Opening the door
This part of my story is about two young teens, Rueben the son of an inn keeper and Sara his best friend. Sara's dad also works at the inn and their families have always been close. These two snuck off to go swimming one day and while they were out their village was raided and everyone killed. Rueben (Rue) and Sara find a hidden ring that Rue's father had had. With this ring and a few scraps they took from what remained of their village they set out to find some distant family of Sara's in anther village. We start about 2 weeks in to their trip as they are camping for the night under a big tree.
That night they set up camp in the cover of a big tree.
Rueben used to love sleeping out under the stars, but now that he had to, he was getting very tired of it. The ground felt harder than it ever had before and he always seemed to find a root in his back just as he was just about to nod off. This night was no different. Rue tossed and turned till early morning. Just as the sky started to lighten Rue finally fell asleep.
Rue drifted off then found himself standing in the bushes beside their campsite. He peeked out to see himself standing and looking at his hand. This dream self knelt and placed what looked like the ring on the ground, then stood and stepped back. Then, saying something that rang funny in the ears, the dream Rueben raised his arm and the ring jumped in size from a ring to a large disk the size of a gate. With another word and move of the hand, the dream Rueben started something in the ring. There was a small swoosh and like a wave crashing through the ring, the inside of the ring became like water with a light breeze rippling it. Rue’s jaw dropped. There he stood dumbstruck. He saw his dream self step to the ring and put his hand to the water. As the hand touched the water, Rueben jerked his hand back. It was as if he had touched warm water but his hand was not wet.
“Rue!! What are you doing?!?”
With a jolt Rue found himself wide awake and standing, arm outstretched, just touching the water like stuff.
“Rueben?!?” Sara was standing ashen face a step back and to his right. “What is it?”
Rue turned back to stare at the water in this large ring. He was not dreaming, this was real. He dropped his hand and stepped back two quick steps. “I was dreaming and saw myself do something to we found of my fathers and it became this. I was going to go through it… I think I still should, but why… I … uhm…”
Sara grabbed his hand, “No, Rue! I don’t want you to leave me!”
“Leave you? I was not going.”
“Yes you were!! I woke up and saw you put that water in there and then walk right to it and start to go in. You were going to go in and leave me here, and that is not going to happen. You’re not leaving me. They all left us and I am not… I don’t want to be…”
“I am not leaving you, Sara,” Rue insisted. “I was just dreaming and found myself here and…” He turned to stare at the ring again. “…What is it?”
Rue’s curiosity got the better of him and he walk to the surface again.
“No, Rue. Please.” Sara begged as she grabbed at his back to hold him back.
“Let’s just look at it, Sara. It won’t bite… I think.”
Sara was still scared but had nothing she could think to say so with so hesidency she followed Rue and the two of them walked around the giant ring. The more they looked the more Rue becoming more curious. As they walked to the back they saw that the other side looked more like it was filled with blue shining steal.
“Somehow I don’t think we go through that way,” said Rue.
“Go through? Through to where?” asked Sara, “I don’t think anything can go through it.”
“Let’s test it.”
“Test it? Are you MAD? If you think for just one second that I am going to let you try going thr..”
“Not me,” said Rue growing impatient and feeling more and more like he had found a great treasure and less like this was something to fear. “No not me, but… but something. Something like that tree branch.”
With that Rue grabbed the small branch and started to walk back to the front. “You wait here and see if it comes out. I’ll go…”
“NO!!” said Sara, wide eyed again. “Let me do it. You stay here and watch.”
“Why can’t I…”
“Because you might try going in and that is not happening.” Sara took the branch and walked to the far side, staying as far back from the ring without trying to look like she felt like running away.
“Right, here goes.” And with that Sara threw the branch through the face of the water. The branch flew into the surface and passed through as if nothing was there. Sara jumped back. It had gone through.
“Did it hit you?” she called.
Rue came around with a rush. “You threw it? Nothing came through. It has not changed at all.”
“I threw it and it went right in. It looked like it hit nothing and just vanished. I don’t like it. It just ate the branch!”
“Ate it? You threw it in. It did not eat it.”
“So where did it go?”
“I don’t know.”
They stood there together wondering what to do next. Sara looked around and then picking up the long knife they had found, moved to a low branch of the tree.
“What are you doing?” asked Rueben.
“Well, if we are going to test what this is we may as well go all the way.” Sara cut a long branch off the tree and striped it of it’s branches leaving it a long straight pole. Then she walked to stand before the ring. With a long look at Rueben, she lifted the pole as a spear and advanced on the ring. To Rue she looked like a hunter charging her prey.
Sara stabbed the pole into the middle of the ring, then with a quick gasp, she jump back and dropped the pole.
“What?” asked Rue. “What happened?”
“I hit something.”
“What did you hit?”
“How the heck am I suppose to know what I hit? Does it look like I can see any better than you?”
“Hmm… right. Well, let’s see if it ate your stick.” Rue said with a hint of sarcasm.
Rue stepped forward, knelt, and lifted the pole. It came up as easy as any other pole and as he pulled it back. The pole came out of the water-like surface. The two inspected the pole.
“Nothing,” said Sara.
“Let’s go in, Sara,” said Rue with a twinkle in his eye.
Sara thought it through. The pole went in and came out with nothing wrong, so maybe they could too.
“How about this,” started Sara, “we hold hands and you step in and just take a quick look, and if anything goes wrong, you squeeze my hand and I will pull you out, or if I feel you have been in too long, I will pull you out.”
With this plan set the two stepped toward the ring and took each other’s hands. Sara held Rue’s left hand with both hands. She braced herself and held tight.
Rueben’s mind was racing. What was this thing? What secrets did it hide? Where did it lead? What the heck was he doing? Now that he stood at the water-like edge he suddenly lost his courage. Looking over at Sara he tried to gather some courage. Then, with a rush he closed his eyes and step forward.
Thinking back on it later, he could not remember what it felt like, but as soon as he stepped into the door he was pulled in. Rue moved forward so fast that it pulled Sara right off her feet and into the door. As Sara came through, her feet tangled in the branch she had thrown through the door and she lost Rue’s hand and went tumbling. She landed on a stone floor. From the floor she looked up to a most unusual site. She and Rue had left their world behind.
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