I’d never been afraid of the hallway. The echoes it carried. The voices. The feet. The light that zigzagged across the floor. That landed on the walls. That rained from the ceiling.

It’s always been there to welcome and carry me from one room to the next. And there were always countless rooms. So many open doors. And those doors that were shut were easy to open.

I have my own room, It’s where I reboot. It’s where I go when I’m overwhelmed. I sleep. I cry alone. I bang on its walls. I scream. I sing. The room is filled with little pictures, trinkets, and notions. Filled with good and bad moments that have created me.

The hallway has always been there for me. But not today. Today it’s dark. No echoes. No open doors. Only silence.

I try the doors. Locked. Locked. Locked. Locked. My own room. Locked.

My brain… is just locked.