The Locked Door

Lila has always been a curious girl. It was what made her so good at science. She had to know the answer and she'd spend hours trying to find it. So of course she wanted to know what was behind the locked door that her mother forbade her to open. And just like misery loves company, a curious mind is also quite imaginative. Her whole life she has spent thinking up scenarios of what it could be. 'It must be a room' she thought at first, since that was the obvious choice. She had asked, begged and pleaded with her mother to just give her a hint. The answer was always the same though. "Lila, if you do not listen to me about anything else in your life. Listen to me about this. Do not open that door". So the days ticked by as the greatest mystery that she could not even solve was behind the door that was next to her own.

"Lila if you don't hurry up you are going to be late" Lila's mother, Mary, called up the stairs. Lila bursts out of her room trying to put on her last shoe as she bumps into 'The Door' as she calls it. She stares at it for a moment and slowly reaches for the handle.

"LILA" Mary shouts, making Lila jump and rush down the stairs.

"Sorry, I overslept" Lila states instead of a greeting.

"Grab some breakfast and meet me in the car" Mary instructs as she kisses the top of Lila's head before walking out the door. Lila does as she's told before following her mother and gets in the passenger seat.

"You have everything you need? All your note cards? All your source material?" Mary asks.

"Yes, I'm going to kill this debate. That other team is not going to know what hit them" Lila replies confidently.

"Good," Mary says softly. They pull into the parking lot of the school and head to the auditorium. Lila heads to the stage as Mary finds a seat. It is not too packed, but these things never are. Mary looks at the topic on the bulletin board. The debate as old as time "God or Science". She sighs and smiles when Lila waves to her.

The debate starts going back and forth, one side building up a point just for the other side to knock it down. It is like a great match of ping pong or chess. One side taking a pawn while the other takes a knight. Only for someone to end up in checkmate, yet no one actually captures the king. Soon enough the match ends in a draw.

"You did so good" Mary says once Lila reaches her.

"We didn't win. We should have. Their points were based on faith and our on facts" Lila grumbles.

"Are you so biased that you don't believe that everything in the world has to have an explanation?" One of the members on the other team asks, Alex, Lila thinks.

"Are you so naive that you believe that God created everything? That science is just a sham to keep kids in school longer?" Lila fires back. This makes Alex smile.

"We should do this again sometime, it was fun. I bet we could find plenty of things to debate" Alex suggests.

"Sure… I'm Lila" Lila states calming down.

"I know… Alex" Alex says before walking away, and at that moment. The locked door is the furthest thing from Lila's mind. She just found a new mystery to solve.

The two get close as time goes on. They talk about anything and everything and of course they debate. About the weather, about which TV show is the best, about where to eat. Their favorite topic though is still the first one that brought them together. Now it is never heated. More fond as they make the same points over and over again. That debate from freshman year of college is at the top of the list. This they agree on, just like they agree a few years later and get married. Lila is no longer a curious little girl with an active imagination. Now she is a woman who gets all the answers she wants through research skills that she has been perfecting her whole life. She no longer lingers in front of the door that plagued her mind for so long. Now whenever she visits her mother in her childhood home she walks right past it without a second thought.

The mysteries that now plague her mind are a lot more stressful and do not leave a lot to the imagination. The current mystery is how to raise a child. She and Alex just found out she is pregnant with a baby girl. Their joy is also filled with sorrow as Mary just found out that her time on Earth is coming to an end.

"It's going to be ok" Mary states as she cups her daughter's cheek.

"I don't want to do this without you" Lila replies crying.

"You may not want to, but you don't have a choice my dear. You have grown into an amazing woman and your daughter… My granddaughter is lucky to have you" Mary says, smiling softly.

"Mom, I-" Lila cries.

"Honey, I'm not dead yet. Let's save the tears for the actual occasion, ok?" Mary says, wiping the tears off Lila's face.

"Ok" Lila agrees sniffling. Lila spends as many bittersweet moments with her mother as she can. It is a few visits later that she remembers the mysterious door that has never been opened in her lifetime.

"Mom, what's behind the door?" Lila asks one day sitting next to her mother's hospital bed.

"Lila, my sweet girl. My angel. Behind that door is a wonderful, beautiful place. But you have listened to me your whole life. Do it one last time. Do not open that door" Mary instructs and it brings up memory after memory of Lila's childhood. 'What a great one it was' she thinks, holding her mother's hand. It is on the next visit that Mary gives Lila a small wrapped box.

"What's this?" Lila asks, looking it over.

"It's for my granddaughter. Give it to her when you think she is ready. It will change her life in a jurassic way" Mary states looking at the box.

"What's in it?" Lila asks.

"It's her future" Mary replies and Lila is about to ask again when the look on her mother's face stops her. It's a few weeks later that Lila is in the hospital herself giving birth to her daughter. She finds out after that her mother is dead. And if someone realizes that the death of her mother and the birth of her daughter are seconds apart then it is just a coincidence, right?

As devastating as it is for Lila she does her best to stay above water after her mother's passing. She focuses on her husband and daughter. She builds an amazing life and home with her family. Her daughter who they decided to name Mary has a childhood just like her own. Filled with love and laughter. Alex and Lila do not have another child, but this does not upset them. They have their daughter, each other, and their debates. Oh, how they love their debates. Even after decades of marriage they never tire. Lila eventually gives Mary the present from her grandmother. Mary goes to her room, which used to be Lila's and opens the box. Inside is a key along with a note.

"Mary,

I know you only know me from the stories your mother tells you, but know that I love you. I know you are a lot like your mother and just like her you want to know what is behind the door. This key will open it and inside lies a whole new world for you to explore. Just promise me one thing. Do not let your mother open the door.

Love you,

Your Grandmother"

Mary reads it over several times confused, then she takes out the key to inspect. It looks like an ordinary key. Nothing special about it, but there is one thing her grandmother asked of her. So, when her mother asks what it is she says it's a secret. Lila looks at her for a moment before nodding and letting it go.

Lila does not question her daughter and life goes on. Eventually though as everyone does Alex and Lila grow old and as much as he does not want to, Alex goes first. Lila cries so much that day that she is dehydrated the next. Lila gets to meet her son in law and grandchildren, then she is in the same position her mother and husband were. In a death bed. Mary comes and visits often and one day says.

"Mama, come with me". Lila does holding onto Mary's arm the entire way. They stop in front of the door and Lila looks confused.

"It's time for you to see what's behind the door" Mary says unlocking it.

"But-" Lila objects.

"I love you, Mama" Mary says, then opens the door. Lila sees only brightness as she walks across the threshold, then everything clears. Standing in front of her is her mother and Alex. She runs and hugs him tightly before realizing it. She looks down to see herself not an old woman, but the one she was in her freshman year of college.

"Where am I?" She asks no one in particular.

"Heaven… Our door was a portal to heaven. One that your daughter now guards" Mary states hugging her daughter.

"But-" Lila starts confused.

"If you opened it too soon you'd be dead before your time" Mary explains.

"I always knew that door would be the death of me" Lila mutters making Alex laugh.

"You were right," Lila says, smiling.

"So were you" Alex replies, kissing her forehead.

Lila looks around amazed and says "All this behind a locked door".