The Door

He had never noticed a door there before, which was odd. It was pretty hard to miss. It was a bright red door with a sign with flashing lights that spelled out, “Free Admission.” He opened the door just a crack to see what was on the other side. He could see children. He heard the sounds of an organ. And he smelled cotton candy. 

He closed the door and sat down, trying to process everything. How could he not have seen that door? True, he rarely used that room, especially since Clara had disappeared. That was her room, and he didn't want to disturb it. He knew she would return. She had probably decided to visit a friend. Or maybe lost her memory. He had read about such things. They rarely last more than a few months. 

Had Clara ever mentioned the door? He tried to think. Definitely not. She must have installed it while he was on his fishing trip. Any other time he would have noticed the construction.

He thought about the house configuration. The door was facing away from the window, which meant it faced the interior of the house. It would open into the closet in their bedroom. But that couldn’t be. Even though he had just peeked through a crack, it was obvious that it opened to the outside. 

Should he go through the door? A door that shouldn’t be there and that led to something impossible? He was tempted. It sounded like a carnival on the other side. And it was, after all, free admission. What could he lose? 

He decided to go through the door. He tiptoed back to Clara's room and peered in. The door was still there. But it had changed. The door wasn’t red anymore, it was grey. And the sign had changed too. The lights were gone and it didn’t say Free Admission. It said, “Enter at your own risk!” He quickly left the room.

Several times a day he went back and looked at the door. The next time the door was yellow and the sign said, “One Way.” And the time after that the door was pink with gaudy beads and the sign said, “Adults Only.” The third day, the door was grey again, and again the sign said “Enter at your own risk”. That made him think the door was cycling through some sort of pattern.

He started paying attention to the time of day, the color of the door, and the words on the sign. He calculated the door was on a 53 hour cycle. Which meant the red door would be back in 50 more hours. 

When his timer rang, he was ready. He had a small suitcase and a peanut butter sandwich. He didn’t know how long he would be gone. And sure enough, there was the red door, with the flashing Free Admission sign.

He opened the door and walked through. On the other side, he saw arcade games, hot dog stands, and, standing by a carousel, Clara. She saw him too. She ran up to him and gave him a hug. I’m so glad you came, she said. I have been waiting for you.

---

Spiritual questions:

• What door are you waiting for?
• Will you be ready when it appears?

July 1, 2021 - This was written with the Roundhouse Writing Group in Santa Cruz, Guatemala, remotely from Guanajuato, Mexico. The writing prompt for the  session was: He had never noticed a door there before..

This is one of my Parables for the Spiritual but not Religious Series.