The Window Pane

My father died recently, and I never even got to meet him. And yet he still left me his cottage, why exactly? Well, I have no idea, I guess he had no one else to leave it to. At least this was an escape from the city and all the bustling life. The house was grayish-white, probably because it was old. The roof was black, and the windows also had black trim. I assumed most of the trim in the house was black, like the doorframes, the ceiling trim, and most likely even some of the furniture was black. The door was a dark brown, with a silver handle, with a tiny peephole. The yard was surprisingly already cut and flowers were blooming. The lower windows had little planters with some flowers and vines, it also had mushrooms growing in it. The house looked like it had been recently renovated and fixed up, but you can never be too sure. 

I finally decided to step inside from the stone path leading from the driveway. “The door is very creaky,” I said to myself, it’s not like anyone can hear me anyway. Or so I thought. I walked into the living room, but it was dusted and clean. Like it was just cleaned, everything was neat and tidy. Not that I'm complaining, it just seemed weird. I walked around looking for the kitchen, and it was full of plants and decor. It was magnificent, the silver accents matched perfectly with the green from the plants and the black of the trimmings. I almost forgot to check the rest of the house, I looked around for the stairs since this was a two-story house. The upstairs was an open room and a small hallway, I presumed the door led to the bathroom. There were two doors on either side of me, I decided to get into the grey door on my left. It was a master bedroom, perfect for me. But there is one thing that seems a bit odd, all the plants. I love plants but it seems like someone has been taking care of them, maybe my father lived here before he died. But that would make no sense since he gave his house to my mom. I guess this was his second home or something. 

I looked in the rest of the two rooms and what I found was what I expected, the bathroom was at the end of the small hall, and the grey door on the right was to a room with a desk like a work desk. It was pretty cool, but it could use some fixing up. I finally finished unpacking, I shut my trunk and decided to head back inside. But I noticed there is a window at the top of the house that didn’t match any of the windows in any of the rooms. 

“There must be a small attic, I should probably look in my bedroom or the office room.” I walked quickly inside and up the stairs, still curious as to where the door was. I checked the ceiling in my bedroom and there was nothing, but in the office, there was a broken drawstring attached to what seemed to be a door leading up.

“YES!” I yelled as I grabbed the string and pulled it slowly. I had a fear that I would break the string if I yanked it. I almost got hit with the ladder. My heart was racing, but I couldn’t tell if I was scared, excited, or maybe even nervous. I slowly crawled up the ladder and saw not an attic but a chill room, with plants hanging from the ceiling in planters. A table set was placed in the corner, along with a mirror and a few bean bag chairs. There were hanging butterfly lights draped over the rafters and a beautiful paneglass window. It was a picture of a forest with deer, birds, and rabbits. But the window looked way bigger on the inside than on the outside. And it wasn’t just a round window anymore, it was more of a rectangle now.

It seemed to lure me in with the shimmering light and the bright colors. I walked towards the window, reaching out to touch it when my hand went straight through, my body following. It wasn’t a window at all, it was a portal. 

“Where the heck did this window take me?” I said aloud.

I looked at my surroundings closely, seeing an exact replica of the window just without the wildlife. It was much more beautiful in real life than in any pane window you would see. It had a small stream running through the forest, and a whole bunch of tall evergreen trees. The bark was a dark brown, and the grass was light green. There was a mossy stone path leading through the forest.

After a few minutes of contemplating, I finally decided to follow the path and give in to my curiosity. As the saying goes “Curiosity killed the cat.” So if I die it might as well be worth it. I walked down the path for about 10 minutes and still only saw trees, the stream, and a few birds flying around. I was starting to give up hope of finding anything, I tried to convince myself to keep going but I just couldn’t manage to continue. 

I finally decided to turn back, but before I did I heard a yell.

“Hey, over here! I’m over here, by Bear Rock!” A voice yelled, sounding monotone and tired. 

I hesitantly walked towards where the yelling came from, having no idea what Bear Rock was. I slowly crept closer and closer to where I believed the yell originated from. But I saw no one, not even a squirrel or bird. Just nobody. Maybe I was hallucinating or daydreaming. I just decided I didn’t wanna stick around, so I started walking toward the path at a quick speed. I heard a twig snap behind me, which motivated me to start jogging. I didn’t start running until I heard the footsteps running right behind me. 

“GO AWAY!” I yelled as I ran and ran down the mossy path, hoping I didn’t slip. When I finally made it out of the forest I stopped and turned around to see- Nothing? Absolutely nothing! I was running for no reason, did I forget to take my meds or something? I don’t know, I need to get out of here for sure. I observed my surroundings once again, trying to find a way back. I saw a slight glowing off in the distance, maybe it was the portal or window? Whatever it was, I assumed it was the way out. 

I started walking quickly towards the light, slowing down as I got closer. I peeked over a few bushes that were in my way, and saw… Yes, it was the window, I can get home.

I dashed towards the window, jumped through the window, and landed back in the chill room… But everything was gray and bland, all the plants were dead in this room, and the glass pane changed to just black. I ran out of the attic and into every room on the second floor. But it was just the same, everything was bland and all the plants were dead, when I finally reached the first floor I was in utter shock. 

“How did everything go downhill from here? What the heck happened?!” I spoke aloud before I heard a loud beeping sound. I covered my ears, it hurt my head but I knew I had to get out of that house. I stumbled towards the front door and opened it, not checking what was on the other side, and just ran. 

I started falling into complete and utter darkness, I jutted awake, sitting up in a… hospital bed with beeping monitors and nobody around me. A nurse walked in and greeted me.

“Thank goodness! You’re awake!” The nurse exclaimed, she rushed out of the room and called in the doctor. When he walked in he just stared in disbelief. 

“You woke up? Wow, I didn’t think it was possible.” He said looking at the monitors.

“What? Where am I?” I asked, very confused by the situation.

“You weren’t taking your meds for schizophrenia. It caused you to spiral, we had to give you meds to put you into a coma. And we didn’t believe you would wake up.” He spoke in the same monotone voice I heard in the woods. Maybe I confused reality with whatever was going on in that dream.

“So, when can I leave?” I looked at the nurse, then back at the doctor. He had a weird, creepy grin on his face. 

“Well about that… Never. You have to stay here for medical evaluation and then get moved to a mental hospital.” He said still with a creepy grin.

“What? NO, I CAN’T STAY HERE! I NEED TO GET HOME!” I yelled, but everything was becoming fuzzy and blurry. I leaned back on my arms.

“I see the meds are starting to kick in, let’s get her ready for the move.” The doctor said to the nurse. She wanted to say something but decided it was better if she didn’t say anything. I soon passed out and never woke up the same again…