Through the Door to Nowhere

The clock struck midnight, and the air grew heavier, as though the world itself was holding its breath. In the forgotten attic of an old Victorian house, a door no one remembered installing had appeared overnight. It was no larger than a closet door, its frame warped and weathered, with no handle or hinges. At its center was an engraving: "Enter, but never return the same."

Eleanor, a restless soul haunted by a life of monotony, stood before it, clutching a flashlight. She’d discovered the door while searching for a misplaced box of memories—old photographs and letters she wasn’t even sure she wanted to revisit. Something about the door called to her, not in whispers but in waves of silence that drowned out every doubt in her mind.

She pushed against it lightly, and it opened—not into darkness, but into a swirling canvas of light and shadow, where time seemed to loop and fold upon itself.

----

Eleanor stepped through and found herself in a vast field under a crimson sky. The grass shimmered like glass, and the horizon stretched into infinity, broken only by fragments of places she recognized: her childhood treehouse, the café where she first fell in love, the hospital room where her mother last spoke her name. Each fragment hung suspended in the air like a painting half-finished, tethered by threads of golden light.

A voice echoed, neither male nor female, soft yet commanding.

"Every door is a choice, and every choice is a story. Which will you choose to revisit, and which will you dare to change?"

She turned to see countless other doors stretching into eternity, each one pulsing with an energy that seemed alive. Some doors radiated warmth, while others exuded an ominous chill.

But one door stood apart—a door with no color, no light, no substance. It was barely there, yet its presence was undeniable. Above it, a single question flickered in shifting script:

"What if you never existed?"

Eleanor’s breath caught. Her mind raced as memories flashed before her. What did it mean? Could she bear to find out? Could she not?

The river of time flowed relentlessly around her, and the decision, she knew, would alter not just her story but the stories of countless others.

With trembling hands, she reached out, the emptiness behind the door pulling her closer.

And then, the door began to open...