"You know the door to Hades is in my cellar, right?"
The old man laughed recklessly, wheezing between each breath in a way that made my lungs ache. He feigned humor, but in his eyes I could read the nervousness.
"Lo, I've been down there but three times. Once as a child, jess lookin' at the big door. Agin as a young man, fightin that curiousness until the pee ran down my leg warm and full. Hehehee. The last time, though, I leaned real close...and damned if that door didn't bulge out, all creakin' and warpin'. Like it was dying to open for me. Beggin' to have me come within..."
