Work Text:
The box. The door. The crumbling brick. It begged me to enter. So I did. I reached out, my fingers tracing the grains of the wood. I looked over the details of the blue paint, seeing the gradients in the color where it had faded. I turned the knob, but the door didn’t budge. I frowned, looking around for a key of some kind. When I looked down at the bright red box, I saw a black key shining in the light.
‘Was that box always open?’
I bent down to pick it up, the warmth of the metal surprising me, as it was winter in my town. The key fit perfectly into the lock, and I heard as it clicked open. I turned the handle once more, this time with success. I slowly pushed the door open, gasping in surprise and stepping back at the sight before me. What I saw inside was beautiful.
Fields of rich greens and yellows, pinks, blues and purples scattered between the sea of flowers. I looked around at the pure white clouds that dotted the brilliantly blue sky in wonder. I didn’t notice the door, on its own accord, drift closed and disappear behind me. I walked slowly through the flowers, smelling the sweetness that floated off of them.
The small voice of reason in the back of my mind whispered, telling me that I could never leave this place. As I laid down on the grass, I realized that I didn’t want to. The breeze blew strands of hair behind my shoulders, making me smile. I had heard what people said about food, or places. That they were a little slice of Heaven. Well, I believed that this place was my slice.
However, somewhere else in the world, the same door that brought me here was opening for someone else. But what they saw wasn’t beautiful fields of flowers and bright blue skies.
No, what they saw was fire.