You Can Only Go Through One

The first one is red. A shiny red, like a ruby, not a dull, dark red. It's flat- no lumps, no windows, no dents. Perfectly perfect. It's too perfect to even be real.

The second one is a bright green, but not appealing in any way. Its paint is peeling, and the green gives off such a strong light it almost blinds me. It's neon. Not very inviting. And yet it seems like the one I should pick simply because of that reason.

I stand between the doors, my eyes darting from red to green and back to red. It's like it's Christmastime all over again.

Which to pick, which to pick.

I stand there for a while, pondering that question. I do not know how long I stand, for there is no way to measure time in this room that decides my destiny. There are no windows, no clocks, no sound. It is just me and the doors.

And that is what makes me anxious.

These doors... they somehow decide my destiny. I do not know how this is, for no one can discuss which they pick and what happens upon their choice. I only know this from my studies in school about the two doors. Enter one, and what lies behind it is your destiny. Enter the other, and that one is yours.

I stare at these doors for a long time, wondering, wondering. Which do I pick?

There are so many consequences to a small choice.

I do not know which door my sister picked, but I know that she ended up an accountant with no husband and two children.

I do not know which door my brother picked, but he ended up with a winning lottery ticket and a supermarket.

Now it is my turn. But I do not know which door to choose.

This makes me wonder- does every person get the same two doors? Or does each person receive different doors, with different destinies?

My sister had slipped one night and accidentally said that she had picked the blue door. But there is no blue door for me. Just red and green.

Red or green…

I snap back to the present. I have been staring and thinking and wondering for a while. I must have been in here for an hour at least. But that is okay. The Kalos know it is a hard decision. They will let me take my time.

The Kalos are the people who bring people into this room to decide their destiny. It is their job to explain everything to us and teach us the process of the Choosing. We must understand everything about the Choosing before we are allowed to enter this room. Then, we are taken to the building of the Kalos, where we are led into this room to decide their destiny.

I look at the doors again. It is just me and them. But why only two choices for my destiny? Surely there are more ways for me to lead my life than just two. Two is a small number. This is a big world. Surely.... surely…

I step towards the green door and pick at the peeling paint. The brightness of the color burns my eyes, but I continue to pull back the thin strip of green, wondering if maybe there is a clue as to which door I should pick behind the paint.

There is not. Just more green paint of the same vivid color.

I glance at the red door. It certainly looks more appealing.

My gaze drifts back to the green door on my right. Maybe they designed these doors to look like this for a reason.

The ruby one is a beautiful door made of strong wood and a pretty silver handle. The green one is an odd green color with peeling paint, dents, and a round gold door knob.

Does this mean the red door leads to good fortune? And the green door to poorness and destruction?

My lips pucker as I look between the doors again. Or could the looks of the doors possibly mean that the ruby door to my left is the safest answer? The safest destiny? The better bet?

And if that is the case, then the green one is bound to have a destiny behind it full of obstacles and challenges. But why would I want a life like that?

My eyes land on the handles of both doors.

There is my anwer.

Is it?

Though the green door is falling apart, it has a gold handle.

Could those challenges behind the green door lead to a better life? One worthy of gold?

Suppose I opened the red door, could that possibly mean that though I have a stable destiny awaiting me, it will not be as enjoyed or as rewarding as the destiny waiting for me behind the green door?

My mind races with a million things that could go wrong with opening the green door, but my heart races with a million things that could go right.

And yet the red door sits there, unnoticed, unwanted, and makes me feel as if picking the green door would be a mistake.

Would it?

My feet shift towards the red door. The color becomes brighter as I come closer, and I put my ear to its cool surface to see if I can hear what might be going on beyond the door.

I hear silence.

I pull myself back. Is silence a good choice?

I move my hand over the handle of the red door. It is a little warm and the silver is slightly faded. This door has been opened before.

I look at the green doors handle. It is shiny and round and new. It is evident that no one has laid a hand on it.

I step back and observe both doors silently. These doors remind me of an old saying my teacher taught me in English class.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.”

I suck in a breath as I recite the poem in my head.

Did Robert Frost regret his decision?

If I try to open the green door, will I?

Thousands of emotions fill my body, going from one part to another, all trying to influence me to do this and do that.

But I already know what I am going to do.

I take a step forward. Then another. Then another.

And I open the door on the right.