Come to me

The door didn’t belong. Its sun-bleached brown paint was faded and had deep wrinkles embedded from top to bottom. It stood out, juxtaposed by the forest’s vibrant greens and deep browns. The frame stood firmly planted, as if it had roots just as deep as the trees that surrounded it. Something about it felt ominous, it was just as inviting and as it was menacing. I told Sarah to ignore it, which happened to be the last thing I said to her.

I had told the police everything about 24 hours ago. I even showed them the picture of the door she sent, captioned, ‘Found it!'. They gave me a patient but patronizing look and said they would 'look into it. Bullshit. The look on their face told me it was not going to be a high priority, so I decided to look for her myself.

I needed more information if I was going to be able to find her. A simple picture of a door in a forest that I had never visited…well, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sarah was constantly visiting different forests. She was enthralled with ideas of folklore and magic, and how they were intertwined in nature. Lying in bed, she would regale me with fairytales about wendigos and seasonal domains beyond our realm. I would listen to her, her green eyes sparkling with joy as she shared her passion with me. More than that, her eyes were unique. Speckled with little bits of yellow. I could look into her eyes forever. It was one of those nights that I realized I loved her.

I knocked on the door of her apartment and her roommate Sam answered.

“Heard anything?” I asked her, hope emanating off of me.

She looked at me with pitying eyes, shaking her head and ushering me in.

“You still think that door has something to do with her disappearing?”

“I do.” I answered with surety.

She sighed. “If you’re so convinced and really want to go searching for this magical door, feel free to go check her room. The police haven’t come by yet, so all of her research on this last obsession is on her desk.”

I walked toward Sarah’s door and I heard Sam say, “Good luck”, lacking any enthusiasm.

Her desk was littered with printed stories of people who have said they had either seen or “lost” people behind the same door. Each picture online was an exact match of the door Sarah sent me.

I picked up one of the papers and read the part she highlighted.

/UnexplainedMysteries subreddit, User TrailBlazer1990

…I swear, one second there was no door there and the next, it was. Obviously, my drunk ass dared my buddy Dave to open the door. He laughed, said, ‘bet’ and walked right up to it. The second he got close to it, his body language completely changed. I heard him begin talking to it in a low and somber tone. It almost sounded like he was reasoning with it. After what sounded like a click of a lock, he opened the door and walked through it. The door slammed shut immediately after he walked through. He was gone. That was three years ago.

I picked up another. This one was a blog written by a girl named Tiff.

My mom passed away about ten years ago. Last week, I went for a hike and the strangest thing happened, a random door appeared. I know this is going to sound unbelievable but I heard her voice, my moms, clear as day, coming from the other side. She was calling my name. I ran towards the door but when I went to open it, I got goosebumps all over my body. It felt like the blood in my veins turned to ice and I could tell that the presence I was feeling was not my moms. I started to back away. I looked behind me to make sure I wasn’t going to trip over anything and when I looked back, the door was gone.

After reading several more of these stories, I was convinced that this door existed. Thankfully, Sarah had done most of the work for me to be able to locate it. Amongst all the papers, I found a map with three possible locations circled in red ink. Only one of the areas circled was encompassed by forest, the other two either faced a mountain or a cliff.

----

It’s mid-day and I’ve been walking through the forest for the last hour. My thoughts are interrupted by birds singing to each other and gusts of wind rattling the leaves like muted rain sticks. The sun peaks through the branches, warming my face on what would be otherwise a cool autumn afternoon. For all intents and purposes, this would have been a beautiful and relaxing walk-if I wasn’t searching for a malevolent door.

I walk for another fifteen-twenty minutes before I realize there are no longer birds chirping and the air itself feels stagnant and heavy.

“Leo.”

I stop abruptly, my palms beginning to sweat with the sound of my name being whispered aloud, as if the forest itself was calling to me. I turn around and I can’t believe what I see.

Before me is the door. The same door, battered by time and weather, sinister and alluring.

“Leo, please, help me”. Sarah's voice pleads.

It’s her. It’s definitely Sarah’s voice. My chest tightens and tears fill my eyes.

“Sarah?” My voice cracks.

“Yes.” She answers, “I’m stuck here, please, open the door, I need you”.

I start to walk up to the door. I know I should be thinking more logically, but I can’t. It’s her. It’s Sarah. The closer I get, the strong the smell of damp moss and rich mahogany waft from the door. The woods are eerily quiet, as if nature itself was trying to distance itself from the incongruent object planted inside of it.

I look at the doorknob; it glitters with onyx colored Victorian glass. I try to turn it but it's locked.

“You have to ask to enter.” She says patiently.

“Can I enter?” I ask calmly, even though my heart races.

“Do you love me?” She implores.

“I do.” I answer without hesitation.

A small click, the sound of a tumbler falling into place.

“Do you trust me?”

“I do.” I proclaim.

Another click as the final tumbler falls into place.

“Come to me”. She breathes.

My chest feels like it's going to explode as I reach for the doorknob again. There’s a low groaning creak as it swings open and there stands Sarah. I can’t believe I actually found her.

She beckons to me with outstretched arms, still standing behind the open door.

I take hold of her hands, familiar but colder than usual, and she brings me through the threshold.

“I thought I’d lost you.” I say, pressing my forehead against hers.

“Never. We’ll be together. Forever.” She says in a sweet yet hollow tone.

I look up to stare into her beautifully joyful green eyes and realize too late the mistake I made. There are no flecks of yellow. They're just a deep matt green, more sinister than joyful. I stare at her as her smile widens unnaturally, as if too big for her face. The door swings shut, and the forest disappears.