I live in a castle.
It's not a big castle like the ones in books, but it has tall wooden walls, a small round window, and a floor that sings when I step on it. Mama says not everyone is lucky enough to live in the sky, but I am.
She calls it "The Loft" — but I like calling it Cloud Room. Because from the little window near the roof, I can see clouds rolling by like slow, sleepy sheep.
Mama brings me food through the hatch. She never comes in, but I hear her voice every day.
"Lucas," she says, "did you make your drawings today?"
"Yes, Mama," I always say.
I draw with crayons she gives me — broken, but colourful. I draw birds, and trees, and once I drew a tiger. Mama put that one on the wall near the hatch. She said, "A brave boy like you needs a brave animal to guard him."
So now, the tiger guards me at night.
There are rules in the Cloud Room.
Mama made them. We even sang a little song about them once.
Rule One: Never open the door at the bottom of the stairs.Rule Two: Never look through the window at night.Rule Three: Never, ever talk to strangers — even if they call your name.Rule Four: Always love Mama. Because Mama always loves you.
I like that rule the most.
Sometimes, I hear sounds under the floor. Thuds. Creaks. Footsteps?
I asked Mama once what they were.
"Ghosts," she said, with a giggle. "Old ghosts who don't like the cold."
"Are they scary?"
"No, darling. Not if you stay in the Cloud Room."
So I stay. I draw. I read the books Mama gives me — old, soft, and sometimes with scribbled-out names on the cover. My favourite is Peter Pan. I like the idea of flying and never growing old.
Mama says I'm safe here.
Better than the Outside.
Outside is loud, mean, dirty.
Outside is full of people who don't understand boys like me.
Outside is where the monsters are.
Today, something strange happened.
When I pressed my ear to the floor, I heard someone talking.
Not Mama.
A deep, rough voice. Saying something I didn't understand.
Then I heard Mama's voice. Not soft and sweet like usual. It was sharp. Angry.
Then… silence.
Tonight, I couldn't sleep.
The tiger on the wall felt like it was watching me.
I looked out the little round window.
There was a light on in the garden below.
And for the first time in my life…
I saw someone I didn't know.
A man. Staring up at the attic window.
Right at me.