the car.”

Two mothers, I wonder. I watch them exit the room and make my way to their bedside table. A photo of me and the lady with the child is planted on the table. Could this truly be happening?

Is this a vision of the future? Some beautiful desire come to life?

“It could all be yours,” a voice says. “Only if you are willing to close the door.”

I stare at the woman, her hair cropped short, but similar in colour to mine. She looks like an older version of me, but more herself and more accepting of who she is.

“We came out, you know, and no one accepted us. Mother never wanted to hear from us ever again. All she wanted was to leave,” the woman says. “Stay here. This is the only peace and acceptance you will ever find.”

I walk across the room and head for the door as the woman stands and watches me. This is not the way to do it, I think to myself.

I find myself back in the hallway. Yet again empty of life.

Tell us: Why do you think our narrator didn’t want to stay in this last room?