203 — Swings Both Ways

You know something's not right even when sleeping. Dishevelment in the world can awaken you.

Imagine my surprise when I awoke to see a door standing in the middle of my bedroom. It wasn't a dream.

I don't know if I heard it or dreamt it, but words were spoken: "If you open it, you'll go anywhere and time you wish."

What a gift! The land between sleep and full consciousness is a magic place, when magic is real. Thus, my window to take advantage of this opportunity would close quickly.

I got out of bed quietly so as not to wake my wife. I approached the door. It stood in two dimensions only. Only one part of it stuck out into the third dimension--the doorknob. Well, that must mean something, I thought.

I put my hand on the knob and turned it slowly. Once the door was ajar I opened it farther. It was enough to see myself peaking at me from the other side. Truth be told, "he" probably saw "himself" peaking in from the other side.

Those words of magic I had heard! Where did I want to go? Where did "he" want to go? Were we in this together?

I looked at him. He looked at me. We looked at us.

I stopped.

I realized I was in a very good place at this point in my life. I was raising two happy children. I had earned the love of a good, giving woman for whom I gladly put myself last. My emotional debts had been settled.

Except for this door, I slept like a baby. Always next to my wife, who had not roused this entire time. I regarded her again, just as he had turned his head to regard his own. Yes, peace and contentment were ours. Life was good, because we had made it good.

"How 'bout you?" I asked "him."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'm good, too."

"We" closed the door and we each went back to bed to our wife.

When I awoke, the door was gone. It never returned.

Did it even happen? Did it even matter? I looked at my wife.

No, the door didn't matter.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For Sunday, July 21, Day 203 of the 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge

366 WORDS (without A/N)

Title-accompaniment photo was AI-generated but the doorknob was not.

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THE CHALLENGE GRINDS ON, 366 WORDS AT A TIME:

There are currently three surviving Vocal writers still participating in the insane 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge:

• L.C. Schäfer, challenge originator

• Rachel Deeming

• Gerard DiLeo (some other guy)

Read them. Support them. And choose your doors carefully.