⚠️ Cautionary

by Laurence Raphael Brothers

 Kim was walking home from work when she noticed the door in a blank brick wall. She was sure it wasn't supposed to be there; she walked past every day without seeing it. The door panel featured a wood carving depicting a minotaur in such high relief it appeared to be emerging from the doorframe.

Kim raised her hand and put her palm up against the minotaur's belly. The door swung open at her touch and Kim walked through, into another world. Just as she'd hoped.

She stood on a low hill, carpeted in grass greener than any she'd seen before—even in video games. The door behind her was freestanding, isolated from any wall, its carving a minotaur’s backside.

It was a sunny day in early summer when she came through, and under the pure blue dome of the heavens, a cloud drifted, impossibly white and fluffy. Off to one side of the hill, lush meadowland stretched to the horizon, fields of green and golden grass stippled with wildflowers: purple, red, and white. The pleasant humming of bees could be heard from there. In the other direction lay a forest, massive old-growth trees with thick canopies of leaves so dark green they were almost black. Paths pierced the woods here and there, and Kim had the sense something vast and patient was waiting there—waiting just for her. The meadowland was idyllic and serene; it should have been far more appealing than the forest, and yet… there was something about the dark wood that called to her.

"Hullo," said a voice. "This must be your first time."

Kim turned to see a woman dressed only in a lilac sarong. She wasn't quite human, her pale green skin and hair, pointed ears, and violet eyes making it obvious.

"My name is Moira," said the woman.

"Uh, I'm Kim."

There was a moment when she thought, Okay, now is the time to ask if there's a catch to all this, but then Moira took a step closer and forgot what she was going to say. The strange woman’s eyes were violet whirlpools and Kim thought drowning in their depths might not be that bad.

Later, Kim was lying on her back on a bed of flowers in the golden meadow, Moira beside her, holding her hand, as they gazed at the clouds floating overhead.

"There's a couple of things about this place you should know." Kim sat up, and Moira rose with her.

Here we go, Kim thought, the catch. I knew there'd be a catch.

Moira angled her chin up the hill, towards the freestanding door frame." When you leave, you can find the door again whenever you're alone just by looking for it on a blank wall."

"Sweet!"

"But there are two rules. First, when you go back you can't tell anyone else about this place or the door will never appear for you again."

Kim smiled. "That's easy enough."

"Number two," said Moira, "deep in the forest there's a dark tower."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. And in the tower, there's a doorway to the basement. Whatever you do, don't go down there."

"Not a chance," said Kim. "Not a chance."

Moira just smiled.

60 years later....

"About that second rule," said Kim. She'd visited Moira almost every day over the course of a lifetime. The green-skinned woman looked just the same as the first time they'd met. And while Kim was here, so did she.

"What?" Moira looked up at her.

"You know I've never mentioned it before, never even gone into the forest to look for the tower." From time to time, they'd approached the boundary of the forest, but though the depths continued to hold a strange allure for Kim, Moira seemed to regard it with revulsion, so they'd never entered.

"Yes," Moira smiled. "You've conformed to the rules without exception."

"Well, I was thinking. If I don't just stay here, eventually I won't come back, because I'll be dead. You know, of old age."

"But you could just stay here. With me. I'd like that very much."

"Yes," Kim said, "that's what I was thinking too. But the thing is, it's been so easy not to break the rules. You've always been here for me, and I've never asked why. I've deliberately avoided it, you know? But maybe you really want me to open that door? Maybe something is preventing you from telling me this?"

"Why would you think that?"

"It's just, you know, how I would write the story," Kim said. "And I've been so greedy all these years, so happy to be with you, to have this place as a refuge. Maybe I haven't been following the plot. What I wanted to say is it hasn't been hard at all. If I was on my own, I'd have explored the place long ago. But for your sake, it's been easy to avoid. The only reason I'd ever go there is if you wanted me to. If you wanted me to, I'd do it no matter what was down there."

"But what if I can't tell you?"

"Yes," Kim said. "But maybe you can without words. If you know I'm willing to do anything for you. I feel like it's a debt I've needed to pay for a long time now."

Moira said nothing. She kissed Kim lightly on the lips and got to her feet. Kim rose as well, and Moira took her hand. Kim followed as she walked silently into the forest. Under the dark green canopy, through the quiet shadowed paths, soft with ferns, rich with the scent of humus and decay. They walked together all the way to the dark tower. All the way to the basement; to the end of the story.

Moira walked back to the hill, alone. A new girl was there, looking around with wonder and curiosity clear on her face.

"Hullo," Moira said. "This must be your first time."

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