The rain tapped lightly against the windows of the Pink Palace, filling Coraline’s room with the soft, steady sound of gray skies. You sat cross-legged on the floor, flipping through one of her old comic books while Coraline sprawled on her bed, tossing a rubber ball into the air and catching it.

“It’s always raining here,” you muttered, not really complaining, just observing. “Does it ever stop?”

“Sometimes,” Coraline said. “But don’t hold your breath. The sun’s kind of shy around this place.”

Everything in her room felt lived-in and slightly out of place, like her. Like you.

Coraline sat up suddenly. “Hey,” she said, voice low, like she wasn’t sure she should say anything at all. “Have you ever noticed that little door in the drawing room downstairs? The one behind the wallpaper?”

You blinked. “There’s a door behind the wall?”

She nodded, eyes lighting up with something between curiosity and mischief. “Yeah. It’s weird. I asked my mom about it and she said it’s just bricked up. But…”

“But what?”

Coraline hesitated, then shrugged a little too casually. “Nothing. Just… I swear it wasn’t always bricked up.”

You raised an eyebrow. “That sounds creepy.”

Coraline smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Not creepy. Just… different.”

There was a beat of silence before she hopped off the bed. “Wanna come see it?”

You didn’t answer right away. Something about the way she said it made the air feel heavier. But you stood anyway, curiosity rising in your chest like a spark.

“Yeah,” you said, brushing off your knees. “Sure. Let’s see the weird door.”