No skeletons in this closet

According to the general theory of relativity, a black hole is a region of space from which nothing, including light, can escape. Although these are thought to be found only in the celestial sphere, there has been mounting evidence that, in fact, they may be found right here on earth.

My parents still live in the only family home that I have ever known, and its 6 bedrooms were an absolute necessity for the passel of children. There were always places to hide, like in the "cubby hole" under the stairs, under any one of those many beds, or in the basement, although you'd have to deal with the "boogey man" if you went down there. However, my mother's closet was the place to be, if you really didn't want to be found. Remember hiding in amongst the clothes at the department stores when you were a kid? Well, that's how it was in "the closet". You could bury yourself in there, with the dresses and long coats hanging down to shelter you, as if you were in a cave. She even had this hanging laundry bag that we'd climb into to hide as well. At times perhaps, there would be more than one of us in there as part of some game, such as hide and seek. It seemed like it was a giant vacuum that just sucked us in, only to release us at some future time.

The "closet" at the top of the stairs provided us with a place to play, but of course, it was designed for a different purpose. There were several rods for hanging the clothes, and my mother even had me add 2 more. There were some built in drawers towards the back which were later removed because it was hard to get at them. She even installed a suspended hanger on the inside of the door. This maximized the use of the space, but seemed to minimize the "personal" space. Closing the door even became a challenge at times.

I remember one Christmas when Mom asked me to "find" some gifts that she had safely hidden away in her closet, and unfortunately for the recipients, they were carefully misplaced in her time capsule. Naturally, after enough time had passed these sorts of things would emerge to be re-gifted. Equally, the wardrobe collection could have provided a time line in fashion history, and some, to no surprise, have come back in style.

The days of hiding ourselves or things in the closet have long since passed, but the closet remains and is perhaps slightly more organized today than in yesteryear. However, it really doesn't matter because I will always remember the memories that came "out of the closet"; and we apparently never lost a soul in that hallowed space because I can't remember ever finding a skeleton in there!