At 12, Lisa should know better. But for as long as she could remember, the crawlspace in her parent's basement had been a source of unspeakable terror for Lisa. On some level, she knew that her fear was unfounded. It was just a crawlspace; a small, unfinished area of the basement, accessed by a small 3x3 opening in the wall near the furnace. The opening was too small to allow easy access, and the crawlspace itself was just dirt. Many of Lisa's friend's homes had crawlspaces identical to the one at Lisa's house. But the crawlspaces in other homes didn't bother her like the one in her own.

Lisa's basement did have a finished room where Lisa and her sister did their homework and watched TV; the rest of the basement was partially finished, and Lisa's Dad used it as a work and storage area.

Lisa never told anyone about her fear of the crawlspace. She could imagine what her 15-year-old sister would say: "Oh my GAWD, you big baby! It's a frickin' CRAWLSPACE, not a portal into another world!" And Laurie would laugh and roll her eyes, as she did so often when dealing with her little sister.

Lisa's parents wouldn't laugh out loud, but they'd exchange an amused glance, and Lisa knew they'd be laughing at her later on, when the girls had gone to bed. She knew this because she'd heard them do it before.

So Lisa kept her fears to herself, and made sure that when she went downstairs to study or watch a show, she went straight to the Green Room (titled because of the green carpet), and didn't even look in the direction of the crawlspace.

Occasionally, Lisa's Mom would ask her to go down and get a package of hamburger or frozen corn form the freezer in the basement. The freezer was right next to the entrance of the crawlspace, so Lisa would try and find a good excuse for not doing the small chore for her mother. Sometimes her excuses worked, and sometimes they didn't. When she was unable to get out of the request, Lisa would take a minute at the bottom of the stairs (far away from her mother, sister, or anyone else in the house), and whisper to herself, "Just a crawlspace, nothing to be afraid of." She'd repeat this phrase ten times, rush over to the freezer, yank open the door, grab the meat or vegetables, slam the freezer door, and run quietly back up the stairs. The one time she'd run full-out back upstairs, her Mom had said, "What in the heck was that? You don't need to make so much noise! And why are you all sweaty and out of breath?" So Lisa had learned to sprint up the stairs on her tiptoes, almost silently, wipe the sweat off her brow at the top of the stairs, and control her breathing until it slowed down.

The day after Lisa's 12th birthday, her Mom asked her to fetch a package of pork chops from the freezer downstairs. None of her usual excuses worked, so Lisa went through her usual mantra-and-sprint to the freezer. As she wrapped her hand around the cold chops, she was overcome with an urge to look into the crawlspace. She couldn’t explain the urge, nor could she deny it. Eyes wide, she shut the freezer door, and three steps took her to the crawlspace opening.

"...Just a crawlspace...nothing to be afraid of..." a voice whispered. Lisa wasn't sure it was her own, until the phrase was repeated, followed by a low, gurgling giggle. Lisa told herself to TURN AROUND AND RUN, as her nightmare came to life, but instead found herself reaching her arms into the crawlspace's opening.

"...Lisa...come join us...there's more than just DIRT in here..." and the giggle again.

Lisa boosted herself up into the crawlspace and disappeared inside.

Later, Lisa found herself upstairs, enduring her mother's wrath.

"I sent you down for pork chops and you spent an hour down there, and didn't bring the chops up! What were you doing? I bet you were watching TV. That's it, no TV for a week. And go down and get the chops!"

Lisa went downstairs, and got the pork chops. She wasn't afraid of the crawlspace anymore. As she was starting back up the stairs, Laurie came out of the Green Room.

"You got it good, Lisa. I heard Mom yelling at you. GAWD, you are such a BABY. Why don't you just grow up?"

Lisa turned to her sister and said, "Laurie, come here. I've got something to show you. It's over by the crawlspace. You'll like it."

As her sister followed her to the crawlspace opening, Lisa thought an attitude adjustment, courtesy of her new friends, was just what Laurie needed.