So the portal was definitely there. I gave it a day and my front door still opened to some open field to somewhere I’d never seen before.
I figured it was time to step through and see what was going on. I put actual clothes on for what felt like the first time in a week, tied up actual shoes instead of just slippers, and prepared myself to step through my front door.
Yep, it was still there. I opened the door and it was a nice day again on the other side; still a sunny open field with hills in the background. I pushed some bags in front of the door for a makeshift doorstop, the last thing I wanted was to get trapped on the other side in this world I knew nothing about.
I stepped outside and I could feel the hard timber floor give way to soft grass. The sun bathed my skin in its warm radiance, and the breeze flicked my hair against my shoulders.
I turned back to see what my front door looked like from this side. My door was set in the trunk of a massive tree, one that sat at the edge of woodland where the field crossed into a dense forest.
No one must come this way. The glossy white door stands out against the ancient brown trunk of this massive tree. My first inclination would be to try open the door if I walked past and saw one carved into the side of a tree.
I looked around, I couldn’t see fences or roads anywhere. That was probably for the best, it was chilling to think someone could walk past and try work their way into my flat.
I walked around some more, always keeping my front door in eyeline, making sure I could run back in a reasonable time if something happened. What exactly? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what this place was or what I could find here.
Then I decided to try it. I went back into my place, got my keys and grabbed a bar from the pantry. I guess I figured that would get me by for food if I got trapped on the other side of my front door. The keys were in case I locked myself out somehow. Nothing would be worse than trapping myself in some other world because I didn’t bring my keys with me.
I stood out in the field, facing my front door, now carved into a tree. I pulled the handle and closed the door. I stood there for a moment with my hand on the door, as if there was a physical connection between myself and the portal, that if I took my hand away I’d be trapped here forever.
No, I had to do this properly. I took my hand off the door, and turned to face the field. It was an odd sensation – there was all this open space, yet I felt like I couldn’t explore any of it. I felt like I had an obligation to stay here, on the other side of the tree, in my expensive and mouldy flat.
I turned back and opened the door. My flat was still there, just as I had left it. I tried another step. I closed the door and locked it. I tested the handle to make sure it held, then I walked around the tree.
The forest stretched on and the sunlight faded fast in the thick canopy. This wasn’t a jungle arrangement where wide, flat leaves blocked out the sun. Just the sheer height of these trees meant sunlight would hit a branch or a thicket of leaves before hitting the forest floor.
It was nice, there was a peacefulness to the place, a freshness in the air of somewhere undisturbed. I wondered if I was the first person to come here,? Not just from my world but wherever this place was as well. Could this be a place I could truly call my own?
I went back to my front door and unlocked it. The door opened and sure enough there was my flat again, same as before. I decided that was enough adventuring for the day and went back inside.
I took off my shoes and I was wondering, is there a way I can show this to people? Can I prove this exists to someone else? And even then, who would I show it to?