A young girl, Maddy, has Nyctophobia, or a fear of the dark, and goes to sleep with a nightlight on every night. She usually wakes up in the middle of the night and bothers her parents. Her parents are upset by this, as they want to sleep. They begin to turn off the nightlight after the girl falls asleep, assuming that it is the light that is waking her up. However, the girl continues to wake up in the middle of the night. Without her light, she is more upset and continues to wake up her parents. Maddy’s parents make a deal with her: she may have the light on all night if she agrees to not wake them up unless it is urgent. Maddy agrees to the deal, and she continues to sleep with her light on all night.

One night, however, Maddy wakes up in the middle of the night and her light is off. She is upset that her parents went back on the deal. Upon further inspection, she figures out that the light is not just off but is missing. Her room is also very cold and appears darker than usual. Maddy decides to use her imagination and find the door from memory—as she cannot see in the dark.

Maddy reaches the location where the door should be, but it is not there. Her mom begins talking with her. Her mom tells her to go back to her room. Maddy explains that she is in her room. They continue in this fashion until the mom realizes that she is laying on the floor of Maddy’s room. She does not know how or why she is there. The mom calls for the father who also eventually is found on the floor in Maddy’s room. Maddy’s parents also cannot find the door, nightlight, or window. They also agree that it is very cold. Time passes, though they cannot decipher how much, and they are not let out. Maddy decides that this is why you should not get out of bed in the middle of the night.