Toris shut his eyes as gently as a feather's drop, exhaling quietly, his breath rattling in an unsettled manner in his throat. It had been three years since the passing of his late mother. A worn, small piece of paper was gripped in his long, thin fingers, and sighing in a comforted manner, he read it once again,

"Toris, I love you."

Those were the last bits of the letter his mother had sent to him when she was overseas. She had been an old-fashioned lady, and repeatedly mentioned how writing letters felt more sincere, and that she enjoyed it more anyhow. Toris glanced at the picture of them on his wooden nightstand, warmth enveloping his chest. Those green eyes, bright, and sparkling with light, mixed with the creamy locks of her hair. Her face was a memorable one; she was a cheerful woman who wasn't easily forgotten.

She had perished soon after his parents had gotten back from that overseas vacation, and he didn't find out until a week afterwards; his school had a week-long field trip, which was a rare occasion, so he had jumped at the opportunity. If only he hadn't gone, maybe he could have said goodbye to his mother . . . but it was too late for that now. Toris slipped off his bed and took a book from his shelf, one that was a dark maroon with golden designs, giving it a medieval and somewhat magical look.

His mother had left a key in it for him. A note attached read, "I have a little game for you, but you can't tell anyone else, promise? Let's play hide and seek. This key unlocks something very special for me, and you can only open it with this key. If you win the game, you'll find the object and receive my gift. I knew that my time was coming; I've been very sick lately, but I have insisted on working this frail body to its limits. I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you earlier, my dearest, but there was never a good time." ~Your mother, Dalia.

For three years, he had searched every nook and cranny of the house when he was alone, which wasn't very hard to do, as his father didn't spend much time at home, since he was busy at work. Toris was still quite cautious nonetheless; his father wasn't . . . a very kind man. Not recently. There was a time where Toris remembered the three of them as a perfectly happy family, living like any ideal family. However, the company his father worked for had started plummeting, and as time passed, his father had started staying up later and later, getting more stressed. He had begun to easily snap, and that led to some things that Toris didn't wish to discuss, but his battered back reminded him of it every time he changed. Moving on from that, we shall now begin the first day of our Basement Adventures! Yay!

At that, Toris audibly laughed, his shoulders shaking. That sounded so childish in his mind. Why did his mom called it hide and seek anyways? It wasn't as if he was a child anymore. He had already been 18 when he got that key, which was just after she had expired.

Toris opened the door to the attack carefully, earning a loud creak. The noise sent shivers down his back. He didn't know why, but he had always hated going down there alone.

RING~! Toris' phone began blasting his ringtone. Startled and a little shaken, he rushed to pick it up, the Caller ID revealing itself as Feliks. "Sveiki."

"Cześć! And you don't need to be so formal with me, Toris, I'm, like, your only friend."

"Ah . . . Sorry. Anyways, why did you call?" Toris turned to changing the subject, his clipped nails scratching at his itching back.

"I'm, like, really bored, and I wanna do something, so can I come over?" Feliks whined, a thing he did frequently.

"Feliks, can you hang out with someone else today? I'm awfully sorry, but I have something important I need to do today." Toris felt his heart chill in fear, manifesting into his mind, breeding into chaotic feelings that caused his entire body to shake, his body unsteady.

"Aww, but Tori, you're, like, my only friend." Feliks protested, unaware of Toris' predicament.

Why not let him? Aren't you scared of the basement? Wouldn't it be better to go with someone? "Aren't you friends with Feliciano?"

"Yeah, but like, you're my #1 friend! And besides, he always hangs out with that weird German guy, and he's way too serious, and totally not fun to be around."

"Haha, thanks, I . . . Alright, if you insist, you can come over. But you'll have to help me clean out my basement." Toris gave in easily, trying to keep his voice steady so he didn't lose face. He didn't want to make Feliks noticed he was afraid.

"Yay, I knew you'd give in easily, lol! I'll walk over, I'm at a nearby Starbucks. Do you, like, want anything?"

"Ah, no, no, I'm good, but thanks for offering." Toris beamed. Though his friend could be unbearably obnoxious, at least his cheerful and annoying air could allow him to let go of his fears a little.

"Okay, see you soon!" Feliks hung up.

"Get over this before he gets here . . ." Toris muttered to himself, sliding down to his knees.

The swirling, screaming, hazy mess of it all overtook his very body. His breath grew shaky, his arms gripping each other's sides to try to calm himself down. It always terrified him, as if some dark monster was down there, biding its time, planning to unleash itself upon him. He closed his eyes, but that only made matters worse. Dark coils of panic began to twist around his neck, choking him, his breath intaking sharply.

The doorbell rang, snapping him out of his nightmare.(daymare?) Toris fast walked to the door and opened it, smiling, "Hello, Feliks."

"Hey hey, Tori~! How are you?" Feliks showed up wearing a long skirt to compliment his white shirt.

"Ah, um, I'm good." Toris shoved down his fears to put on a smile.

"Oh, yay, that's like, good and stuff. Ready to go down?" Feliks sipped through his straw loudly, finishing off the frappuccino in his cup.

"Shouldn't you change . . . ? A skirt isn't really convenient for this kind of thing, you know . . ."

"Oh, okay." Feliks began pulling down his skirt.

"W-W-W-Wait! Don't change in front of me! There's a bathroom!" Toris tried to cover his eyes.

"What, you thought I'd just change in front of you?" Feliks had apparently had pants under the skirt. "Oh, that's naughty and dirty thinking, Tori." Feliks stuck out his tongue and waved his finger in a 'no' gesture.

"No, I just thought . . . Never mind, it's fine. You can throw away your drink in the trash, and then we should really start. Before my dad gets home. He's unpredictable, so I don't know when he'll be home."

Feliks nodded and walked into our kitchen, tossing the cup into the trash. Stretching with a slightly tired yawn, Feliks walked back Toris' way, linking arms with him. Toris didn't say anything, not wanting to appear flustered, and, opening the creaking, old door, descended into the dark basement.