Glowing portal

[mrissa]

Last week I told the_flea_king I would tell this story. So.

I was thirteen, and it was one of the last summers I was spending a long time up at my grandparents' house. (They lived up in the north suburbs, in Brooklyn Park, and my folks and I lived in Omaha at the time.) I stayed in the basement bedroom where Grandpa kept his books and his stamps and everything. So one night I'd been reading, and I set my book and glasses on Grandpa's desk and turned out the light. I tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. And stopped.

There was the glowing outline of a door across the room.

There was no door to the room, just the door down to the basement. I was too old to believe in things like that. I rolled over and screwed my eyes tight shut. A few minutes later I checked again: glowing. Door. Yep.

No. No, I knew there was no such thing, no door there, I was seeing things, dreaming, reading fantasy novels too late at night. I rolled back over. I shut my eyes.

...And had to check again, because -- glowing portal! Come on. You can't go to sleep with a glowing portal in your room, no matter how tired you are.

I put my glasses on, and it was still there. I ventured across the room very slowly, expecting it to disappear any minute. I grabbed at my backpack just in case, not taking my eyes from the outlined light of the door. Just in case. If there was something. Going to get shoes from upstairs would take too long -- it might disappear -- but the backpack I could reach without looking away.

I put my hand out.

It was the door to the cedar closet. It wasn't used as a regular closet, just a storage closet, and so I usually forgot it was there. Grandma had retrieved something during the day and left the light on inside.

But the point of this story is not, ha ha, stupid kid, nothing ever happens. No, it's that to this day, I'm really, really glad that I was the sort of person who checked. I don't like either, "it must be something truly weird," or, "it can't be something truly weird," nearly so well as, "well, let's find out."

Comments

[kimberlycreates.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! My husband is the sort who checks too. Only his was a dream, and he walked right into the wall trying to step into his alternate universe!

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

That's...yes. :)

(Also, I like that you read the right kind of books to know to grab the backpack.)

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Right, I was just thinking that! All the steps of her thinking seemed to be out of books. If you once let the odd thing get out of sight, it isn't there when you come back. Especially if you go tell anyone!

(Houseboat not logged in)

[sksperry.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the fact that you grabbed your backpack is what makes the story, and tell more about the kind of person you are than just about anything.

Cool.

[tacithydra.livejournal.com]

Exactly! The backpack-grabbing was the perfect thing.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Cool story! I like to think that if I met a glowing portal I'd at least poke it with a stick. :)

Since I was in grade school I've always carried a few things that I'd want to have along if I happened upon a portal or stumbled across a dimensional rift or something. (Swiss army knife or multi-tool, my soprano recorder, paper and writing implements. I used to include a small sewing kit. I should put that back in my bag.)

[mkille.livejournal.com]

My reaction in similar situations when I was growing up was: "If it is something truly weird, I better check it out, because that's not the sort of thing I can just let go around potentially causing trouble; and if it isn't something truly weird, I'll feel better once I've confirmed it." Which I don't think is the same as your reaction--I'm not adventurous by nature--but I'm still happy with it. It fits me.

[von-krag.livejournal.com]

You are Rikki Tikki Tava and I claim my 5 pounds...

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

I love the fact that you grabbed your backpack before checking. Not only are you the type of person who checks, you go prepared.

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

How disappointing that it wasn't a glowing portal to another world, but good on you for grabbing the backpack! That's useful! (And if it secretly was a portal to another world and you're just not allowed to tell us, I'm glad you made it back okay. Other worlds can be dangerous!)

I absolutely love it!

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

That is so amazingly cool. I can't begin to say.

And I think you've given me a new line for my .sig collection: You can't go to sleep with a glowing portal in your room, no matter how tired you are.

Yup. That's a keeper, it is.

Re: I absolutely love it!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It's a good rule of thumb, I feel.

And thanks.

[zalena.livejournal.com]

I had a similar experience once. I investigated and there was a completely rational explanation. The point is, that didn't necessarily reduce the mystery of the experience. It seems a responsibility as a person who engages deeply with the world not to believe blindly, but to explore to the utmost of my ability, those mysterious opportunities that come my way. To me that is a more deep engagement with both mystery and life than seeing something and either discounting it, or accepting it on faith.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yes. Mystery and credulity are not the same thing.

[aszanoni.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

I love not only that you are the sort who would grab a backpack, but that I thought worriedly, "M'ris! Did you put food in there for the trip?" to your past self.

(You probably had.)

One of my favorite things on HoloMuck was the wardrobe door into Narnia. Just that someone loved Narnia and made the effort to recreate it - that charmed me.

-hugs- Thank you for sharing the story, M'ris. Thanks to the_flea_king for requesting it!

- Chica

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I always have food with me. Always, always, always. Even then, when we didn't know I was hypoglycemic, we knew that it was a good thing for me to have food available somehow.